Huawei Mate X and others win big at TechRadar's MWC 2019 awards

Image Credit: TechRadar

Foldable, 5G and phones that can unlock using your veins - MWC 2019 has been a show full of innovation, whether it's good or bad.

We've been front and center at all the big press conferences, pushing our way through the crowds to try out the gadgets and exploring the show to ensure we've told you about everything that matters.

Now we've put together our collective heads to vote for our TechRadar MWC 2019 Awards where we congratulate the manufacturers of the most exciting gadgets and innovations we've seen unveiled at the show.

From our brief time with these products, we can safely say they are the most exciting devices at arguably the most important show at setting the mobile agenda for the rest of 2019.

The award winners

Below you'll find our top six awards we've given out to manufacturers at the show, with each winner a worthy recipient that showcases the very best, and most innovative, tech at MWC 2019.

Huawei Mate X 

Image Credit: TechRadar

Image Credit: TechRadar

You thought the Samsung Galaxy Fold was the only foldable phone you'd hear about this month? Think again – the Huawei Mate X is our favorite gadget we've seen at MWC 2019, and it looks like it could be a gamechanger.

Sure, it's set to be very expensive, but you'll always have to pay lots to be one of the first to try innovations of this level. When unfolded, the Huawei Mate X offers an 8-inch display with a resolution of 2200 x 2480 pixels.

Xiaomi Mi 9

Image Credit: Xiaomi

Image Credit: Xiaomi (Image credit: Xiaomi)

Nowhere near as innovative as the Huawei Mate X, the Xiaomi Mi 9 takes our next  award for its truly amazing value for money. It features the latest Qualcomm Snapdragon 855 chipset with 8GB of RAM, and the 64GB version is set to only cost €449 (about $500, £390, AU$715) SIM free.

It's unlikely you'll see the Xiaomi Mi 9 hogging any headlines, but with a 6.4-inch Full HD display and a powerful triple rear camera with one of the most impressive megapixel counts we've seen on any phone, you're sure to consider the Mi 9 great value.

Nokia 9 PureView

Image Credit: TechRadar

Image Credit: TechRadar

Remember when placing two cameras on the rear of your phone was a novelty? Nokia has taken it three steps further and placed five shooters on the back of the Nokia 9 PureView.

The rear of the phone may look like something from War of the Worlds, but our early thoughts on the photo quality have been positive. There's two color lenses paired with three monochrome ones, and each sport spec of 12MP, f1.8 aperture and the benefits of Zeiss optics.

Sony Xperia 1 

Image Credit: TechRadar 

Image Credit: TechRadar 

Watch a lot of video on your phone? Sony wants you to go for its upcoming Sony Xperia 1, which may feature one of the best displays we've ever seen on a smartphone.

It's a 4K HDR OLED panel – a first for any phone – and it comes in a 21:9 aspect ratio, which makes the phone taller than others on the market. 

The idea here is that'll be a better aspect ratio when you're watching films in landscape. Not everything will appear in that ratio on your phone, but if you watch a lot of movies on Netflix it may be perfect for you.

Microsoft HoloLens 2 

 Image Credit: Microsoft 

 Image Credit: Microsoft  (Image credit: Microsoft)

HoloLens isn't the augmented reality innovation some originally anticipated it to be, but Microsoft has evolved the concept into a genuinely useful tool for businesses around the world.

The HoloLens 2 has double the field of vision of the first-gen device as well as a more comfortable design, but the true innovation comes from the company's software upgrades that may make this the leading tool in the enterprise augmented reality field.

Huawei Matebook X Pro

Image Credit: TechRadar

Image Credit: TechRadar

If you own a Huawei Matebook X Pro already, it's unlikely you'll be desperate to upgrade to this recently-unveiled version, but it looks like Huawei has improved on most aspects of its excellent Matebook X Pro laptop for the 2019 version.

This new and improved version of the laptop includes a way to easily connect your phone to your laptop with just a tap well as some big steps forward in terms of internal power.

Highly Commended

The below missed out on our best in show awards, but we still wanted to highlight them so we've picked six Highly Commended devices in our 2019 MWC awards.

Image

Western Digital 1TB microSD 

The Western Digital 1TB microSD card won't be much use for your current phone (plus, it's very expensive) but it does mark a major innovation for the phone market and a step forward to bringing even more storage to your phone.

What we know so far about <a href="https://www.techradar.com/news/1tb-microsd-cards-will-boost-the-storage-of-your-device-if-you-can-afford-it" data-link-merchant="techradar.com"">1TB microSD cards

Image

Energizer Power Max P18K Pop

How big is the battery inside your phone? We can confidently say it won't be anywhere near the size of this beast inside the Energizer Power Max P18K Pop. It's not just about the 18,000mAh battery inside though as it also features dual front-facing pop-up cameras.

Read our <a href="https://www.techradar.com/uk/reviews/energizer-power-max-18k-pop" data-link-merchant="techradar.com"">Energizer Power Max P18K Pop hands-on review

Image

LG DualScreen 

This is an add-on for the <a href="https://www.techradar.com/reviews/lg-v50-thinq" data-link-merchant="techradar.com"">LG V50 that allows you to extend your display in an attempt to keep pace with foldable phones. It gives you an additional 6.2-inch Full HD screen on top of what your phone already offers.

Read our <a href="https://www.techradar.com/news/lg-dualscreen-first-look-at-lgs-alternative-to-foldable-phones" data-link-merchant="techradar.com"" data-link-merchant="techradar.com"">LG DualScreen first look

Image

Samsung Galaxy A50

This isn't the <a href="https://www.techradar.com/reviews/samsung-galaxy-s10" data-link-merchant="techradar.com"">Samsung Galaxy S10, but the A50 sits at the top of the mid-range and offers an in-display fingerprint scanner as well as a huge 6.4-inch display.

Read our hands on <a href="https://www.techradar.com/reviews/samsung-galaxy-a50" data-link-merchant="techradar.com"" data-link-merchant="techradar.com"">Samsung Galaxy A50 review

Image

Nubia Alpha 

Possibly the oddest device we've seen at MWC 2019, the Nubia Alpha is a "wearable smartphone" according to the manufacturer. The idea here is you'll have a watch that doubles as your phone, and this innovation may mark a big change in the way we use our phones.

Read our hands on <a href="https://www.techradar.com/reviews/nubia-alpha" data-link-merchant="techradar.com"">Nubia Alpha review

Image

Sony Xperia 10  

Our final Highly Commended award goes to another Sony phone released at MWC. If you liked the idea of having a 21:9 aspect ratio display, you'll get that here but the phone is much, much cheaper than the Sony Xperia 1.

Read our hands on <a href="https://www.techradar.com/reviews/sony-xperia-10" data-link-merchant="techradar.com"">Sony Xperia 10 review

MWC (Mobile World Congress) is the world's largest showcase for the mobile industry, stuffed full of the newest phones, tablets, wearables and more. TechRadar is reporting live from Barcelona all week to bring you the very latest from the show floor. Head to our dedicated MWC 2019 hub to see all the new releases, along with TechRadar's world-class analysis and buying advice about your next phone.    

James Peckham

James is Managing Editor for Android Police. Previously, he was Senior Phones Editor for TechRadar, and he has covered smartphones and the mobile space for the best part of a decade bringing you news on all the big announcements from top manufacturers making mobile phones and other portable gadgets. James is often testing out and reviewing the latest and greatest mobile phones, smartwatches, tablets, virtual reality headsets, fitness trackers and more. He once fell over.