AI is inevitable but requires infrastructure, mobile signals are becoming omnipresent, and Romania is at the forefront, and robots might just become the next household appliance for the entire family.
I wondered briefly why I was attending Mobile World Congress (MWC26),1 The official site is mwcbarcelona.com in Barcelona again this year, having skipped it last year, beyond the chance to spend a few more days in Sitges. It has become my new favourite resort, especially since accommodation in Barcelona cost a fortune due to MWC – and prices are only set to rise as the city council battles Airbnb.2 By 2028, about 10,000 properties that are now used for short-term rentals will disappear, rentalscaleup.com
However, I soon realised that attending several editions makes it easier to spot shifts and trends. For instance, how blockchain and, notably, the Metaverse have vanished from the conversation; how large firms have downsized their stands or moved outside Fira Barcelona (I didn’t see an Oppo stand this year), while smaller firms have expanded; and how even the talk around 6G has calmed down, now that it’s clear we haven’t quite mastered 5G yet. Here is what else I observed.
Three stars: China, AI and digital sovereignty
If I were to summarise this year’s edition in three phrases, I would say: the omnipresence of China, the inevitability of AI, and digital sovereignty.
For several years now, the biggest players at Europe’s most important communications event have been Chinese, at least in consumer tech. They aren’t necessarily the most numerous (they rank third after Spain and the US, or fourth if we consider the EU as a bloc), but they were certainly the most visible.
Honor, with its “Robot Phone” and humanoid robot, and Xiaomi, with the new Series 17 phones and electric vehicles, dominated the billboards. But Huawei was also impossible to ignore, drawing attention with its new AI computing clusters,3 Huawei’s SuperPoD Portfolio Creates New Option for Global Computing at MWC Barcelona 2026, huawei.com a global alternative to Nvidia systems – as were ZTE, China Mobile, and China Telecom, which focused on advanced 5G networks (5.5G) and satellite communication solutions.
I don’t think the second pillar, Artificial Intelligence, needs much explanation. At a telecoms fair that adopted the slogan “The IQ Era”,4 MWC26 Barcelona: Two decades of transformation and the dawn of ‘The IQ Era’, mwcbarcelona.com the focus was on the infrastructure required to run AI, which must travel between the user and data centres, as well as the changes it will bring. There was much talk of AI agents that will make traditional interfaces (windows and buttons) and, quite possibly, even the omnipresent smartphone redundant, potentially replaced by AI glasses and invisible assistants.
AI agents will make traditional interfaces (windows and buttons) and, quite possibly, even the omnipresent smartphone redundant,
In the background, geopolitical discussions focused on digital sovereignty and strategic autonomy through proprietary chips and AI models, but also about reducing regulations in Europe. Germany took action5 Germany unveils its first AI factory in boost for European digital sovereignty, euronews.com by announcing an app-free smartphone that breaks the Google/Apple monopoly, implementing Open RAN networks to eliminate dependence on Chinese hardware, securing data through sovereign clouds with locally held encryption keys, and demonstrating the first satellite-to-mobile calls on its own spectrum.
The dream of local AI processing
AI agents are an old dream: a combination of personal assistants (Alexa on steroids) and natural language automation. These are agents you can tell to “Book my flights and a hotel for a trip to Rome” or “Create a bundle of the best holiday photos and send them to my parents”, to say nothing of business applications.
This is where Edge AI comes in, moving processing directly onto devices or, at most, to the antennas they communicate with, ensuring better speed and privacy. New chips, such as the MediaTek Dimensity 9500 or Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5, help virtual assistants process data locally.
Almost all major players are trying to make them a reality, from Samsung – which revamped Bixby for such tasks and to simplify settings on the new Galaxy S266 Samsung Advances Galaxy AI and Its Connected Ecosystem at MWC 2026, samsung.com –, to Lenovo, which presented a projector concept that generates a presentation, displays it, and prints it based on simple voice commands. However, before giving an agent access to your credit card, you need to be sure it performs perfectly, finds the best deal, and doesn’t send you to the wrong Rome.
Once the trust issue is resolved, the question remains: how necessary is the mobile phone in such a world? Perhaps assistants like the Rabbit R1 or Humane AI Pin, the “failures” of two years ago,7 Revisiting the 3 Biggest Hardware Flops of 2024: Apple Vision Pro, Rabbit R1, Humane Ai Pin, wired.com were simply invented too early.
Speaking of such devices, Scople,8 Details on scople.ai a Ukrainian start-up, proposed an AI assistant that tracks your interactions in real-time and offers advice. It’s focused on privacy because it doesn’t save video files – it’s a sort of memory aid – though it has a potentially controversial use in monitoring staff-customer interactions.
Returning to AI agents that make phones redundant, Telekom suggests a hybrid version: Concept T,9 Digital family member: “Concept T” shows today how we could communicate in the future, telekom.com a phone with no visible apps. The screen features only a microphone and a prompt window; you ask for something, and the AI agent brings the information to the screen or performs the action directly. Others believe the future lies in AR glasses, like those from Meta, or other wearables that make screens unnecessary – though one wonders what Instagram and TikTok think of that.
You ask for something, and the phone brings the information to the screen or performs the action directly.
If these shifts occur, the consequences will be major for design (especially UX), SEO (already being replaced by GEO, Generative Engine Optimisation), and e-commerce, though the old and new paradigms will likely coexist for a long time.
Connectivity everywhere and tests in Romania
With or without Edge AI, artificial intelligence will require vast amounts of data moving between users and those data centres being built in anticipation of future profits. At MWC26, almost all communications players understood their role: providing the infrastructure for this interconnected world.
There was much talk about 6G. This new network type will be able to “see” physical objects using radio waves (ISAC technology),10 A Comprehensive Review on ISAC for 6G: Enabling Technologies, Security, and AI/ML Perspectives, ieeexplore.ieee.org will be significantly more energy-efficient, and Qualcomm has promised to develop 6G as an AI-native system.11 MWC Barcelona 2026: Prototyping an AI-native 6G from foundation to new services, qualcomm.com However, it will take time; the first implementation is expected around 2029, especially as the first 6G test was only recently conducted by Ericsson in Texas.12 Ericsson U.S. achieves 6G trial breakthrough in Texas, ericsson.com
Otherwise, the industry focused on 5G Standalone, eliminating 4G from the phone-to-antenna interaction. This means lower latency, higher capacity (millions of devices per square kilometre), and “network slicing” for dedicated bands, ensuring emergency services aren’t hindered by private users.
Modern phones can now transmit voice directly to low-orbit satellites, potentially eliminating dead zones in mountains or oceans. The European Space Agency (ESA) has opened a €100 million funding line13 ESA and GSMA Foundry launch new round of challenges for smoother connectivity, esa.int to support hybrid space-ground networks, and Telekom and Starlink confirmed14 Telekom closes the last whitespots in Europe with Starlink satellite-to-mobile, telekom.com plans to launch satellite-to-mobile services in Europe from 2028.
Orange chose Romania15Orange partners with AST SpaceMobile and Satellite Connect Europe on Direct-to-Device (D2D) satellite connectivity, starting with demonstrations in Romania, orange.com to premiere satellite connectivity technology directly to phones, starting in the second half of 2026, in partnership with AST SpaceMobile and Satellite Connect Europe. Essentially, starting with the second half of 2026, Romania will become a testing hub for the future of European mobile communications. Orange promises voice, SMS, and data services even in the most isolated areas of the country, making Romania a testing hub for the future of European mobile communications.
Romania will become a testing hub for the future of European mobile communications.
This doesn’t mean signal dead zones will vanish worldwide. That will depend on political decisions or economic issues. Initiatives like Project Giga (developed with UNICEF since 2019)16 Giga in collaboration with MWCapital showcases its school connectivity milestones and innovations at MWC26, giga.global use open-source systems to connect schools in the Global South.
Somewhat paradoxically, a lack of permanent connectivity can also be a status symbol; Bill Clinton famously boasted about only sending two emails in his life.17 Bill Clinton says he can only remember sending 2 emails in his life, businessinsider.com Those with financial autonomy are advocating for a “digital diet”. In an MWC 2026 keynote, actor Aaron Paul (Breaking Bad) and the creators of the Light Phone presented18Actor urges breaking bad phone habits, mobileworldlive.com minimalist devices without social media, email, or browsers – only essential functions. Their dream: more time and attention for those who can afford to disconnect.
The age of robots is comming
The humanoid robots at MWC26 weren’t martial artists, like those in the Chinese clip that circulated a month ago,19 Martial arts robots dazzle at 2026 Spring Festival Gala, youtube.com but most still came from China. They dance decently and move quite naturally, provided they don’t freeze while waiting for a command. For instance, the Agibot X2 robot required access to the internet to process voice requests – the AI is still in the cloud.
The CEO of Honor envisions a humanoid robot in every home, a vision reminiscent of The Jetsons, or a slightly more dystopian one. Edge AI is vital here; robots need local processing to be autonomous – it would be rather awkward if they stopped washing the dishes the moment the internet went down.
The vision is envisions a humanoid robot in every home.
However, the humanoid form isn’t necessarily the most sought-after by industry. There were plenty of robot dogs, robots on wheels, and robotic arms with more limited but precise uses. Even Honor’s “robot phone” is essentially a gimbal that can communicate through gestures.
Regarding hardware, a major talking point was that while manufacturers rushed to present new products, they may face delivery issues due to the memory chip crisis. They might not produce enough to meet demand, and we may see record-high prices for new models rather than record sales.20AI is gobbling up the world’s memory chips, sending smartphone prices to record highs, report says, cnn.com You might just decide to postpone replacing your two-year-old iPhone.
This event took place just as the conflict involving the US, Israel, and Iran had begun, and the long-term consequences, such as rising oil prices, were not yet clear. Security for the King, who visited almost every stand on the first day – and whom I bumped into right as I was leaving the bathroom (oops) – didn’t seem much different from previous years.
In contrast, the disruption of transport routes was more visible. Many attendees from East Asia who had booked flights with Arab carriers either couldn’t make it or had to change their tickets,21 How War in the Middle East Impacted the World’s Largest Mobile Phone Show, cnet.com likely for a steep price. Some unlucky ones even ended up staying a few extra days in Barcelona on the company’s dime.