King Felipe VI Greets a Humanoid Robot as Mobile World Congress 2026 Opens in Barcelona

Mobile World Congress 2026, the world’s biggest mobile technology congress, has kicked off in Barcelona and will run from 2 to 5 March at Fira Barcelona in L’Hospitalet de Llobregat, in the province of Barcelona.

The congress was opened by King Felipe VI, accompanied by Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez, President of the Government of Catalonia Salvador Illa, Barcelona mayor Jaume Collboni and other public officials. After the official opening ceremony, the King toured the exhibition’s key pavilions.

At the HONOR stand, Felipe VI was greeted by a humanoid robot that shook his hand. The moment instantly spread across the media and social networks.

The main theme of this year’s congress is artificial intelligence and its integration into every aspect of life. While Mobile World Congress used to be associated primarily with smartphones, the focus has now shifted towards ecosystems, autonomous devices, robotics and AI-based technologies.

Alongside the robot, HONOR also unveiled the Robot Phone — a smartphone with a robotic camera that can recognise sounds and voice commands, track the user’s movements, analyse its surroundings, respond to gestures such as nodding, and even move in time with music.

The company also showcased the ultra-thin foldable Magic V6 smartphone, which was presented to the King as a commemorative gift.

Not all MWC 2026 participants were able to reach Barcelona due to airspace closures and flight cancellations in several Gulf countries. Some appearances by European officials were also cancelled after they were called away for urgent meetings because of the conflict involving the US, Israel and Iran. Despite the schedule changes, the congress has kept its core programme intact and will continue until 5 March.