Robots, Smart Glasses, and AI Pets Take Center Stage at Mobile World Congress (MWC 2025)

The Mobile World Congress (MWC) 2025 is dominated by artificial intelligence (AI), with leading companies from various sectors (smartphones, chips, and telecommunications) expanding their AI presence. Startups have also introduced AI-driven robots, smart glasses, and companion toys.

Honor CEO Li Jian made his first public appearance at MWC 2025, unveiling the company’s Alpha Strategy, signaling a transition from a smartphone manufacturer to an AI ecosystem company. This strategy unfolds in three phases:

1. Developing a truly intelligent smartphone in collaboration with partners.
2. Expanding AI applications beyond smartphones to create a broader AI ecosystem.
3. Advancing towards Artificial General Intelligence (AGI).

To support this transformation, Honor pledged a $10 billion investment over five years in AI ecosystem development. The company also introduced AI facial recognition technology for its flagship smartphones and launched Honor Earbuds Open and Honor Watch 5 Ultra, set for release in Q2 2025.

Meizu’s Mblu 21, Note 21, and Note 21 Pro were showcased alongside Flyme OS-powered overseas models expected to launch in April 2025 across Asia-Pacific, Latin America, the Middle East, and Europe.

Smart glasses also drew attention, with StarV Air2 gaining interest for its real-time translation and teleprompter functions.

Lenovo presented the first outward-folding laptop, ThinkBook Flip AI PC, and the ultra-thin YOGA Solar Laptop, capable of running for an hour after just 20 minutes of sunlight exposure. The company also launched its first AI inference server, ThinkEdge SE100.

ZTE highlighted its “AI for All” strategy, integrating AI into smartphones via its Nebula AI OS, incorporating models such as Google Gemini, ByteDance Doubao, and DeepSeek. Its flagship nubia Z70 Ultra now features DeepSeek-R1, a high-parameter AI model.

Huawei’s Senior VP Chen Lei identified key AI trends at MWC 2025:

1. Growing industry enthusiasm for AI, with discussions shifting toward AGI acceleration.
2. The rise of AI Agents as a crucial step toward AGI.
3. Lowering barriers to AI adoption, with a focus on efficiency over raw computing power.

ZTE showcased AI computing infrastructure, including liquid-cooled data centers and high-speed AI servers.

Chinese startup DataCanvas introduced compute power packages, using a unit called DCU (1 DCU = 312 TFLOPS*H), enabling consumption-based AI resource pricing. The company has deployed AI computing centers across China and is expanding into Southeast Asia, the Middle East, and Europe.

Intel unveiled its Xeon 6 processors, which offer 2.4x RAN capacity improvement and 70% better per-watt performance. The integrated AI accelerator enhances AI RAN performance by 3.2 times.

Robotics and AI Pets Steal the Show

Unitree Robotics demonstrated quadruped robots and humanoid robots powered by ZTE’s AI models, capable of multilingual interactions and task execution.

Alibaba Cloud partnered with Elephant Robotics to launch AI-powered companion toys, featuring various cartoon characters with unique personalities.

Robopoet introduced Fuzzoo, a pocket-sized AI plush pet designed for Gen Z women. It features a Multimodal Emotion Model (MEM) to offer personalized companionship. Fuzzoo will launch on Kickstarter in May 2025, with simultaneous pre-orders in China, supporting Chinese and English.

BleeqUp’s AI glasses, designed for cyclists, provide music playback, video recording, and real-time ride analytics. Set for mass production in May 2025, they are expected to retail at $499.

MWC 2025 underscores AI’s growing influence, from enhancing smartphones to redefining robotics, smart devices, and AI-powered personal assistants. The industry’s focus is shifting from computational power expansion to optimized AI efficiency, making AI more accessible across sectors.

Source: CLS