Android Police is back in Barcelona for MWC 2022 and we've had a chance to go beyond the press releases, peruse the booths, and talk to some polite people in dresses and suits about their latest phones, tablets, laptops, smartwatches, earbuds, and more. The pool of developments is admittedly a bit shallow this year compared to others, but even as such, there are still standouts that arouse intrigue and make lasting impressions. So, between this writer and our Europe Editor Manuel Vonau, we've picked out our "Best of MWC." Shall we compare our list with yours, then?

Our criteria for consideration include anything announced in the immediate period prior or during the convention. They span across product and technology categories, so you'll see some variety in here. Specs and over-the-top performance aren't everything in life, and at an international show like this one, we don't even pay too much mind to immediate availability in the US.

Without further ado...

Honor Magic4 / Magic4 Pro

Full disclosure: Part of our coverage was made possible by Honor, which ran a junket for travel, room, and board. But when we talk about major flagship phones at MWC, there were really only two contenders here: the Oppo Find X5 Pro and the Honor Magic4 Pro.

While the Find has a few advantages in the components department, Honor is coming from an underdog position after spending months languishing in Huawei's portfolio thanks to its conclusion on the Entity List. Now under the ownership of a cobbled-together public-private conglomerate and with Google's Play Store apps back in hand, it's gone with a more aggressive flagship strategy with more memory configurations than what Oppo offers and an even footing for both its "Premium A" and "Premium B" devices as they share the latest and greatest Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 chipset from Qualcomm — the Find X5 uses the Snapdragon 888 and costs €100 more, though the Magic4 has a 128GB base option, so that blunts the difference slightly.

The Oppo Find X5 Pro and Honor Magic4 Pro may end up evenly split when every cutting edge and compromise is accounted for, but it seems one brand was hungrier for new customers this year, and it showed.

Lenovo IdeaPad Duet 3

We're partial to cute and compact computing, so of course, we were in love with Lenovo's first crack at a Chrome OS 2-in-1 in 2020's Duet. Last year's Duet 5 was a worthy if spendier and larger sequel — in my own opinion, 13" is a bit too large for the detachable form factor. Think of this as an attempt at Goldilocks: the Duet 3 brings the display back to LCD from OLED, but closer to Earth, too, at 11".

Samsung Galaxy Book2 series

Talking about Windows laptops on Android Police should be old hat: 360° hinges are more ubiquitous than ever before and decent GPUs are harder to obtain than ever before. But that doesn't stop Samsung from playing its tricks on the Galaxy Book2 and it's at a time when more consumers are likely to have established the manufacturer's Android phones and tablets than (say it with me now) ever before. What a time to introduce Android app support on Windows 11.

Touch screens and S Pen functionality are definite plusses, but they pave the way for bridges between PC and mobile that Samsung and Microsoft have been working on separately and together for years. Managing and mess around with your phone from your laptop is fun as much as it useful. Setting up a Galaxy Tab S7 or later model tablet to be used a wireless second screen is quite smart and the latency is tolerable if it's noticeable at all. It's only a shame that continuity done well like this isn't spread across different brands. But it works on the Galaxy Book2 and we like it for that.

Oppo's SuperVOOC 150W wired charging standard

Yes, we know, it's a numbers game. But Chinese manufacturers are intent on pouring R&D dollars in speedier and speedier charging technologies because material sciences haven't brought us a commercial battery better than and dramatically different from our existing lithium-ion cells. So, we're giving a medal to Oppo for achieving 150W for wired SuperVOOC charging and are pleased to hear that it's coming to phones around the world across its own brand proper as well as OnePlus and Realme. Watching the battery of the demo device being filled up within mere minutes, even with the screen turned on, certainly does feel like magic. The presenter actually had to run intense workloads on a few phones to get their batteries drained fast enough for multiple presentations in quick succession.

We're also hopeful that its Battery Health Engine suite can reduce the impact of the heat these high flow rates generate — the new electrolyte formula in these batteries is probably the most interesting bit of news we've had on this front for a little while.

Nokia C2 (2nd Generation)

An Android Go phone with a micro-USB port and no NFC on this list? Well, it's a throwback with a removable battery, carried over from the old C2, and it's also a throw forward in that it supports Bluetooth 5.0 unlike its more expensive cohorts (the C21 starts from €99, a €20 premium on the new C2). It additionally receives FM radio without the need for headphones as an antenna — something you don't see from almost every budget device that support FM, at least in our bubble.

We also need to remember that the world doesn't just consist of developed markets like the US and Europe. Many people around the globe are only now starting to upgrade from feature phones, and this is really the target audience this Nokia phone is meant for. HMD told us that it wants to offer clear upgrade paths for all of its customers, making it possible to make the jump to a smartphone without breaking the bank, and the C2 is supposed to be the first step into this world for many people. With that in mind, the C2 looks like a great first smartphone to have, and with a lot of people still having micro-USB chargers and cables lying around in many markets, the decision to go with that standard makes a lot of sense.

In conclusion, the new Nokia C2 nowhere quirky enough to steal the show, but it should be enough to remember it as a neat footnote to our show experience, and certainly eye-opening as to just how diverse the smartphone market really is. Oddballs get a brownie point.