In one word: “telecommunications”. The network and business have long played a key role in Barcelona’s mobile extravaganza, but more than ever these themes are going to play a huge part in the event. The consumer element seems to be taking more and more of a background in the event, which begins in earnest next Monday.
The truth of the matter is that Mobile World Congress was never a consumer tech show, per se, but the participation of various smartphone manufacturers turned it into a handy launch pad. CES (held in January) is where every other category, from smart home and wearables to automotive and robotics, gets their moment to shine, while MWC happily embraced the big phone show monitor. smart.
Of course, a lot has changed since 2019, the last time TechCrunch attended the show in person, both for the industry and the world. It seems like a million years ago now that we were all waiting with bated breath for the GSMA to finally pull the plug on the 2020 show. That year’s CES had made it in, right under the wire (we can continue to debate the wisdom of that particular decision). However, as the weeks passed, it became increasingly clear that the end of February or the beginning of March was not the ideal time to hold an international tech event in person.
The show returned in 2021, although it was delayed by four months from its regular schedule. We weren’t there, nor were there many people, for that matter. Apparently, the program was not at much risk of reaching its organization-imposed attendance limit. The show provided a semblance of normality in 2022, when 60,000 showed up, according to the GSMA (TechCrunch, once again, is not among them). It honestly wasn’t a bad showing, even if it was (understandably) significantly lower than 2019’s 109,000.
As I’m often inclined to point out, the struggles of the smartphone industry predate the pandemic. The arrival of 5G had given their sails a bit of wind, but broader trends show that people just aren’t buying smartphones like they used to. There were many factors, including higher prices for premium products, fewer breakthrough innovations, and the fact that mobile phones are now better, slowing down the standard upgrade cycle to two to three years.
The pandemic aggravated everything, of course. Suddenly many people were unemployed or underemployed and did not have the means to splurge on non-essentials. For a time there, people just didn’t leave the house as often, shifting spending to things like PCs and tablets. In many markets, the momentum for 5G has slowed. Ongoing supply chain issues have also created bottlenecks. And then, of course, there is inflation.
Towards the end of last year, it was hard to shake the feeling that most consumer electronics companies had become much more cautious with the cadence of their releases. It’s probably not a bad thing, in terms of the planet, but probably more than a little worrisome for shareholders. We’re also currently sitting around, waiting to see how the mass layoffs at tech companies will affect the category, looking ahead.
Participants arrive to attend the first day of the Mobile World Congress (MWC) in Barcelona on February 25, 2019. Phone makers will focus on folding screens and the introduction of ultra-fast 5G wireless networks at the world’s largest mobile trade fair. which will start on February 25 in Spain as they try to reverse a slump in smartphone sales. Image Credits: JOSEP LAGO/AFP via Getty Images
Another key pre-pandemic trend is moving away from big trade shows to launching blockbuster products. Almost all the big companies began to opt for their own events. Why share a spotlight when you can create your own? The move toward virtual product launches during the pandemic made the gap even more pronounced. Frankly, even for hardware devices, the model is still perfectly fine for most.
This year, the GSMA expects 75,000 attendees. It’s a modest number, compared to the halcyon days, but there are still plenty of people at the Fira convention center in 2023. There are big names on the exhibitor list, including Samsung, Oppo/OnePlus, Huawei and Xiaomi. Some, including Samsung and OnePlus, fair released new flagships so don’t expect a lot of fireworks there. Although the latter has already been mocked as a “concept” device, the results will vary depending on whether it fits the definition of “news.”
Similarly, Qualcomm made its standard move by announcing the new flagship Snapdragon chip at its conference in Hawaii last year. We’re likely months away from the mid-year update, though the company always seems to have some chip or other up its sleeve. However, I’m expecting news from several major Chinese manufacturers, including the aforementioned budget arm of Xiaomi, ZTE and Huawei, Honor.
View taken on February 24, 2018 of the Barcelona city sign in front of the main hall of the Mobile World Congress (MWC) before the start of the world’s largest mobile fair, held from February 26 to March 1, 2018 in Barcelona . Image Credits: PAU BARRENA/AFP via Getty Images
Other notable exhibitors include Nokia’s IP licensor HMD and HTC, which has effectively put all its eggs in the Vive VR basket. VR/AR/MR/XR is interesting of course. It’s probably not much of a presence outside of HTC, but apparently everyone is contractually bound to do so. something in space these days. That being said, Meta/Facebook and Sony will not have a presence at the show this year. However, Lenovo will. The company regularly launches a batch of devices at the shows it attends, and its subsidiary, Motorola, also seems to have something new on the horizon.
Looking at the speakers’ agenda, climate impact will (hopefully) be a topic. A lot of people seem to still be talking about the metaverse, for what it’s worth. The GSMA has also focused a lot of resources on sports for some reason, while Microsoft is preparing a couple of cloud talks. AI doesn’t monopolize as much time on the stage as you might expect, and most of the smart home conversation revolves around the introduction of Matter.
There is also a panel with speakers from Samsung, ZTE and the European Space Agency titled “Ready to talk 6G?” It’s a question I frankly don’t know how to answer.
For me personally, it’s going to be a great stage to sit down with some of the top executives from these companies and ask some tough questions about where the industry is headed.
