The most innovative products at MWC 2025 aren't phones – these wearables get my vote

MWC 2025 is in full swing, and although smartphones are the focal point of the conference, mobile phone manufacturer HMD announced a unique pair of earbuds. The HMD Amped Buds feature a 1,600mAh battery for reverse wireless charging, enabling the buds’ case to wirelessly charge your smartphone.

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The earbuds feature active noise cancellation, a bud-and-stem design, an IP54 durability rating, 10mm drivers, Google Fast Par, and Bluetooth multipoint connectivity.

The earbuds case is equipped with Qi2 wireless charging, but users can also use it as a wired power bank. Qi2 delivers more efficient wireless charging, and the HMD Skyline and iPhone 12 and newer come with native Qi2 support.

The Amped Buds promise 95 hours of playback, with almost five hours of playtime with ANC on and eight hours with ANC off. HMD boasts the earbuds’ 95-hour battery life, about three times more battery than mainstream competitors offer.

Of course, a bigger battery means a bigger case, so attaching the Amped Buds’ case to your phone would be the most convenient way to lug them around.

The Amped Buds are available in Black, Cyan, and Pink. They’ll be available in Europe in April, but a US release date is unknown.

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HMD isn’t the only company to announce new earbuds with exciting innovations. Xiaomi unveiled the Xiaomi Buds 5 Pro, which use Wi-Fi to achieve wireless lossless audio playback. These earbuds utilize Qualcomm’s S7 Pro sound platform, unlocking Qualcomm XPAN technology to keep your earbuds connected to your devices, even in another room or building floor.

These advanced connectivity features require the earbuds and the connected device to be compatible with Quallcomm’s sound platform. Thus, you can only enable Wi-Fi-powered audio on the Buds 5 Pro when connected to the Xiaomi 15 Ultra smartphone.

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The Xiaomi Buds 5 Pro feature three mics to aid in active noise cancellation and an IP54 durability rating. The earbuds were tuned by Harman, whose subsidiaries include JBL and AKG.

The Xiaomi Buds Pro 5 is available to Chinese consumers in Titanium Gold, White, and Phantom Black. It is the only Wi-Fi-enabled model.