MWC 2018: so much more than just smartphones…
Another year, another MWC: four wet, cold, and at times snowy, days in Barcelona: it was as though those fools who would see this huge conference — which every 12 months for the last decade has put the Catalan city at the center of the global technological stage — moved somewhere else, and had arranged the weather accordingly. Instead, thank goodness, once again I found myself in a city awash with delegates from all over the world, with the MWC a hive of activity.
This year’s event may possibly be the moment when we realized that the smartphone market, which for many delegates is still the main reason for this annual gathering, has entered a period of maturity that will see limited growth from now on. Samsung’s S9 was a disappointment, with performance well below other phones that have been on sale for two years, while any number of manufacturers have decided to copy the most ridiculed aspect of the iPhone X, the camera notch, and of course, once again, Apple didn’t bother to turn up. It was also clear that unless you have created something really, really disruptive, this isn’t the place to try to launch a new product. For example, Huawei, with whom for a second year I attended the event, spending much of the time with its representatives, has decided to leave the launch of its P20 for March 27 and instead unveiled other products at the show, such as tablets or an ultra-slim laptop with an interesting camera design that pops up from a key and remains hidden (and therefore unable to spy on you) when it is not in use.
In short, the MWC is no longer focused on cellphones and has instead morphed into a more mainstream technology event. Once again, 5G was the star attraction: how to make networks faster, reducing the cost of migration and recycling existing infrastructure, along with plenty of ideas about all the things we’ll be able to use it for when it finally arrives. I spent most of my time this year at presentations of a more technical nature, as well as trying to understand the ins and outs of Huawei, a business giant whose culture and philosophy are not at all clear to the observer, and that not only seemed to be everywhere, but was open and willing to talk: I spent almost two hours with the company’s highest ranking non-Chinese manager, who reports directly to the founder, discussing anything that occurred to me, such as geopolitics, culture or philosophy.
I also took a virtual reality moon walk on a NASA-supervised stage, as well as climbing aboard an Ehang 184 passenger drone: a tight fit for me, but that looked easier to handle than most video games. I also had my virtual reality moment of truth at my very own IE Rockets stand at 4YFN, MWC’s startup business platform, where a completely redefined classroom had been set up, allowing me to interact with IE students in stereoscopic, immersive and 360º high definition videos. The experience really brought home to me how effectively VR/AR can trick our brains, and that in the case of familiar scenarios and situations it is more than willing to be fooled: I have to say that I have never experienced anything that seemed so authentic, and I’ve been round the VR block a few times…
Once again, the MWC was an opportunity to meet interesting people, find any number of things to enrich my courses and content, to participate in interesting events where I could speak freely, as well as gaining access to technology wunderkinder. Once again, although there weren’t any really exciting smartphones on display, Barcelona was a save-the-date event, the place to be experience new things, to see and touch, rather than just reading about them. Once again, despite the challenge of fitting those four days into my diary and how tired I was after visiting so many stands, I can say in all honesty that it was more than worth the effort.
(En español, aquí)
