The 9 Most Exciting Phones and Gadgets From MWC 2018

Just when you think there are no new capabilities to squeeze out of laptops, Huawei pushes the envelope. The new MateBook X Pro has a remarkable 14-inch 3,000 x 2,000 pixel touchscreen with such small bezels that it fits into a standard 12-inch notebook chassis. Huawei claims this ultraportable has the highest screen-to-body ratio of any laptop in the world. It's also loaded with the latest Intel 8th Generation Core chips, an Nvidia GeForce MX150 graphics card, four Dolby Atmos-approved speakers, a fingerprint sensor, and 12-plus hours of battery life. The coolest detail: a webcam pops out of one of the function keys on the keyboard like the headlights on an old Corvette.

Sony likes to play around with how wireless earbuds work, adding smart features and noise canceling to increasingly small earpieces. The Xperia Ear Duo buds are fully wireless, sort of resembling a pair of extremely stylish upside-down hearing aids. But their big trick is a hole in the earbud that doesn't completely block the ear canal, letting you hear the outside world while listening to music or making a call. Sony says it can adjust on the fly how much ambient sound gets mixed in. These buds are already up for pre-order on Amazon, shipping May 31.

Undeterred by a continued lack of support from wireless carriers in the US, Sony is back with another round of flagship Android phones. The Xperia XZ2 and smaller Xperia XZ2 Compact take most of their design cues from older Xperia handsets. But these phones have the latest Snapdragon 845 processor and Android 8.0 Oreo on board, not to mention a new 19-megapixel rear camera that can record 4K HDR and super slow-motion videos. Audiophiles will also like the support for high-resolution music playback. This will also be the first Xperia to support Verizon's network. Read hands-on impressions from our pals at Wired UK.

HMD Global is on a mission to bring the Nokia name back, and it's doing it by making nice Android One phones: devices that run a pure, unaltered version of Google's Android OS and can download updates directly from Google. The Nokia 8 Sirocco runs on the new Android 8.0 Oreo and isn't loaded with any apps other than Google's stock set of tools. On the outside, it has features common to high-end phones, like a 1440p screen, waterproofing, and a fingerprint sensor. On the inside, it resembles the best phones of 2017 with a Snapdragon 835 processor. To our eyes, it's only lacking two things: a headphone jack and a US release date.

Don't expect to find this phone in Best Buy anytime soon, but Vivo's Apex Android concept phone has impressed a lot of people at Mobile World Congress this year. Notably, the front of the prototype handset is "98 percent screen." The speakers are also embedded directly in the screen—as is the fingerprint sensor, which can read two fingerprints at once. Did I mention that the selfie cam pops up out of the top? Too bad it's for demonstration purposes only. Chinese manufacturer Vivo has not committed to mass production, but it does show off some neat tricks you'll likely see in phones of the future.

Usually, a new phone at MWC will boast a fancy new screen or camera, but the SikurPhone's sales pitch is strong security and data encryption. It claims that the SikurPhone is "hack-proof" and that its bespoke wallet app is the perfect way to keep your cryptocurrencies safe. It's an Android phone with encryption plastered all over it, and a custom app store that only includes vetted apps. To back its claims, the company hired bug bounty hunters HackerOne to try to crack the phone. So far, the experts have failed. Sikur is asking $850 for the device, but that price includes peace of mind.

Computing giant Asus wants to out-notch Apple's iPhone X. The company's upcoming ZenFone 5Z will come with that very familiar notch at the top of the screen, in addition to other Apple-flavored morsels like animated emoji and face-unlock features. Asus executives went out of their way at MWC to point out the superiority of its notch (it's smaller), and how well the Asus phone can actually hide the obstruction from the user. This may leave you wondering why a notch is needed at all, but Asus is going all-in on the Apple-esque design this year. And hey, it's hard to argue with the price. Though it will come with a Snapdragon 845 processor, Qualcomm's most powerful mobile chip, the 5Z will start at just $500, half the price of the iPhone X. It hits shelves this summer.