Every year at Mobile World Congress we see cool new tech-on-the-go, and at MWC 2025 this includes a number of funky gadgets that stretch the meaning of the phrase "mobile tech."
MWC 2025 has its collection of weird phones, but they're generally variations on the standardized flat rectangle. Other gadgets are more free-form, and those we've seen at the show span a range of categories, from smart rings to street wear to, um, projectors that fit in your pocket.
Like the phones at the show, some of the more outlandish gadgets are concept devices meant to be proof-of-concept gadgets rather than prototypes ahead of later production. Some of these gadgets are coming soon, some might never reach store shelves, but they all push the industry to re-examine what's possible for the tech we carry and wear.
Here are our favorite gadgets and concepts from MWC 2025.
Here's the body of the Anker Solix concept jacket as it charges a phone.
Andrew Lanxon/CNETA solar-powered Jedi robe
Mobile-accessories company Anker has a host of conventional products, from battery packs to earbuds. But the company's solar and energy branch, Anker Solix, has something else at MWC: a jacket covered with solar cells that features a cable to charge your device as you wear the coat like some sort of techno-futurist Jedi.
Yes, the long strips of solar panels running down the sleeves and back of the jacket, along with the blue LED light ringing the hood, would make you look like a character straight out of Cyberpunk 2077. But who cares what anyone else thinks when you're charging your device from a 30-watt USB-C cable? Compared with us, you truly would be from the future.
And for my next trick...
Katie Collins/CNETLenovo's PC-controlling smart ring concept
We've seen a good amount of smart rings, like the Oura Ring 4 and Samsung Galaxy Ring, which mostly track health and fitness as support or even outright replacement for a smartwatch. Lenovo's concept AI smart ring is different. It lets users control a 3D laptop.
The concept ring works with Lenovo's ThinkBook 3D laptop (also currently a concept device), which has a directional 3D backlight that allows 2D and 3D content to appear simultaneously on the screen. You can manipulate that content with Lenovo's concept AI smart ring through a series of controls: Double tap it with your thumb to go forward, single tap to go back, or swipe to navigate around. The ring even detects motion when it isn't tapped, like touching your thumb and forefinger (similar to the Apple Watch Ultra 2's Double Tap feature).
At MWC 2025, CNET's Katie Collins was able to control a 3D model of a T. rex using the ring, a cool demonstration of the power accessories have when linked with nearby laptops -- though with both being concept devices, we'll have to wait and see when the technology makes it into market-ready products.
The movie theater's in your pocket.
Tara Brown/CNETA foldable projector that fits in your pocket
Tired of your small phone screen? Have a blank wall handy? You could be enjoying movies, TV shows and games using the Aurzen Zip Projector, a pocketable projector that's only a bit larger than clamshell foldable phones like the Galaxy Z Flip 6 or Motorola Razr. It's even got a pair of 1-watt speakers.
At 3 inches on each side and an inch thick, the Zip Projector is compact, weighing about as much as an iPhone 16 Pro Max (around 227 grams). When folded up, it looks like an old Nintendo DS, and it unfolds on two hinges to angle its lens wherever you point, projecting content through an HDMI dongle and creating a picture up to 80 inches wide. Though its maximum 720-pixel resolution might look a little fuzzy at full size, Aurzen hopes to bump it up to 1080p in its next version.
HMD's earbuds offer reverse charging.
Katie Collins/CNETHMD's earbuds case can charge your phone
HMD showed off its Amped Earbuds, which weren't too special aside from some futuristic design. But their case, a palm-size metal-wrapped wedge, takes the cake: It doubles as a 16,000-mAh battery that can reverse wireless charge your phone. For comparison's sake, that capacity could fully recharge your standard iPhone 16 about three times. Neat and practical, assuming you have the space for the most oversize earbuds case you'll ever see.
Samsung's Project Moohan headset shows up again.
Tara Brown/CNETProject Moohan, Google and Samsung's XR headset running Gemini
Google and Samsung's long-teased high-end XR headset was revealed last December, and now it's being shown off to the public. Code-named Project Moohan, the VR and AR headset runs the Android XR operating system and supports standard Google Play apps as well as Google Gemini. We still don't have more specs info, let alone a price or release date, but Google and Samsung do seem comfortable enough with their new headset to take it on tour and give the public a look for the very first time.
For more products and gadgets from MWC, check out our Mobile World Congress live blog.
Watch this: Lenovo Surprised Us at MWC 2025 With Wild Concept Devices
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