Apple's huge week of updates matched by mid-range smartphone announcements

For years, the Mobile World Congress show in Barcelona has been the annual hotbed of smartphone and mobile network announcements.

But MWC 2025 has felt quiet compared to previous years. We had a handful of bigger announcements, like Samsung's Galaxy A series and HMD's teenager phone, plus the arrival of the Nothing Phone (3a).

But there just hasn't been that same level of excitement this year.

Last year we had the first real viewing of the Galaxy Ring, and the Barbie phone, and OPPO's fashionable augmented reality glasses.

This year, I just haven't seen the same level of innovation or excitement. I hope it's just a quiet year, rather than an indication that the entire industry is bereft of ideas that don't somehow encompass AI. Time will tell.

Meanwhile, Apple has had a big week of updates, adding newer processors to its "Air" lineup of iPads and MacBooks. What's most exciting by these announcements is that Apple has actually dropped the starting price on a few models.

It feels like the cost of everything is rising rapidly and relentlessly, so to see newer products launching at $100 less than last year's models is a really positive sign that not everything is terrible.

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