We’ve come to the end of Mobile World Congress 2022, which, despite the pandemic and a war in Europe, went on as planned. While it’s typically a show full of phone launches from companies like Sony, Huawei, TCL, Xiaomi, Oppo and more, this year there were surprisingly few of those. Instead, we saw lots of laptops and tablets, as well as some foldable concepts. Plus, with major players like Sony choosing to sit out the event, MWC 2022 was generally quieter than years past. Still, if you feel like you’ve missed out on the news from the show, here’s a recap of everything interesting out of the convention this week.

Oppo kicked things off early, unveiling one of the few phones announced at the show: the Find X5 Pro. It’s a beautiful device with a ceramic body and a pair of 50-megapixel cameras using Hasselblad-infused software. In addition to Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 chip, the Find X5 Pro also carries the company’s own Marisilicon neural processor for faster processing when you’re recording content in high-res or low light. Like many phones unveiled at MWC, the Find X5 Pro’s availability in the US is unconfirmed, so don’t get too excited if you’re based in America.

Meanwhile, there was so much Huawei news out of PR Newswire’s daily MWC recaps that this year’s event should really be called the Huawei Show 2022. In addition to big speeches about global strategies and 5G, the company unveiled a new MateBook laptop, a MateStation all-in-one PC, a PixLab laser printer, new speakers and a tablet called the MatePad Paper.

The most intriguing of these is the MatePad Paper, a 10.3-inch e-ink tablet with some particularly thin bezels. Its texturized paper-like screen is easy to read in both sunlight and lowlight, and displays not only text and still images, but videos as well. It also works with Huawei’s M-Pencil so you can write on it, and the company’s custom software allows you to simultaneously read and write in a split-screen view. An onboard mic lets you record audio while taking notes, while a fingerprint sensor in the power button enables convenient logins.

Huawei

On standby, Huawei says the MatePad Paper can last up to four weeks. It’ll be available in Europe for 499 Euros and that price includes an M-Pencil. Honestly this might be the most modern e-ink device yet, and I’m quite taken by the sky blue and khaki color options.

Of course, Huawei continues to battle US restrictions that keep it from selling its devices stateside. This is likely part of the reason former Huawei sub-brand Honor left its parent company in 2020. At MWC this year, Honor debuted the Magic 4 series — a pair of flagship-level phones meant to contend with Samsung’s Galaxy S22s. They have triple rear cameras with 50-megapixel primary sensors, 120Hz LTPO screens and are equipped with Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 chips. But all the specs comparisons might be moot, because despite promises of a global rollout, last year’s Magic 3 never made it outside of China. For now Honor has shared initial European prices on its newly announced devices, which include new earbuds and a smartwatch, but US availability remains unknown.

Though Samsung already unveiled the Galaxy S22s and Tab S8 tablets, it still had products to show off in Barcelona — namely, a new line of laptops. The new Galaxy Book 2 series iterates on last year’s models with a trio of configurations, which include a pair of convertibles and a clamshell. All three flavors are available in 13- and 15-inch sizes, with upgraded webcams and 12th-gen Intel Core processors.

As with previous Samsung laptops, these also feature beautiful AMOLED displays and are impressively thin and light. The Book 2 Pro 360 and the Book 2 360 both support the S Pen, though only the former comes with the stylus in the box. I’ve been a fan of Samsung’s PCs for awhile, and though this year’s generation doesn’t seem to bring major improvements, I’m still curious to see how they stack up against the competition. Plus, Samsung added a burgundy color option that has me kind of mesmerized.

Cherlynn Low / Engadget

Lenovo rolled into MWC 2022 the way it usually does most other shows: armed to the teeth with laptops. This week, the company unveiled about 20 new devices, including the ThinkPad X1 Extreme 5th gen and four other ThinkPads and ThinkBooks; two new sets of IdeaPad Gaming laptops and a pair of IdeaPad Flex mainstream notebooks; three Chromebooks, a Windows 11 detachable and an Android tablet. Oh, and not to mention a new USB-C monitor and a wireless gaming mouse.

I didn’t even include the new ThinkPad X13s, which is the first ThinkPad powered by a Snapdragon chip. It’s also the first in the series to run Windows 11 on ARM, and the company says it’s the first time the Snapdragon 8cx Gen 3 has been used in a commercial device. The biggest draw here is the estimated 28-hour battery life, in addition to support for sub-6 and mmWave 5G and WiFi 6E. Sure, Windows on ARM has struggled to appeal to a mainstream audience, but with more OEM support and increasing app compatibility, 2022 could be the year Microsoft and its partners turn things around.

One of the best things about events like MWC is seeing the wilder concepts some companies showcase alongside their more traditional products. For the last few years, TCL has teased us with various concept devices at these shows, and this time around, it brought us the “Ultra Flex.” This is a prototype foldable phone that can bend both inward and outward — meaning its hinge and screen have to be extremely durable and carefully designed. The idea is intriguing, but in reality we never saw the display turn on during a demo session ahead of MWC. We did get to see the company’s “Fold n’ Roll” prototype that it announced last April, though, and while it had a technically “working” screen, it was still incredibly janky.

Cherlynn Low / Engadget

TCL didn’t just show us experimental products it doesn’t intend to sell. The company also launched five new phones in its 30-series, as well as two new tablets, including the NXTPAPER Max 10. That’s a bigger version of last year’s 8.8-inch slate with a reflective LCD screen that enables a full-color paper-like display.

There’s still more news from MWC 2022 that might pique your interest, like Qualcomm’s new X70 5G modem and former Xiaomi sub-brand Poco’s new X4 Pro 5G phone with a 108-megapixel camera. OnePlus also confirmed that the OnePlus 10 Pro is headed to the US, Europe and India this month.

Of course, since this is a mobile show, we learned about new developments in 5G. Specifically, FCC chairperson Jessica Rosenworcel announced that the US will hold an auction in July for 2.5GHz mid-band spectrum. Finally, we also couldn’t escape everyone’s favorite buzzwords: NFTs and the metaverse. FC Barcelona president Joan Laporta said in a keynote that there’s been “a lot of attention [on] blockchain products and services such as NFTs and metaverse.” During the same speech, he said the football club “should be able to offer digital products” to its members and fans that will “generate a very interesting emotional experience.”

Although we couldn’t be on the ground in Barcelona, team Engadget was still able to check out many of these new products first-hand at various preview events. Check out our hands-on videos and reports to get all the details.

Catch up on all of the news from MWC 2022 right here!

Apple made a bunch of improvements to its latest AirPods last year, and now you can grab a pair for $35 less than usual. Woot has the third-generation AirPods for $145 right now, which is 19 percent off and close to their record low. The sale will last for 12 days or until sold out, and we expect them to sell out at this price fairly quickly. While anyone can get this deal, Amazon Prime members can get free shipping, too.

These buds mark the first true departure from the original AirPods design since the earbuds first came out. While the AirPods Pro have the best fit out of all of Apple's wireless earbuds, the third-gen AirPods are a big improvement from their predecessors. They have a new contoured design and a shorter stem, both of which help make the buds more comfortable and aid in sound quality. They're also IPX4-rated, so they should be able to withstand sweaty workouts and a quick, accidental splash.

The latest AirPods sound much better than the previous models thanks in part to a new custom driver and a high-dynamic-range amplifier. They work together to produce rich bass and crisp, clean sound overall. You won't find ANC on these buds, but they do have Adaptive EQ, spatial audio and dynamic head tracking.

The H1 chip inside of the buds helps power those features, along with hands-free Siri access and quick pairing. If you use a lot of Apple products the quick pairing and switching feature will come in handy, as it allows you to seamlessly go from listening to music on your Mac to taking a call from your iPhone. As far as battery life goes, you should get up to six hours with the buds and up to a total of 30 hours when using their charging case to power up in between sessions. As usual, be sure to check out Woot's return policy before deciding if you want to pick these up during this sale.

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As the Switch reaches five years old, are its best times behind it? No, the opposite. This year is shaping up to be the biggest for Nintendo’s hybrid hit. Yes, I mean even bigger than its debut year, which gave us Super Mario Odyssey, Zelda: Breath of the Wild, Xenoblade Chronicles 2, Mario + Rabbids and Splatoon 2.

So far, we’ve seen Pokémon Legends: Arceus in January, but that’s just the start of the Pokémon hype train on Switch. Nintendo also announced that a new generation of mainline Pokémon games, Violet and Scarlet, is coming to the console in “Late 2022.” 

The Pokemon Company

There aren’t many details, but we’re being promised an open-world adventure, which could mean a new Pokémon game that balances the traditional franchise parts of Sword and Shield with some of the more interesting choices made in Arceus. Also, weed cat.

A fresh Pokémon generation rounds off a lineup of major games (both from Nintendo and its partners) that makes 2022 a year packed with hugely anticipated titles. It starts now: Kirby and the Forgotten Land launches in a few weeks on March 25th.

The big one, Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild 2, is still set for a 2022 release, according to Nintendo. An outright sequel is a surprise for the Zelda series and will be set in the same open world of the original. Judging from the teaser trailers so far, the game appears to expand gameplay to the skies above Hyrule, with Link plummeting from the sky in one of the latest teaser trailers. (Something he’s done before in Skyward Sword – also now available on Switch.)

There are more sequels to games that set the tone at launch too. Splatoon 3 is coming this summer, offering more of the same family-friendly multiplayer inky shooter fun. There’s also Mario + Rabbids: Sparks of Hope – a sequel to Mario + Rabbids – a game that shouldn’t have worked, but did. It combined the Mushroom Kingdom and Mario with Ubisoft’s (pretty annoying) Rabbids and wrapped the whole proposition in surprisingly tight XCOM turn-based strategy gameplay. Sparks of Hope is likely to give us more of the same, but with extra characters, weapons and whatever else happens when two franchises clash.

The longest-running wait for a sequel has to be the Switch-exclusive Bayonetta 3. It was first announced back in 2017. Then we heard nothing. Then we complained after E3. Then a month later, a Nintendo Direct broadcast confirmed that Bayonetta 3 did indeed still exist and will be released in 2022. It offers a more mature flavor of action for the console, something that Nintendo hardware has often missed out on in the past.

Beyond the Nintendo mainstays and highly anticipated sequels, there’s more to get excited about, too. I’m a huge Advance Wars fan, and I’m still waiting on Advance Wars 1+2: Re-Boot Camp to arrive this April. No Man’s Sky is also, somehow, being crammed into the Switch, while an Oxenfree sequel, Xenoblade Chronicles 3, Nintendo Switch Sports, a new Mario Strikers title, Fall Guys and, I hope at least, Hollow Knight: Silksong ensure there should be something for everyone, along with the inevitable Zelda sequel purchase.

Pessimists will argue that Nintendo has a reputation for pushing back its promised release dates and, well, that’s happened a few times. Nintendo, like many companies, faced production delays during these ‘unprecedented times’, but in its latest financial reports, both the Zelda sequel and Bayonetta 3 are still listed as “primary” launch titles for the Switch this year.

Just… forget about Metroid Prime 4 for this year. Your guess is as good as mine.

If you've been looking for a solid deal on a smart display, it's worth considering the Google Nest Hub Max. It's on sale for $169, which is $60 less than the regular price, at both Adorama and B&H. We saw it dip to the same price in a one-day sale on Adorama in January.

The Nest Hub Max has a 10-inch HD display on which you can stream shows and movies from the likes of YouTube and Netflix, control your smart home gear and take video calls. Google Assistant is baked in, of course, and the device has stereo speakers.

The built-in camera supports a feature called Face Match. The smart display can recognize who's using it and tailor information such as messages and calendar alerts to that person. It can also act as a Nest Cam, allowing you to monitor what's happening in your home while you're away or keep an eye on family members in another room.

There are some gesture controls as well, which allow you to play and pause media. Those who keep the Hub Max next to their bed can also snooze alarms and dismiss timers without having to groggily find the right prompt on the display.

We gave the Nest Hub Max a score of 86 in our review in 2019. Although we took issue with a couple of aspects, such as gestures not always working properly, we lauded it for the great screen, solid sound quality and fair price. The latter is an even better selling point for the time being.

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Apple's tougher stance on Russia following the invasion of Ukraine now includes a reversal of its policy on Crimea. Mashablenoticed that Apple Maps once again shows Crimea as belonging to Ukraine, at least for people outside of Russia. The company previously tried to strike a middle ground when it showed the region as belonging to no one, and in 2019 conceded to Russian pressure by showing Crimea as Russian territory when viewed within that country.

It's not clear when Apple made the change, or whether Maps still includes concessions for Russian users. We've asked Apple for comment.

Russia forcefully annexed Crimea in 2014, prompting widespread international condemnation and penalties. Many countries still refuse to recognize Russia's control of the area, and other technology firms have tried to negotiate the issue in different ways. Google Maps, for instance, continued to display Crimea as belonging to no nation.

The decision comes just days after Apple halted sales in Russia and clamped down on content in the country by limiting Apple Pay and removing the apps for state-backed Russian media outlets RT and Sputnik. The company is no longer willing to be as conciliatory as it once was, even if it means losing business.

Disney has announced an ad-supported tier is coming to Disney+ later this year. It will be available to folks in the US at first and there are plans to expand it to other countries starting in 2023.

The company hasn't revealed pricing for the new tier, though it'll cost less than the current ad-free plan. That costs $8 per month in the US. Nor did Disney say in its press release exactly when the ad-supported version of the service will be available.

Disney believes the move will help it reach its target of having between 230 million and 260 million Disney+ subscribers by the end of its 2024 fiscal year. As of the end of 2021, the streaming service had 129.8 million subscribers, a third of whom are in the US and Canada.

Hulu, which Disney took full control of in 2019, has long offered an ad-supported tier. The ad-free tier was introduced in 2015.

Apple isn't the only tech behemoth pulling its products from the Russian market in response to the invasion of Ukraine. Microsoft is 'suspending' all new sales of products and services in Russia, and is halting "many aspects" of its business in the country to honor US, UK and EU sanctions. The move comes days after Microsoft restricted Russian state media across its platforms, and after Ukraine's Vice Prime Minister called on the company to block Russian Xbox accounts.

Microsoft saw the withdrawal as virtually necessary. "Concrete steps" like this would have the most impact, according to company president Brad Smith, and there will be "additional steps" as the Ukraine situation develops. The Windows creator was unambiguous in its criticism of Russia, calling the invasion "unjustified, unprovoked and unlawful" and pointing out its efforts to identify and counter Russian cyberattacks against Ukraine.

The initiative could have a significant impact on Russian use of technology. Microsoft products play important roles for computing in Russia like they do in many countries, including Windows, Office and services like Microsoft 365 or Azure. While existing users might not lose access, this could pose problems for anyone needing to buy a new product or renew a subscription. We've asked Microsoft how this might impact Russian PC vendors — they'll need licenses if they intend to sell Windows-based computers.

Whatever the exact damage, the sales freeze follows a string of crackdowns at tech companies like Google, Meta, Reddit and Twitter. Russia won't necessarily bend in response to these actions, but there's clearly concerted pressure on the country to act.

This might be a good time to buy an e-reader and foster your child's love of reading. Amazon is selling the Kindle Paperwhite Kids for $110 as part of a one-day-only sale, or a full $50 below the usual price. The standard Kindle Kids is also on sale for today at $60 with a similar $50 discount. With both models you'll get a two-year "worry-free guarantee," a child-appropriate cover and a year-long Kids+ subscription with access to thousands of books.

Both Kindle devices should work well if you're looking for the essentials. They offer a eye-friendly reading experience that will eliminate the distractions of tablets, and their weeks of battery life will spare you from having to plug them in very often. The extras from the Kids versions might also help you save money — particularly a costly replacement if there's an accident.

Of the two, the Kindle Paperwhite Kids is arguably the better value. There's a larger (and sharper) screen with more LED lights, a waterproof design, an adjustable warm light and a considerably longer 10-week battery life versus the base Kindle's four. It should be easier to read at any time of the day, and you won't have to worry if your little one gets it wet. To put it another way, you can focus more on improving your child's literacy skills instead of managing their gadgets.

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The Audi Avant RS6 wagon is quick, it handles magnificently and it’s a powerful wagon – it’s an enthusiast's dream car. The RS E-Tron GT is an EV sports sedan that stays true to the automaker’s performance lineage. Audi offered both vehicles up for a day of performance ice driving and the big takeaway (besides that I need to work on drifting around corners) was that an EV makes for a more stable ride on ice.

Both vehicles have all-wheel drive systems but where the RS6 Avant is mechanical with a locking rear differential, the E-Tron GT is powered by two electric motors, one at each axle. The wheel control of those motors can’t be replicated by the mechanical system and the extra heft of the battery made for a drive experience that was equal parts exciting and also eye-opening. Watch the video above for the full story.

If you missed the sale last month on the Nest Thermostat, you have another chance to grab the smart home gadget for even less now. Amazon has the snow colored WiFi thermostat for $93, or 29 percent off its normal price. This isn't an all-time low — the device briefly dropped to $80 during Black Friday weekend last year — but this is the best price we've seen since then.

Google debuted the Nest Thermostat in 2020 as an affordable alternative to the Nest Learning Thermostat. You'll notice a big difference in the design of the two gadgets: the Nest Thermostat is slimmer than its Learning counterpart and has a mirrored display, along with a touch-sensitive bezel that you can use to manually adjust temperature settings. You could shell out more money for the higher-quality display and better materials in the Learning Thermostat, but ultimately both gadgets are designed to do the same thing: help you save money on energy costs.

The Nest Thermostat is Energy Star-certified and uses a feature called Savings Finder to learn about your home system and suggest ways to conserve energy. Using the Google Home app, you can create schedules for your home that optimize energy usage, like turning the temperature down when you're out of the house and turning it up when you come back. The app also lets you remotely control your home's environment, making it easy to adjust temperatures when you're away. And you can use Google Assistant or Amazon Alexa voice commands to adjust settings when you're home, too. An IoT gadget like this is a good one to build your smart home ecosystem around if you're new to the space, and a good one to add to an existing system if you already use a lot of Google devices.

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