MWC 2023 wrap-up

MWC 2023 is now in the history books and it's the busiest the show has been in several years, possibly stretching to the couple of editions just before the COVID pandemic. We’ve prepared a summary of all the key announcements from the this past week alongside hands-on coverage with some of the more interesting devices that we saw in person.

HMD Global

Nokia kicked things off with its announcement of the Nokia G22, Nokia C32 and Nokia C22 smartphones. The trio offers entry-level specs with large batteries and in the case of the G22 – a focus on easy reparability. Nokia partnered with iFixit to provide tools, spare parts and repair guides to help users hold on to their devices for longer.

A battery replacement should take around 5 minutes provided you have the right tools and guides. Nokia also announced it will manufacture some of its phones in Europe starting Q3 2023. Feel free to check out our hands-on coverage of the new Nokia phones here.

Xiaomi

Xiaomi brought over the Xiaomi 13 and Xiaomi 13 Pro to global markets and introduced the all-new Xiaomi 13 Lite model. The smaller Xiaomi 13 comes in at a cool €1,000 here in Europe. The 13 Pro comes in at €1,300/₹80,000 while the 13 Lite will set buyers back €500. All three phones are going on open sale from March 8. We have our full written reviews of the three phones which you can check out from the links below.

Xiaomi also demoed its Wireless AR Glasses at MWC featuring completely wireless design, Micro OLED screens and equipped with Qualcomm’s Snapdragon XR2+ Gen 1 platform.

OnePlus

OnePlus showcased a cool new concept phone with liquid cooling dubbed OnePlus 11 Concept. Just like a true gaming PC, the device brings a closed-loop liquid cooling system which OnePlus called Active CryoFlux.

OnePlus claims the new cooling system can reduce temperatures up to 2.1°C during gaming and 1.6°C during charging sessions.

TCL

TCL announced a bunch of new budget phones for the US market and two new 11-inch Android tablets. The most upmarket new phone is the TCL 40 X, which brings a Dimensity 700 chip, 6.5-inch 90Hz LCD and a 50MP main cam for $200. TCL 40 XE is the cheapest 5G phone in the maker’s portfolio at just $170 while the TCL 40 XL brings a Helio G37 and 50MP main cam for $150. TCL also announced the $120 TCL 406 – an Android 13 device with a 6.6-inch HD+ display and a 5,000 mAh battery.

We also have hands-on coverage of the TCL 40 X, TCL 40 XE and TCL 40 XL phones.

Honor

Honor announced its €900 Magic5 and €1,200 Magic5 Pro flagships alongside global availablity for the €1,600 Magic Vs foldable. The Magic5 series bring the latest flagship Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 chipset, 54MP main cameras and 120Hz LTPO OLED displays. You can check out our hands-on impressions of all three phones from the links below.

Realme

The Realme GT3 was announced with blazing fast 240W fast charging and a $650 asking price. The device is a rebrand of the Realme GT Neo 5 which launched in China earlier this year. The phone also brings a Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1 chipset, 50MP main cam and a 4,600 mAh battery that should be filled up in just 10 minutes thanks to the included fast charger.

Tecno

Tecno's ambitions are growing at an unprecedent rate, the company announced its first foldable phone at MWC. The Phantom V Fold is expected to debut in India soon with an unbelivable INR 80,000 (sub $1,000) early bird price. You get a large 7.85-inch LTPO AMOLED folding screen with 120Hz refresh rate as well as a 6.42-inch AMOLED cover display, 50MP main and telephoto cameras and a Dimensity 9000+ chipset. We got to spend some time with the device so you can check out our first impressions below.

Tecno also showed out a concept phone with a color-changing Chameleon Coloring Technology which allows the user to change colors of the phone’s back in a matter of seconds.

ZTE

ZTE made a splash with its nubia Pad 3D – a glasses-free 3D Android tablet co-developed with Leia Inc. The slate brings a 12.4-inch IPS LCD with 2560x1600px resolution, a 120Hz refresh rate and a proprietary DLB layer developed with Leia’s 3D Lightfield mode. It can transform standard 2D content to 3D in real-time with the onboard conversion software and its dual front and rear cameras allow you to take pictures, videos and scan objects from the real world in glorious 3D.

Oppo

Oppo focused on its smart wearables at this year’s MWC conference and demoed its Air Glass 2 assisted reality glasses, Zero-power tag and Wi-Fi 6 router. You can head over to our hands-on coverage of the trio here.

Motorola

Lenovo’s MWC booth showed out the Motorola rollable smartphone concept phone aka Moto Rizr. The device features a rollable pOLED display which expands vertically from a 5-inch diagonal and 15:9 aspect ratio to a 6.5-inch diagonal with a 22:9 aspect ratio.

Motorola rollable concept

The idea behind this phone is that you can have a compact phone and extend the display when you need more screen area on the go with the double tap of a button on the side.

Cat

Rugged phone maker Cat announced its Cat S75 phone which features built-in two-way satellite messaging via Bullitt Satellite Messenger Essentials. This service allows you to message any phone number when you don’t have cellular connectivity. Cat S75 is priced at €600/£550. You can head over to our hands-on coverage for more details.

Ulefone

The Ulefone Armor 23 is the latest in a long line of rugged phones from the maker. It brings a Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 chipset backed by 16GB RAM and 1TB storage, a 6.67” AMOLED screen FHD+ display and a 120 Hz refresh rate.

True to its name and nature, Armor 23 packs a 7,000 mAh battery and is IP68-certified MIL-STD-810H-rated meaning it can handle a drop or submersion under water just fine.