Best of MWC 2024
Here’s what caught our eye at Mobile World Congress.
Mobile World Congress (MWC) returned last month and hosted some of the world’s biggest tech brands. As ever, our team of intrepid editors hit the show floor to find the best gadgets.
Although the trade show, held annually in Barcelona, is primarily focused on smartphones, there were plenty of other interesting devices to be found. We’ve searched high and low to create something of a wish list of gadgets you’ll want to own this year.
1. XIAOMI 14 SERIES
Two of the best phones to launch at MWC this year were the Xiaomi 14 (£849 from fave.co/49IJcW0) and its
bigger brother, the Xiaomi 14 Ultra £1,299 from fave.co/4a46HZj).
Both phones are highly specified starting with Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 processors and 12- or 16GB of RAM respectively. They also have CrystalRes AMOLED screens capable of a 3,000 nits peak brightness.
Perhaps most interesting of all is the cameras co-engineered with Leica, continuing the company’s collaboration with the German optics specialist. The regular 14 has a trio of 50Mp cameras at the rear while the Ultra has a fourth camera in a floating periscope and its main camera has a large 1-inch sensor.
Both come with speedy 90 watts wired charging with a brick included in the box and have 50- and 80-watt wireless charging respectively.
2. ONEPLUS WATCH 2
OnePlus is getting back in the smartwatch game with the Watch 2 (£299 from fave.co/3TuoFyR), which now runs on Google’s WearOS software. This is a welcome change from the buggy UI seen in the first entry in this series.
One of the standout features of this wearable is its dual chipset. One is enabled for performance, and the other for efficiency, giving the Watch 2 an impressive 100-hour battery life. This is more durable than other Wear OS rivals such as Google’s Pixel Watch 2 and Samsung’s Galaxy Watch 6.
The build is equally impressive, with the strap options matching the
colourways of the OnePlus 12 flagship smartphone. The stainless-steel body is on the chunky and heavy side, but with a MIL-STD-810H standard certification, it’s built to withstand tough environments. Plus, the 1.43-inch display is big, bright, and clear.
3. HONOR MAGIC6 PRO
Honor’s Magic6 series debuted in China in January, but it was introduced to a global audience at MWC.
Only the high-end 6 Pro (£1,099 from fave.co/3wO3ajx) is coming to Europe, with no room for the regular model. The much cheaper Magic6 Lite is already available (£299 from fave.co/3wMMGZ3).
In many ways, the Magic6 Pro is Honor’s all-out flagship. Its Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 chipset drives stellar performance, while battery life has been superb during initial testing. Alongside fast charging (80 watts wired, 66 watts wireless) and a gorgeous 6.8-inch 120Hz OLED screen, it’s a high-end phone in pretty much every sense of the word.
That extends to the cameras, which provide genuinely excellent results across all four main lenses: 50Mp (f/1.4-f/2.0 dynamic aperture) main camera, 180Mp telephoto (2.5x optical zoom), 50Mp ultrawide (122-degree field of view) and 50Mp selfie.
A separate 3D Time of Flight (ToF) sensor on the front means face unlock can be just as secure as the in-display fingerprint sensor. It also enables excellent eye tracking, which can detect when you’re looking at a notification and open the associated app without the need for a tap.
4. HONOR PAD 9
Typically, cheap Android tablets come with several big compromises. That’s not the case with the Honor Pad 9 (£349 from fave.co/3IuaJOY), which offers a compelling all-round experience.
This 12.1-inch slate’s aluminium and glass design feels very premium, while the 120Hz 2.5K screen doesn’t feel like a compromise at all – even if it is an
IPS LCD panel, rather than OLED.
Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 6 Gen 1 and 8GB of RAM deliver surprisingly strong performance, even while gaming, while strong quad stereo speakers offer premium, room-filling sound. Even Honor’s polarising MagicOS skin (over Android 13 here) works pretty well on the larger display. However, it’s not clear how long Honor will support the device with software updates. And the combination of disappointing battery life and relatively slow charging can be frustrating at times. But considering how affordable the Pad 9 is, it’s still an impressive device that’s worth considering.
XIAOMI WATCH S3
It might not have WearOS like the Xiaomi Watch 2 but there appear to be some benefits to the Watch S3 (£129 from fave.co/3IuNOmu) coming with HyperOS instead.
Top of that list is a touted 15day battery life along with 2 days of usage from a quick 15-minute charge.
HyperOS also lets you do various things, like reject calls, with one-handed gestures – or ‘flips of the wrist’ – so there’s no need to touch the watch if your other hand is unavailable.
The S3 has a 1.43inch AMOLED display, a 12-channel heart rate monitoring module for more accurate tracking, and can even track skiing and snowboarding.
On the design front, it has an interesting trick up its sleeve with interchangeable bezels that quickly clip on and off and also come with accompanying watch faces.
6. XIAOMI PAD 6S PRO 12.4
Getting past the tongue-twister of the name, the Pad 6S Pro 12.4 looks like it will be one of the best tablets of the year. Okay, it doesn’t come bundled with the Touchpad Keyboard or Focus Pen (stylus) but those optional extras are there if you want them.
Among other specs that we’ll come to, it has insane 120-watt HyperCharge wired charging meaning you can get the 10,000mAh battery from dead to 100 percent in just 35 minutes. As far as we’re aware, this is the fastest-charging tablet in the world.
And the impressive specs don’t stop there as it’s got a 12.4-inch 144Hz 3K display with a 3:2 aspect ratio and a Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 chipset. Xiaomi’s HyperOS has various features including Cross-device collaboration and an AI Art feature that can turn your rubbish scribbles into proper artwork at the touch of a button.
The Xiaomi Pad 6S Pro 12.4 will be available in two models with either 8- or 12GB of RAM and 256GB storage for £599 or £699 respectively.
7. ANKER MAGGO FOLDABLE 3-IN-1 QI2 WIRELESS CHARGING STATION
Qi wireless charging has been around since 2008, so it’s something of a slow technology when it comes to upgrades. 2024, however, is the year of Qi2 as
proven at this year’s MWC. Qi2 offers magnetic wireless charging at twice the speed of Qi, with a new maximum of 15 watts. That’s the same as Apple’s own MagSafe wireless charging standard but without the extra certification expense.
Anker is the first to market with a range of Qi2 wireless chargers, and the MagGo Wireless Charging Station (£99 from fave.co/435RkNL) doesn’t just massively increase charging speed as this charger/stand combo is the smallest and most stable portable 3-in-1 we’ve seen.
It’s about the length and width of a credit card and an inch deep, weighing 195g. Not only does it charge a Qi2compatible phone (most notably the iPhone 13/14/15) at 15 watts, but it’s also officially certified to fast-charge an Apple Watch and features a pad that’s perfect for charging your AirPods or other wireless earbuds case.