Top MWC 2026 Day 1 Reveals: We Get Our First Folding Gaming Handheld

We are two months into 2026, and this means it’s time for Mobile World Congress (MWC) in Barcelona. This annual event showcases cutting-edge innovations and gives us a glimpse of the future. This year is no different as we get ready to witness some amazing prototypes. Here’s everything announced at MWC 2026 on Day 1:

Honor Robot Phone: A WALL-E On Your Phone

If there’s one brand that truly innovates, it’s Honor. At MWC, the company showcased it’s Robot phone. While it looks like a regular phone, there’s an adorable gimbal on top of the screen that houses the camera. Here’s the crazy part: It can fold back into the phone when not being used to save you some space. The camera can also groove to music, track objects when taking photos and videos, and even nod to your commands. This Robot phone with a 200MP camera is set to launch later this year.

Other major showcases at the Honor Booth on day 1 of MWC 2026:

• Honor Magic V6: The thinnest foldable phone at just 8.75mm folded and 4mm when open. It has a massive 6,660mAh battery, bigger than the Galaxy Tri-Fold and Z Fold 7.
• Honor MagicPad 4: Thinnest Android tablet at just 4.8mm
• Honor Humanoid Robot: Can do backflips and dances. Will be available for industrial and household chores

Xiaomi Leica Letizphone: A Phone To Celebrate 100 Years Of Leica

No iteration of MWC is complete without Xiaomi, and it’s no different this time. To mark 100 years of Leica, the company announced a special edition of the Xiaomi 17 Ultra. Called Leica Leitzphone, it has a 1-inch camera sensor and a camera lens that can be rotated just like a DSLR for zooming in and other stuff. You get a Leica-like camera interface, monochrome shooting modes, and filters. It’s basically the Xiaomi 17 Ultra but on steroids. Speaking of the Xiaomi 17 Ultra, it’s coming globally, including India, with an announcement set for March 11.

Here’s a rundown from the “House of Xiaomi” on Day 1 of MWC 2026:

• Xiaomi 17: Successor to last year’s Xiaomi 15, this compact phone uses the Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5. It has a 50MP triple camera Leica-branded setup and a bigger battery than last year.
• Xiaomi 17 Ultra: The company’s flagship for this year with a 1-inch camera sensor, a 200MP telephoto lens, and an optional Photography kit.
• Xiaomi Pad 8 and Pad 8 Pro: Xiaomi claims they are the thinnest tablets in their category, measuring 5.75mm and just 485 grams. The Pad 8 Pro uses last year’s Snapdragon 8 Elite, while the Pad 8 gets the Snapdragon 8s Gen 4. The Xiaomi Pad 8 is set to launch next week in India
• UltraThin Magnetic Powerbank: This 5,000mAh powerbank is just 6mm thick thanks to the latest Silicon carbon tech. It can snap onto your iPhone and offers 15W wireless charging.
• Xiaomi Tag: No Xiaomi event is complete without copying an Apple product, and the Xiaomi Tag is the company’s first tracker. It works with Apple’s Find My and Google’s Find Hub with a built-in loop to connect to your bags or keys.
• Xiaomi Vision GranTurismo: Last but not least, the company had a small surprise for gamers with its first digital car. Available in Gran Turismo 7, this concept car features an Active Wake Control System and a futuristic design. Sadly, it’s only limited to video games for now.

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Lenovo Legion Go Fold: A Foldable Gaming Handheld

What if your Steam Deck could fold once you are done gaming? Meet the Lenovo Legion Go Fold. This handheld offers a flexible display that can unroll to offer a massive 11.6-inch panel. Want a smaller canvas? Just fold it in half, and it becomes a 7.7-inch screen. You get detachable controllers so you can choose to play in landscape or portrait. What’s even cooler is that you can even connect a wireless keyboard to turn it into a laptop. While it would have been amazing to buy something like this, it’s only at a conceptual stage right now.

Lenovo had plenty of things to announce on Day 1 of MWC 2026:

• Lenovo Modular AI PC: This modular laptop comes with two screens: one on the front and another at the back. You can mix and match to create a dual display, put the keyboard at the back, or change the position of the USB ports. Although just like Go Fold, it will remain a concept.
• Yoga Book Pro 3D: The Yoga Book Pro 3D, as the name suggests, lets you experience glasses-free 3D. It’s made for creators, and Lenovo’s software can convert 2D objects to 3D ones, and you can even interact with them by making hand gestures in front of the laptop. It’s a cool concept made that lets you bring your ideas to life
• New Yoga laptops and Ideapads: Lenovo also introduced the Yoga 9i 2-in-1 Aura Edition Gen 11, the Yoga Pro 7a, and the 13-inch Idea Tab Pro Gen 2. All laptops offer Copilot+ features
• Thinkpad laptop and tablet: The ThinkBook 2-in-1 laptop is made for industrial users, while the Think X11 is a tablet for business users.
• Legion tablet and laptop: The Legion Tab Gen 5 is an Android gaming tablet powered by Snapdragon 8 Gen 5. It has an RGB ring light on the back and two USB-C ports. A 15-inch variant of the Gen 11 Legion 7a gaming laptop is also expected in July.
• Lenovo AI Work Mate: Last but not least, we saw another concept: an adorable companion robot that sits on your desk. It can show time, sync your tasks across devices, and has a projector so you can see work docs and photos.

Tecno Modular Phone Concept: Project Ara is Back

Remember Google’s Project Ara concept? Well, it’s back, sort of. Tecno has revealed a modular phone concept, but this time the focus is on the size. The base phone is just 4.9mm thin, making it slimmer than the S25 Edge and iPhone Air. While the phone does get bulky once you snap on modules, it’s still thinner than a regular phone. There are 10 different modules to choose from. These include additional camera lenses, a power bank, and even a gamepad. How cool is that! All these modules attach to the back of the phone via magnets, and all data is transmitted wirelessly using Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, and mmWave.

TCL NxtPaper AMOLED: First Anti-Glare AMOLED Phone

TCL has been selling its NxtPaper series of phones and tablets for a while now. At MWC 2026, the company showcased the Nxpaper AMOLED phone concept, which offers crisper visuals while still maintaining that cosy eye comfort. While the phone stuck to LCD panels till now, it resulted in significant tradeoffs in contrast and color accuracy. With an AMOLED panel, the phone is now noticeably brighter at 3,200 nits. Another advantage is the matte texture, which TCL claims makes it the first anti-glare phone. While Apple and Samsung do offer an anti-reflective coating on their flagships, it’s nowhere close to what TCL offers, since they are prone to fingerprints and smudges.

That’s it, folks! Stay tuned for day 2 of MWC 2026 coverage tomorrow.