MWC 2026, the world's largest mobile exhibition, opened on the 2nd (local time) at Fira Gran Via in Barcelona, Spain. The spot that drew the most attention that day was the booth of China's Honor in Hall 3. Honor brought its new foldable phone, the Magic V6, to MWC 2026, but the products that drew even more notice were a robot and a robot phone.
Honor's first Humanoid Robot can moonwalk like Michael Jackson, jump, and even do 360-degree backflips. After showing a palm to Honor's "robot phone" and flipping it over, a square gimbal camera popped out from the back of the device. When moving side to side, the camera followed the person with head-like motions.
When asked, "Hello, robot phone, could you play some music?" music started to play and the camera shook its head 360 degrees to the rhythm. When told, "Play the next song," the music changed. The 200-megapixel robot phone camera comes with an artificial intelligence (AI)–based object-tracking feature that tracks the user's movements and responds to conversation. An Honor official said, "We plan to launch the robot phone in China in the second half of this year."
The theme of MWC 2026, which drew more than 2,800 corporations from 205 countries around the world, is the "IQ Era" (an era in which intelligence leads consolidation). It showed how artificial intelligence (AI) is changing telecom networks and industrial sites, and how industries consolidated by telecom infrastructure are offering new business opportunities.
Honor Chief Executive Officer (CEO) James Li said, "The essence of AI is people," adding, "We must combine intelligence quotient (IQ) and emotional intelligence (EQ) to improve the ability to adapt, advance, and enjoy the present in a rapidly changing world." Xiaomi, which unveiled an electric hypercar at MWC 2026, said, "We will organically consolidate personal devices, mobility, and AI-based home appliances around the smartphone to build a single integrated ecosystem."
◇ China showcases new smartphones, robots, and electric cars
The MWC 2026 show floor was, in effect, a solo stage for Chinese corporations. Huawei took up most of Hall 1 and presented AI, network, and industrial digitalization solutions. Huawei's booth covered 9,000㎡, more than double the combined area of the Samsung Electronics and SK Telecom, KT, and LG Uplus exhibits. At MWC 2026, Huawei focused on courting B2B (business-to-business) customers.
The number of Chinese corporations participating in MWC 2026 stands at 350, the third most after Spain (750) and the United States (443). Korea is participating with 182 companies (4th), up 22 from last year, but only about half of China's level.
Amid U.S. government sanctions, MWC is being used by Chinese corporations as a platform to flaunt their technological prowess. Honor's share of the European smartphone market ranks only fourth, but its shipments in the fourth quarter of last year rose 18% from a year earlier. It was the only one among the top five smartphone manufacturers in Europe to record double-digit growth. Honor unveiled the Magic V6 foldable phone with improved hinge crease prevention and battery capacity.
Ahead of the opening of MWC 2026, Xiaomi unveiled its premium smartphones, the 17 and 17 Ultra models. The 17 Ultra features technology from Germany's Leica and is equipped with a triple-camera system including ultra-wide, wide, and telephoto lenses. Notably, it earned APO certification, Leica's highest-grade lens designation, which refers to an optical design that minimizes color fringing caused when different colors of light pass through a lens and their focal points diverge. Chinese smartphone maker TECNO introduced its CAMON 50 series and POVA 8 series at MWC 2026.
◇ Space-based connectivity as a key theme… SpaceX, Rakuten, and astronauts turn out in force
Beyond the ground, space-based connectivity such as satellite communications and non-terrestrial networks (NTN) is also a key theme of MWC 2026. The fact that this year's MWC keynote speakers include Gwynne Shotwell, president and chief operating officer (COO) of U.S. space corporation SpaceX, Michael Nicolls, SpaceX's vice president of Starlink engineering, Tim Peake, an astronaut with the European Space Agency (ESA), and Rakuten Chairman Mikitani Hiroshi likewise shows that the boundaries of communications technology are expanding into space.
SES presented a strategy that links satellite networks in different orbits—low Earth orbit (LEO) and geostationary orbit (GEO)—to make combined use of coverage, bandwidth, and persistence; Viasat showed how vehicles can maintain voice connectivity via satellite even in mobile dead zones; and Eutelsat showcased connectivity infrastructure for enterprise, government, and telecom through an integrated satellite network.
Korean telecom operators also turned out for MWC 2026. SK Telecom presented its competitiveness in "Full Stack AI," spanning AI infrastructure, models, and services. KT introduced its AX operating system "Agentic Fabric," the "Agent Builder" solution for creating and applying essential agents by industry, and the next-generation contact center solution "Agentic AICC." LG Uplus, under the theme "people-centered AI," highlighted its proactive AI agent service "ixi-O Pro," its AI Contact Center, and its data center.
Julian Gorman, GSMA's head of Asia-Pacific, explained, "This year's MWC was designed to spotlight the changes that the convergence of consolidation and intelligence in the mobile ecosystem will bring across industries."