The future in a toothbrush – my MWC 2015 highlights

Another busy Mobile World Congress (MWC) show has drawn to a close and I left Barcelona excited about the innovation and transformation our industry continues to drive. Here are some of my takeaways and highlights.

The network - 5G and the IoT

It’s obviously a big interest of mine and there was much talk of the network, particularly 5G. The thing about 5G is that, even though it’s widely held to be incredibly important, so far everyone has been struggling to explain why. Until I met with an industry contact the other day. He compared the latency (or reaction time) of 5G with the human brain. If you accidentally touch a hot surface, like a stove, the split-second response needed to take your hand away takes around 100 milliseconds. 5G latency is an incredible one millisecond; one thousandth of a second. So 5G works 100 times faster than your brain can figure out that you’re in pain. Isn’t that amazing?

That’s where it fell into place for me. Think about the types of machine that will need this kind of warp speed reaction time, like driverless vehicles for example. 5G is the technology that will actually enable a machine-to-machine world. In the meantime, the first wave of connected products like cars, smartwatches and home technology will see us reap the many benefits of investment in 4G networks.

I also spoke at two sessions at MWC, giving my views on connecting the unconnected and on the current trend for consolidation and mergers and acquisitions in the industry and what it means for customers.

Devices – smartphones, smartwatches… and smartbrushes

The focus of a raft of new smartphones that were unveiled at this year’s congress was more about the hardware than software. It's worth adding some context here with the latest figures from analyst Gartner showing a record year for worldwide smartphone sales in 2014, with an incredible 1.25 billion units sold.

Some of the new designs on show included the Samsung Galaxy S6 Edge, with a screen that curves around the edge and Gorilla Glass and metal frame replacing the plastic backing. The LG Magna also showed off a curved HD LCD display. BlackBerry, HTC, Microsoft and Sony also unveiled new smartphones.

An interesting trend I saw was for secure smartphones, clearly targeting a very specific market of individuals and business users for whom privacy is essential – a growing concern. Secure Circle revealed the second version of its BlackPhone, while Brazilian company Sikur launched the aptly-named GranitePhone, which is locked down so apps can't be installed and enables encrypted text, voice, chat and email communications.

The smartwatch market is steadily gaining more traction and what was evident from the stands at MWC is the move to designs that ape the stylish and luxury fashion designs of many 'dumb' watches - albeit with the connectivity and intelligence we have come to expect in our mobile devices. Pebble launched its new Time smartwatches – boasting battery life of up to a week – while Huawei, LG, Motorola, Samsung and others also revealed eye-catching designs. And although not present at MWC, the market is clearly also waiting for the Apple smartwatch to hit the shops soon.

I also had a look at the new Oral-B Bluetooth-enabled smart toothbrush, which will bring the latest news and weather, as well as real-time brushing guidance, to time-strapped consumers. Owner Procter & Gamble even plans to open its API to developers to participate in the next advances.

The best of the rest...

While we've seen fingerprint scanners incorporated into smartphones, Fujitsu revealed a concept phone using an iris scanner to unlock the device. The company claims iris scans are more secure and user-friendly than fingerprint scans.

For the gamers among us, the new virtual reality headset from HTC and Valve will take on Oculus Rift when it comes out later this year. I tried the development version and it’s fantastic – offering the possibility of ‘back to the future’ memory experiences to come. Imagine reliving a favourite holiday, or a loved one’s birthday, in full 360-degree virtual reality. The mind boggles.

And finally... Ikea was at MWC to show off its wireless phone charging device, a flat disc that’s part of a desk or table and powers up a phone placed on top of it. Whoever said Ikea and its flat-pack furniture add complexity to our lives

I hope you had a productive MWC this year if you visited and I'd love to hear what you thought were the most interesting and important things to come out of the show. Please do leave a comment below.

Photo credit: Kārlis Dambrāns