hanging on the telephone (3.1.24)

This week, MWC (formerly known as Mobile World Congress), the annual trade show dedicated to the mobile communications industry, took place in Barcelona. Touted as the “most influential event for the connectivity ecosystem,” you can consider it a CES Jr.-esque event, with plenty of tech demos showcasing concepts for smartphones, wearables, auto, and more.

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For example, this week we saw the following demos and unveilings:

-Motorola’s concept wrist-wrapped phone, touting a bendable display.

-Lenovo’s ThinkBook Transparent Display Laptop Concept, a totally transparent Micro-LED laptop.

-HONOR’s Magic6 Pro, touting AI eye-tracking, enabling users to open and interact with apps using their eyes.

-Samsung’s first wearable hardware, the Galaxy Ring, touting health-tracking features.

-Google’s AI rollout into more services specifically designed for phone, wearable, and car-focused features, such as Gemini’s ability to create messages through AI for Android Auto and WearOS, to drive smartphone functionality.

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Why should you care? These devices and announcements are only a handful of what possibilities the future holds for mobile and connectivity. Over the last few years, consumers have evolved from simply using smart devices to actively engaging with them (think: speak-to-text, apps that control connected home/cars, etc.) – and relying on them more than ever. However, we’ll see a doubling down on dependence as AI makes its way into consumer-centric devices like smartphones, driving the possibilities of what action-enabled AI tech could do. AI-powered devices could think and predict, making them more adaptable and customizable for consumer usage.

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Not sure how this applies to you? Just think of the small percentage of features you likely use on your smartphone or in your car…I’m talking beyond auto-correct or parallel parking assist. You likely don’t know or haven’t considered many of the offerings that could be life hacks because they either aren’t obvious or haven’t presented immediate ways to alleviate tangible frictions you experience every day. But what if your smartphone (or car or wearable device) could leverage AI and various personal data sources to streamline information sharing and enhance utility proactively and preemptively? Think beyond real-time; I’m talking preemptive, understand-you-better-than-you-understand-yourself-to-proactively-offer-support-time. Underscored by the conversations and product unveilings at MWC, we’ll see smartphones become the key device for unlocking experiences and productivity in the coming 12-24 months, impacting how consumers shop, game, and engage in entertainment and experiences. As smaller, efficient models (e.g., Google’s Gemini Nano) and tech evolve, we’ll see the ability – and demand – for AI-powered smartphone use cases.

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For marketers, this means that as platforms evolve their design for casual, conversation-driven, intimate consumer/device engagement, understanding the natural entry points for connection is critical to finding logical ways to connect with your consumer. Now’s the time to reflect and reconsider your strategy in how you leverage smart devices to connect with consumers, be it via app, targeted ads, streaming content, social presence, etc. Where are the potential frictions to how you push your story to consumers? How are you pulling them into your stories and brand? What are the digital and physical limitations keeping you from being predictive vs. responsive to consumer needs, and how could rapidly evolving tech redefine and force you to redesign how you leverage tech as the consumer access point?