Top 10 Trends at MWC16

TOP 10 TRENDSAT MWC16

Top 10 Trends at MWC16

Mobile World Congress (MWC) in Barcelona is a combination of the world's largest exhibition for the mobile industry and a conference with executives from mobile operators, device manufacturers, online companies (e.g. Mark Zuckerberg from Facebook), technology providers, content owners and global brands from across the world. A record-breaking 95,000+ people attended in 2016.

This is the output from the huge effort by our team. Every year we spend weeks preparing, 100 km walking and scouting the floor to find the latest and greatest mobile technologies, interviewing exhibitors and visitors and taking customers and other guests on tours.

When summarizing the MWC top 10 list we look for the technologies, news and trends that present solutions to real problems that will help our customers and ourselves deliver better mobility experiences and services.

Enjoy the 2016 report and as usual we encourage your feedback and contacts us if you want a more in-depth presentation for you and your team.

-

Magnus JernPresident DMI InternationalDriving Mobile Innovation

1. BIG DEVICE LAUNCHES,LITTLE EXCITEMENT

Samsung, HTC, LG, SK Telecom, Ericsson, GSMA Connected City, Catalan pavilion – everyone had VR showcases. Half of the people we talked to loved it and the other half felt sick from the experience. Less than 1 out of 10 of the MWC geeks considered buying one within the next year. So what's the purpose? VR is great for game and entertainment experiences and definitely has a role to play in the

enterprise, but at MWC it was primarily an attention-grabber. Mass market adoption of VR products and services are still years away despite Samsungs $99 Samsung Gear VR.On the creation side Nokia Networks launched a high-end VR camera starting at $60K while Samsung launched the VR 360 camera which will have a more consumer-friendly price.

1. Virtual Reality Only an Attention-Grabber?


Last year we complained about the lack of real examples of IoT in practice and things to touch. This year we saw enough proof showing that IoT has gone from talk to the real deal. Telit had some of the best showcases, as well as Fujitsu, Ericsson, AT&T and Sigma Designs (Z-Wave) together with smaller players for the smart home such as Fibra, Aeotec, Devolo, Essence and Goap.

For the enterprise there was more focus on the opportunities rather than the barriers this time around, but for the smart home there’s still a huge challenge with standards for wireless and communication between devices. One big news item was an agreement on eSIMs with the carriers for IoT. Logistics in the Innovation City was one of the best use cases of IoT demonstrated.

2. Real Internet of Things


All major device manufacturers launched new devices during MWC,

whether it was smartphones, tablets, virtual reality kits or something

else. Find our top 8 on the following slide. In addition to this 20+ other

handsets launched by brands we’ve never heard of such as Zopo,

General Mobile, Intex, Gionee, Archos and Meizu. Saturated market?

Wireless charging made another attempt, but the only high profile

device support was Samsung Galaxy S7 (and Edge) supporting Qi

and PowerMat. In summary, wireless power is still a tangled mess.

The lack of focus on tablets this year was also quite telling. In many

cases they are being replaced by large smartphones.

3. Big Device Launches, Little Excitement

SAMSUNG GALAXY S7

Evolving with better battery life

and an always-on-display feature

LG G5

Modular designed smartphone

with slideout battery and more

HUAWEI MATEBOOK

2-in-1 device that runs on

Windows 10 with a 12-inch screen

SONY XPERIA XA

Comes with edge-to-edge HD

display and a 13MP rear camera

XIAOMI MI5

Created with a sleek design and

weighs as little as 129 grams

HTC VIVE

VR head-mounted display that

refreshes at 90 frames per second

LENOVO TAB3

Includes a business edition with

pre-installed productivity tools

NOKIA OZO VR

Professional VR camera with a

price starting at $60,000


In 2014 and 2015, the big showcases by Samsung, LG, Huawei and ZTE and the media buzz was around wearables. This year they had been replaced by VR, but were still visible on the floor as more specialized and niche showcases. In the consumer space Under Armour, Fossil Group, Garmin, ZTE, HTC, Sony, Haier and FitBit presented their latest wearables for health and fashion.

In the enterprise space ProGlove, Daqri (smart helmet and headbands), Atheer Labs (smart glasses), Epson (third generation of AR overlay glasses) and Vuzix (also smart glasses) were the companies that stood out.

4. Wearables Go Niche


Another theme from the show is that most of the bigger players are getting a lot more verticalized in what they are offering and presenting. Instead of just IoT, it's IoT for manufacturing or transportation. Big Data as a term has almost entirely disappeared and many of the analytics companies presented specific analytics tools to improve monitoring, performance and maintenance of radio and fixed networks.

Other examples included IBM presenting IoT solutions for transportation/logistics (RFID tags for inventory), Ericsson demonstrated a connected airport, Vodafone mobility solutions for mines, Nokia the connected car, SAP connected manufacturing and Telefonica solutions for healthcare.

5. Enterprise Verticalization


For at least 10 years, operators and major Internet players have tried to agree on and establish standards for single identity and authentication. So far the most successful initiatives have been social sign-in by Facebook followed by Google, Twitter and LinkedIn. Many people thought biometrics would be the solution.

At MWC this year we saw a lot of exciting activity in this space. A few of the best examples include DDS Inc., GSMA Mobile Connect, Intercede, OneVisage, EyeVerify, FusionPipe and FaceOn.

6. Authentication - Death of the Password


Last year companies such as Wirecard and PayPal presented beacon-based payment solutions. This year the biggest excitement was that Visa and MasterCard are now driving ahead with mobility working with the community on open standards.

Visa showed off how biometrics can be used for payments, announced

secure payments to the automotive industry and demonstrated fashion wearables for payments in collaboration with Barclays and Topshop. MasterCard’s big announcement was that they will accept selfie photos (including a blink test) and fingerprints as alternative to passwords or ID checks.

7. Mobile Payments Going Mainstream with Visa, MasterCard & Topshop


The side event 4YFN for start-ups was bigger, bolder and better with many start-ups choosing to go there instead of the big venue. Some of our favorites were Anagog SDK using the phone’s sensors to predict a user’s status and behavior when e.g. parking their car; Sleeprate Mobile app and services helping users to sleep better through the use of wearables and support from experts; MicroBlink Next generation of OCR technology to integrate in apps;

CartoDB Insights from location data for data-driven visualizations; Apptimize Pre-launching new apps for feedback and simplifying A/B testing; ComfyLight Light bulbs with sensors that improve home security; Semseye Retail footfall and shopping behavior tracking and analytics; Multipass Future payments for transportation and access control combining wearables and cloud. And 400+ other start-ups that we missed...

8. Thriving Mobile Start-Up Community


What would MWC be without drones and robots? Many of the stands featured drones in their videos and showed examples of how drones use cameras and wireless technology. Most impressive was Intel and AT&T’s drone cage showing the latest tech in streaming of high-quality video in real time over the LTE network. This demonstrates how drones could be flown beyond a pilot's line of sight. And no, Intel is not

planning on manufacturing their own drones.

Ubuntu got a lot of attention for the Snappy Ubuntu powered robot Robotis OP2 that tracked a red ball and played football (soccer). The purpose was to show how the Ubunto OS can be used for IoT/connected devices. See robotis.com for more info.

9. Drones and Robots

http://en.robotis.com/index/


With many of the stands featuring big 5G logos, Ericsson tried to play down the short-term importance of 5G explaining that it's still a long journey. In parallel with defining 5G standards and technologies, 4G LTE is still evolving with faster networks, better reliability, improved coverage and lower power consumption.

The biggest requirement on 5G to date is expected to be low latency remote control, connected cars, smart grids and factory automation with billions of connected devices. The first 5G implementations are expected somewhere around 2019-2020.

10. On the Road to 5G

DMI helps businesses and government organizations reinvent themselves through mobility.

Learn more at dminc.com

https://dminc.com

Top 10 Trends at MWC16

Technology

Transcript of Top 10 Trends at MWC16