Learnings from This Year's Mobile World Congress

All eyes were on the Mobile World Congress (MWC) in Barcelona last week. It set the tone for the latest tech trends that will take the coming months by storm. Nevertheless, it was a fairly predictable affair, solidifying my belief that our attitudes and expectations are evolving at the same speed as mobile technology. Here’s what we learned from this year’s MWC. 

Times Are a Changin’ — or Not.

The tablets that were set to revolutionize the world of computing have already hit their mid-life crisis. It is very confused about its purpose. It seems to be going through a bit of an identity crisis. Manufacturers are attempting to deliver a hybrid halfway house that offers the best of both worlds, and yet are failing to impress on both ends. 

Similarly, our love affair with the ubiquitous apps that clog up our smartphones has also hit the rocks. Despite owning an average one hundred apps on our devices, we typically only use around one per day, or 26.7 apps per month. We are also pretty unwelcoming towards new apps it seems. The average half-life of a new app is about three days, with approximately 77% of users cleaning out unworthy apps in that timespan. To add insult to injury (if your in the mobile business), interest in smartphones themselves is waning as all the major brands become virtually indistinguishable. 

New Horizons—Faster Is Still Always Better

It often feels that wherever we turn someone is talking about 2016 being the year of Virtual Reality. Even Mark Zuckerberg made a surprise appearance at the event to unveil his plans to sprinkle his magical social dust on the world of VR. However, none of these nuances stole the show. This year’s showstopper, with all its promises and possibilities, was 5G.

As 4G speeds increase, streaming video becomes an ever-happier experience, and we continue to enjoy the visual web on the go. But we want more! Since it’s important not to lose perspective, let’s be thankful that the days of dial-up connections and buffering messages that would release our inner rage are just a distant memory. 

The last ten years have whizzed by at the speed of 4G and all sorts of changes have been wrought in that time. Our awareness of time zones, for one, is now ingrained into our very being as we set up Skype meetings with our friends on the other side of the world without even thinking about it. 

Digital nomadism is on the rise, illustrating perfectly how those searching for freedom from the daily grind can earn a living by drifting from country to country armed only with a laptop and a stable Internet connection. That is made possible by 4G, and digital innovation more broadly. Just imagine what 5G could mean for the way we live? 

Technology has simplified almost every aspect of our lives: we can now enter a coffee shop and pay by simply pressing our thumb onto our smartphones; a cab and a hotel room can all be secured by opening an app; and even going on a date is as simple as a swipe of the mobile device.

It isn’t’ all halcyon skies though. The foreboding first casualty of this change of habits is our patience. The age of digital technology is ostensibly synonymous with the age of instant gratification, which basically translates to, “I don’t have time to wait, no matter how good it is.”

This is just one of the many reasons why 5G and its aim of being 100 times faster than our existing wireless technology has the potential change the game, especially as it relates to connectivity. It’s no longer about just streaming movies or online multiplayer video games. Our thirst for data intensive media is moving us into unknown territory with virtual reality (VR), augmented reality (AR), and electric cars. This could mean radical shift in the way people live, connect, share, and plan their lives. 

You’ll Have to Wait in Line, Sir.

This vision of the future is incredibly exciting for obvious reasons and although it’s much closer than many of us realize, it’s not quite as close as overexcited tech journalists at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona would have us believe.

The reality check is that widespread deployment probably won’t begin until 2018. In fact, the inevitable bedding-in period means that 2019 is probably a much more realistic prediction.

Although it goes against every fiber of our digital being, we might have to wait patiently for the exciting possibilities that insanely fast 5G connections could open up. There is a patently clear road forming ahead, and technology is once again going to play a significant role in all of our lives. 

It progressively feels like those science fiction movies I was raised on were actually preparing us all for the future, be it augmented or virtual.

Thank you for reading. I write and publish via www.Blogbrain.org, the dedicated central repository for my articles, essays and blogs on all things business, digital, life, management & technology. If my writing helps you and you'd like to consider nominating me for the LinkedIN Top Voices List then please fill out this short form. With gratitude.