What stood out during the Mobile World Congress 2019?

14.03.2019 1,972 2

Martin Deshev

This year’s Mobile World Congress in Barcelona looked a bit more thrilling than before. One of the main reasons for this is that finally there were some new trends and technologies coming into reality right then and there.

Over the past few years the talk of MWC has been all about 5G eventually coming to the front stage. Mobile devices weren’t all that thrilling. Something particularly obvious last year – the smartphone market faced its deepest decline yet. So, things had to change.

And they did. MWC 2019 showed several interesting trends which are happening right now and we don’t have to wait for them. Here they are:

5G

With all the hype around 5G people are getting a bit tired of hearing those two symbols again and again. The bad news – you will continue hearing them even more in the coming years. The good news – they actually have potential to bring some real changes to the whole world.

And while this is a bit further away in the future, MWC 2019 kicked things off. It launched a slew of 5G handsets, 5G robots and equipment. It also gave a lot of people their first hands-on experience with the new generation of mobile networks. 5G is no longer a trendy promise. It’s actually happening, even if the hype is still a bit over the top.

Foldable phones

Without question, this was MWC 2019’s most talked about topic. Foldable smartphones are finally here and… are a bit too expensive. Everyone had expected this first generation of such devices to be pricey, but the actual prices were still a surprise to many.

The tech will eventually become easier to make and more affordable, but for now, foldable phones will remain a luxury. Their promise, though, is big. The idea of having a compact device which you can unfold into a useable tablet is quite cool, so there will be a big market demand for them.

Security

Security is a topic which many prefer not to address. The main reason is a feeling that if you talk about it, you invite hackers to give a go at your defenses, potentially making you look weak.

Still, MWC 2019 was a place where you could talk about security a lot. Huawei had a lot to say in regards to the accusations of its telecom equipment’s security. Google also talked about mobile security by adding new fingerprint-only logins for Android 7 and above.

AR

A lot has been said about Augmented Reality over the past few years. It suffered the 3D TV hype bust – by now we should have all been rocking AR glasses and so on, according to the original expectations. The reality is far from that.

However, AR is still around and inching its way towards prominence. Smartphones have started using it more and more thanks to their cameras and Microsoft introduced HoloLens 2 with a twist. Its target is corporations, boosting the employees’ performance. For example, in factories, construction and more. So, it will be a while before AR becomes widespread among consumers, but it’s definitely finding its groove in the enterprise world.