Mobile World Congress 2023 to explore our digital future

Mobile World Congress 2023, the world’s biggest mobile event of the year, is set to launch next week on February 27 in Barcelona.

The congress, which is attended by more than 80 000 people from over 200 countries, always sees the launch of new smartphones, smartwatches and tablets, with the biggest names in tech sharing their latest and greatest products, alongside startups.

Ahead of the event, Microsoft has announced they are looking forward to discussions around Microsoft’s extended partnership with OpenAI. They also shared that they believe the telecommunications industry is at an inflection point where connectivity has become a commodity and business-to-consumer (B2C) revenue has flattened.?

“The new breed of customer demands enhanced digital experiences while returns on massive capex spending have stagnated. Technology brings an opportunity to fuel transformation and unlock differentiated revenue streams. This transformation will enable telcos to monetize their 5G investments and maximize the value of the edge in innovative ways including cross-industry solutions.”

Huawei has announced that they will be launching 10 new wireless products and solutions that will not only deliver industry-leading performance, but which are also easier to operate, maintain and install. Huawei says that these 10 new solutions will help operators evolve all bands to 5G through multiple unique innovations in the industry and provide users with the ultimate mobile network experience.

“The new products don’t compromise on energy efficiency and are future-ready in terms of their ability to evolve as new user requirements come up.”?

OPPO has announced their exhibition theme “Inspire to Believe”, and say they will showcase a selection of new flagship devices, connectivity products and IoT technology, as well as its latest R&D breakthroughs in chip technology, smart health, AR and fast charging.

The launch of Xiaomi’s most up-to-date smartphone series, the Xiaomi 13 series, is expected to generate much excitement at the event. These devices come with Qualcomm’s latest chipset, Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 and top class camera sensors equipped with Leica collaboration.

While Motorola and Honor have not revealed their MWC 2023 plans, online whispers suggest we could see the flagship Motorola Edge 40 Pro make its global appearance following its launch as the Moto X40 in China recently, as well as the launch of the Honor Magic 5 series.

With the overarching theme of “Velocity - Unleashing Tomorrow’s Technology Today”, I am most looking forward to hearing the industry insights on the future of mobile, 5G, mobile hardware, virtual reality and other associated technologies that will be shared at MWC 2023.

Themes that will be discussed on the various stages at? MWC 2023 include 5G Acceleration, Reality Plus, OpenNet, FinTech and Digital Everything.??

As sponsor, PwC will be looking at whether 5G has delivered on its promises, what market adoption has been like and also what challenges and possibilities lie ahead.

The exploration of extended reality and the metaverse will continue to be a primary focus as there are endless opportunities for completely transforming the customer experience with the latest innovations in the physical, digital and virtual worlds. Topics to be discussed on the stages include a look at who the new consumers in Web 3.0 are, is the Metaverse the future, a fad or a fraud and how everyone and everything can be connected beyond the mobile.

Open radio access networks and the possibility of making networks more agile and future proof will be discussed too. MWC will delve into how leveraging 5G, IoT, Edge and Cloud capabilities with open API functionalities will help mobile operators to create a differentiated value proposition that delivers scalable next-generation digital services.

Decentralised finance, the rise of NFTs (Non fungible tokens), cryptocurrencies and blockchain technology were huge topics in 2022 and they continue to shape current trends. The conference will uncover the future of money and how technology is shaping the next generation of finance.

The theme of Digital Everything will look at how digitalisation, IoT and more can revolutionise and create value across every industry. What will digital reality manufacturing look like the industrial metaverse and what will travel look like?

We are certainly living in a time where the rapid progression of technology is like watching a fast-moving tennis game. You look left, you look right and things have already changed. While it is very exciting, it means we have to constantly adapt and change and figure out what our next best step is when it comes to staying ahead of competition and delivering what customers want.

I will be sure to deliver insight on the interesting trends and announcements that come out of the event. Keep an eye on my page!