Chinese Tech Firms Showcase Backflipping Robots, 360-Degree Camera Phones at MWC 2026

BARCELONA — A human-sized robot executed a back tumbling move before landing gracefully on its hands. This humanoid robot was unveiled by Chinese company Honor on March 1 (local time), one day before the opening of Mobile World Congress (MWC) 2026 in Barcelona, Spain. On the opening day, March 2, the robot performed advanced moves including the moonwalk to upbeat music at the company's booth.

Honor declared last year at MWC that it would invest $10 billion (approximately 14 trillion won) in new business areas including physical artificial intelligence. At this year's event, the company demonstrated its technological progress by showcasing a robot phone capable of 360-degree rotating photography and a humanoid that replicates human-like movements. Since spinning off from Huawei in 2020, Honor appears intent on expanding its business portfolio beyond smartphones into robotics. Visitors at the venue could not hide their amazement, saying, "Imagination is becoming reality."

This year's MWC theme is "The IQ Era," signifying the drive to lead intelligence across industries by combining next-generation networks with AI. Participating companies unveiled technologies integrating mobile communication infrastructure with humanoid robots and wearable devices.

Chinese companies had a particularly prominent presence. Honor's robot phone automatically recognizes subjects and rotates up to 360 degrees while filming. It responds to conversations with an AI assistant by adjusting movements and gaze accordingly. China Mobile demonstrated a "robot restaurant" concept where robots prepared food.

At the China Telecom booth, a humanoid robot from Chinese company Agibot completed calligraphy of the Chinese character "福" (fortune) in just 30 seconds, displaying delicate hand control with each stroke. Agibot, which has shipped 5,000 units over three years, is accelerating its market presence by expanding partnerships with Chinese telecommunications companies. These demonstrations illustrate how networks are becoming central to robot operations. From opening day, European IT professionals crowded Chinese company booths, keeping staff busy with continuous technical explanations.

The large-scale participation by Chinese IT companies is interpreted as a strategic move to establish Europe as a key foothold. According to the Korea Information and Communications Technology Industry Association (KICTA), 350 Chinese companies participated in this year's MWC, up 21.5% from 288 last year. This ranks third after Spain (750 companies) and the United States (443 companies). Industry analysts suggest China is positioning Europe as a key forward base for showcasing advanced technology amid the US-China tech rivalry. An IT industry official said, "Chinese companies facing restrictions at the US CES have focused their full efforts on this MWC."

Xiaomi's European localization strategy also drew attention. The company reinforced its premium image by unveiling a new smartphone co-developed with German luxury camera brand Leica. It also revealed an electric hypercar in concept car form, developed in collaboration with the racing game Gran Turismo, signaling its ambitions in the European electric vehicle market.

This year's MWC is expected to draw more than 2,900 companies and approximately 110,000 visitors. An executive from a Korean telecommunications company said, "If robots felt somewhat mannequin-like last year, their movements have become much more sophisticated this year. The pace of Chinese technological advancement felt particularly threatening."

Korean companies are responding with their own AI technologies. LG Uplus unveiled a robot equipped with an evolved version of its AI agent "ixi-O." This robot understands conversational context and acts autonomously without explicit instructions. In a live demonstration, the robot recognized its owner's travel-related phone call and began packing luggage on its own.

KT presented its "Physical AI" strategy connecting robots, equipment, and IT systems into a single intelligent ecosystem, along with K-RaaS (KT Robot as a Service), a robot platform that can monitor and manage robots and equipment from various manufacturers in real time. Samsung Electronics unveiled a next-generation production environment featuring AI-based autonomous manufacturing. The system understands production sites in real time and autonomously optimizes processes.