MWC is the biggest mobile-focused trade show in the calendar each year, and while it’s not quite as big as it once was, we still saw a huge number of new smartphones at MWC 2023.
These include big name flagship phones like the Xiaomi 13 series, curious concepts from OnePlus and Motorola, foldable phones, user-repairable phones, and more.
Below you’ll find every phone that we came across or learnt about at MWC 2023; be it a completely new offering from a phone maker, or something that we learned new information about.
Xiaomi 13 series
The Xiaomi 13 and Xiaomi 13 Pro were actually announced in China late last year, but they received their global launch during MWC 2023, and they weren’t alone – the Xiaomi 13 Lite (which is completely new – or a rebadged and tweaked Xiaomi Civi 2, depending on how you look at it) was along for the ride too.
The Xiaomi 13 sports a 6.36-inch 1080 x 2400 AMOLED screen with a 120Hz refresh rate, a 4,500mAh battery with 67W charging, a powerful Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 chipset, 8GB or 12GB of RAM, and 256GB of storage.
It also has a triple-lens Leica-branded camera with a 50MP wide snapper, a 12MP ultrawide, and a 10MP telephoto with a 3.2x optical zoom.
The Xiaomi 13 Pro, meanwhile, has a 6.73-inch 1440 x 3200 AMOLED screen with a 120Hz refresh rate, a 4,820mAh battery with 120W charging, the same chipset, 12GB of RAM, 256GB or 512GB of storage, and a triple-lens camera, with a 50MP 1-inch Sony IMX989 main sensor, a 50MP ultrawide, and a 50MP telephoto, offering 3.2x optical zoom.
Both phones are shipping in the UK on March 14, with the Xiaomi 13 starting at £849 (approximately $1,015 / AU$1,510), while the Xiaomi 13 Pro starts at £1,099 (around $1,310 / AU$1,950).
The Xiaomi 13 Lite is a significant step down, with a 6.55-inch 1080 x 2400 AMOLED screen with a 120Hz refresh rate, a 4,500mAh battery with 67W charging, a mid-range Snapdragon 7 Gen 1 chipset, 8GB of RAM, 128GB of storage, a 50MP main sensor, an 8MP ultrawide, and a 2MP macro camera.
This phone is out now in the UK and costs just £449 (roughly $535 / AU$800). We wouldn’t expect any of these phones to land in the US or Australia though.
Honor Magic 5 Pro
Not to be confused with the foldable Honor Magic V, the flagship Honor Magic 5 and Honor Magic 5 Pro were unveiled at MWC 2023, and in our hands-on Honor Magic 5 Pro review we were particularly taken by the cameras, battery life promises, and display.
This phone has a 6.81-inch 1312 x 2848 OLED screen with a 120Hz refresh rate, a 5,100mAh battery with 66W charging and the promise of over 12 hours of battery life with heavy usage, a Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 chipset, 12GB of RAM, 512GB of storage, a 50MP wide camera, a 50MP ultrawide, and a 50MP telephoto with 3.5x optical zoom.
The screen is designed to help with your sleep, thanks to a more natural transition between light and dark visuals than most phones, and it's certified circadian-friendly, while in our initial tests the camera zoom capabilities proved exceptional.
The Honor Magic 5 Pro will be sold sometime between April and June, and will cost €1,199 (around $1,270 / £1,050 / AU$1,900), though while it will probably land in the UK, we wouldn’t expect it in the US or Australia.
Honor Magic 5
The standard Honor Magic 5 is similar to the Magic 5 Pro in some ways but a slight step down. It has a 6.73-inch 1224 x 2688 OLED screen with a 120Hz refresh rate, a 5,100mAh battery with 66W charging, a Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 chipset, 8GB of RAM, 256GB of storage, a 54MP wide snapper, a 50MP ultrawide, and a 32MP telephoto with 2.5x optical zoom.
This one will set you back €899 (approximately $955 / £800 / AU$1,420), though as with the Pro model, it’s unlikely to be sold in the US or Australia. Look out for this in the UK between April and June though.
Honor Magic Vs
Honor has had a busy time at MWC, because the company also revealed new information about the Honor Magic Vs. This foldable phone had previously been unveiled, but now we know that it’s coming "soon" to global audiences and that it will cost €1,599 (around $1,700 / £1,405 / AU$2,525).
That’s the only new information really, but this could be a tempting alternative to the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 4; with highlights including a foldable 7.9-inch 1984 x 2272 OLED screen with a 90Hz refresh rate, a 6.45-inch 1080 x 2560 OLED cover screen with a 120Hz refresh rate, a triple-lens camera, and a big 5,000mAh battery that can charge at a speedy 66W.
Nokia G22
The Nokia G22 has an pretty unique selling point, in that it’s designed to be easy for users to repair for themselves.
It’s been manufactured in collaboration with global repair community iFixit, and if it needs repairs then you can purchase a G22 Fix Kit for £27.99 (around $33 / AU$49) from iFixit.
The kit has the necessary tools, but then on top of that you need the specific replacement parts that your phone requires. Those are also available for purchase though, and the repair process is intended to be simple for many issues.
As for the specs, the Nokia G22 has a 6.5-inch, 90Hz HD+ display, a Unisoc T606a chipset, a 50MP main camera, a 2MP macro snapper, a 2MP depth sensor, a 5,050mAh battery, 64GB or 128GB of storage, and 4GB of RAM.
As such, it’s a very basic phone for the most part, but it’s priced accordingly too, coming in at just £149.99 / AU$349 (around $180). It ships to the UK on March 8 and in Australia from early April.
Nokia C22 / Nokia C32
The Nokia C22 and Nokia C32 are even more basic than the G22, but they each boast a 5,000mAh battery with claims of up to three days of life.
Beyond that, both phones have a 6.5-inch 720 x 1600 screen and a Unisoc SC9863A chipset, but most of the other specs differ. With the C22 you get a 13MP main camera and a 2MP macro, plus a choice of 2GB or 3GB of RAM, paired with 64GB of storage.
The Nokia C32 instead has a 50MP main camera, a 2MP macro, 3GB or 4GB of RAM, and 64GB or 128GB of storage.
Both phones should be available in the UK within the next few months, and in Australia from mid-May for the C32 and sometime later this year for the C22, with the Nokia C22 starting at £110 (around $130 / AU$195) and the Nokia C32 starting at £130 / AU$249 (roughly $155). There's no word on US availability.
OnePlus 11 Concept
This is one phone you won’t be able to buy anywhere in the world, but OnePlus used MWC 2023 to show off a concept version of the OnePlus 11.
The OnePlus 11 Concept includes PC-style integrated liquid cooling, called Active CryoFlux, which can apparently lower the phone’s temperature while gaming by up to 2.1°C, and in the process improve the frame rate by 3-4 frames.
When charging, it can lower the temperature by 1.6°C, which speeds the charging process by 30-45 seconds. These aren’t drastic improvements then, but they’re still upgrades, and the clear back of the phone lets you see the Active CryoFlux pipelines in action, to striking effect.
OnePlus foldable
OnePlus also announced that it’s working on a foldable phone, though it hasn’t fully unveiled the handset yet. In fact, basically all it’s said is that this phone is landing in the second half of the year, and that it aims for this to be “at the pinnacle experience of today’s foldable market.”
So the OnePlus foldable could be a major rival to the likes of the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 5, which we’re also expecting this year.
Motorola Rizr rollable concept
No, that’s not a typo. Not to be confused with the Motorola Razr, this conceptual revival of the Motorola Rizr boasts a rollable screen, which at the double-press of a button can extend the display from 5-inches with a 15:9 aspect ratio to 6.5 inches with a 22:9 aspect ratio.
This isn’t the first rollable concept phone we’ve seen, but Motorola’s take has an interesting twist, in that when the screen isn’t extended, the extra part of the display is rolled onto the back, essentially giving you a small rear screen you can use as a camera viewfinder or for displaying notifications when the phone is face down.
Realme GT 3
The Realme GT 3 is the company’s latest flagship, and the main highlight of this phone is its remarkably fast 240W charging, which can juice it up from zero to full in just nine and a half minutes.
The battery in question is 4,600mAh, and the Realme GT 3 also has a respectable Snapdragon 8 Plus Gen 1 chipset, a 6.74-inch 1240 x 2772 AMOLED screen with a 144Hz refresh rate, and a triple-lens camera.
It’s going on sale across Europe in May or June, starting at $649 (around £545 / AU$965). Weirdly though, despite the US price being the only one we have so far, there’s no US release planned.
TCL 40 series / TCL 406
TCL announced four new phones at MWC 2023, specifically the TCL 40 X, TCL 40 XE, TCL 40 XL, and TCL 406.
The first three of those are headed for the US, and are all very basic phones, but the X and XE do manage to include 5G, along with 4GB of RAM and 64GB of storage.
The TCL 40 X additionally has a 50MP camera, a 90Hz screen, and a Dimensity 700 chipset, while the TCL 40 XE is a bit more lower-end. The TCL 40 XL lacks 5G, but has 128GB of storage and a big 5,000mAh battery.
It’s the cheapest of the three, coming in at $149 (roughly £125 / AU$220), while the TCL 40 XE costs $169 (approximately £140 / AU$250), and the TCL 40 X is $199 (around £165 / AU$295). The XL hits US stores in May, with the other two arriving in June.
That just leaves the TCL 406, which is coming to the UK and has a 6.6-inch screen, a 5,000mAh battery, dual stereo speakers, and a 13MP main camera along with a 2MP depth sensor.
So it’s another basic phone, and it should be landing in Europe imminently, with other regions to follow, priced at $120 (around £100 / AU$180).
Tecno Phantom V Fold
The Tecno Phantom V Fold is a vertically-foldable phone, as you probably guessed from the name. It has a 7.85-inch 2000 x 2296 foldable AMOLED screen with a 120Hz refresh rate, and a 6.42-inch 1080 x 2550 cover screen that’s also a 120Hz AMOLED display.
Other specs include a powerful MediaTek Dimensity 9000 Plus chipset, 12GB of RAM, up to 512GB of storage, a 5,000mAh battery with 45W charging, and a triple-lens camera; including a 50MP main sensor, a 13MP ultrawide, and a 50MP telephoto with 2x optical zoom.
It’s landing in India in Q2 (so between April and June), with other regions likely to follow. The Tecno Phantom V Fold will start at INR 89,999 (around $1,090 / £915 / AU$1,625).
Unihertz Luna
To say the Unihertz Luna was inspired by the Nothing Phone 1 would be an understatement, as with similar LEDs on the back, it looks almost identical – though in fairness the layout of those LEDs does differ. Those lights both give it an eye-catching look, and can alert you to notifications.
Beyond that, the Unihertz Luna has a 108MP main camera, a 2MP macro camera, and, interestingly, a 20MP 'night vision' camera.
The Luna also has a 5,000mAh battery, 8GB of RAM, 256GB of storage, a 6.81-inch screen, and a fairly low-end MediaTek Helio G99 chipset. It’s set to land in March, and will apparently cost “no more than $300” (around £250 / AU$445), so cheaper than the Phone 1, but without the hype or originality.
