I was blown away by these MWC phones and gadgets, but where are they now?

Mobile World Congress It sees the biggest and best technology companies, from all over the world, gather in Barcelona to showcase their latest and greatest products. MWC 2026 takes place from March 2 to 5, and we expect to see several major phone launches, some wild concepts, and plenty of appetizers. But what about the products we’ve seen in previous years?

From Samsung’s flagship Galaxy S phones to Xiaomi’s impressive devices, we’ve seen some of them Amazing devices In the years CNET has attended the show. But we also saw a lot of Unusual products Which promised more than it delivered.

From quickly forgotten conceptual devices to new gadgets featuring revolutionary functionality, these are MWC’s tech launches that arrived with great fanfare… but aren’t necessarily where you’d expect them today.

Human artificial intelligence pin

AI is still probably the biggest buzzword in tech, thanks to every phone company filling their devices with all kinds of things. Weird artificial intelligence jobs. But at MWC 2024, one company wanted to take this further. the The AI ​​pin was humane A wearable badge you can talk to and ask questions about your schedule, the weather, or things like sports scores. It can read the answers and even project them onto your hand using a laser. Because everyone loves lasers.

Sounds fun, right? The company’s rhetoric about how AI-based devices like these will replace phones seemed convincing. However, the product, well, (just) sucked Ask CNET’s Scott Stein, Who spent Extend time with her) The company was eventually swallowed up by HP, with the pin itself ceasing to operate in February of last year. If you’re an early adopter, let us know what you’ve done with your $699(!) paperweight now.

Motorola Razer

MWC is a great place to showcase concepts that will interest tech nerds like us. Motorola has a good history in this show and Razer It is one of my favorites. This phone didn’t just have a flexible screen like we see in many phones today Foldable phonesIts screen can be opened mechanically with the push of a button, extending the top of the screen to provide a more immersive view for watching videos or playing games.

It was amazing to see in person, and it was definitely a different idea on how to use flexible displays. But that was all; an idea. Motorola has not deployed the mechanical version of the Rizr in any of its products Razr Fold upcoming launch Being just a standard book-shaped fold-out. The reason is clear: the technology is likely to be expensive and perhaps also fragile. Three years later, Motorola has said nothing about this cool concept, but I’ll stick with this year.

Xiaomi SU7 EV

Xiaomi is perhaps best known for its products Phones with great camerasBut the Chinese company has its fingers in many pies, including scooters, vacuum cleaners, air fryers, and water guns. It was no surprise then that the company did this during MWC 2024 It showcased its first EVXiaomi SU7. With a sleek, sporty look and a promised range of over 470 miles, I was excited.

I was excited again when the company made an offer A more performance-focused model At last year’s show, which had already given some tough times on the notorious track Nürburgring. But I have not yet been able to get behind the wheel. While Xiaomi already produces and sells the cars in its native China, the company has no plans to launch them in the UK or Europe more widely until at least 2027, and it almost certainly won’t sell in the US at all.

As a result, I feel like I’ve been somewhat annoyed by the promise of this powerful, cool electric car that would sit perfectly in my driveway. In fact, I still have a long wait if the SU7’s European launch ever happens. Sales of the SU7 in China have surpassed those of the Tesla Model 3, according to A a report By China Auto News. Meanwhile, the same story shows that sales of the SU7 Ultra have dropped significantly due to a number of controversies and lawsuits surrounding the vehicle and Xiaomi’s rollout.

Samsung Galaxy Ring

Samsung Galaxy Ring It made for an interesting MWC conference in 2024. There was a new type of wearable that promised advanced health and fitness tracking, while integrating into your daily life by sitting unobtrusively on your finger. And it does, with CNET giving it a solid 8.5 out of 10 in our full review.

But that was 2024, and two full years later, I’m still wondering what’s happening to the wonderful world of smart jewelry. Samsung has made no official comment about the follow-up, with rumors suggesting we might see one in late 2026 or 2027. Meanwhile, smart ring maker Oura has filed a lawsuit Public lawsuit against Samsung And other smart ring companies claiming patent infringement. This is probably one of the reasons why we are waiting for the Galaxy Ring 2. While there are other smart rings out there – e.g Oura ring 4 — It’s not a category that boomed after Samsung launched its ring.

No Google Pixel Ring, no Apple iRing, not even one Filled with LED Nothing ring (1). Most other smart rings are made by smaller companies, e.g Pebble recently announced a $75 recyclable ring. Smart rings may have a place on our hands for a while, but Samsung’s long delay in launching a follow-up ring may indicate that they’re not exactly a priority product.

Motorola wrist phone

I said the aforementioned Moto Rizr was “one” of my favorite MWC concepts. This is because the company Flexible wrist phone From 2024 it holds first place ever. This Candybar-style Android phone has a completely flexible body that allows you to wrap the whole thing around your wrist and wear it like something Night of Futurama illustrator pinned to his wrist.

I found it very interesting. This was the phone that didn’t bulge out your skinny jeans when in your pocket, but was also just a glance away like a smartwatch. Compared to the meticulous engineering required for the Rizr, wrist phone technology seemed relatively achievable. After all, we already have flexible displays and this doesn’t require any specialized micro-actuators – just slap them on your wrist like 90s cuff bracelet.

But, like the Rizr, the wrist-mounted phone remained just a flight of fancy that I briefly tried out for a few days in Spain. Like any romantic holiday, it’s probably best for me to simply remember it as it was and not spend my days pining over what could have been.

With MWC 2026 just days away, I’m excited to see the wild new products show their faces, and I’m curious to see which ones will have the power.