The world of mobile technology has wasted no time in picking up where it left off last year. Pushing boundaries, creating new innovations and opportunities have been the catalyst for the mobile first revolution. In recent years the MWC has been the platform for some of the biggest announcements in mobile tech and as expected the 2018 Mobile Congress did not disappoint with some interesting announcements taking place this year.
Compare with the year before
If you're keen on seeing the highlights from the previous MWC check out our recap post here - The best of the Mobile World Congress 2017
What is the Mobile World Congress?
The world waited in anticipation for what the MWC had in store in 2018 with the Congress striving to provide a unique platform for business opportunities as well as relationship-building. The MWC plays host to over 2,300 exhibitors; showcasing the latest innovations; combined with a world-class conference that features some of the most inspiring keynotes and discussions and the annual Global Mobile Awards ceremony, which recognises leading mobile solutions and initiatives around the world. With such a repertoire, one can see why the Mobile World Congress is one of most successful events within the mobile industry.
The highlights from the MWC
The iTouch team has been attending the MWC for the past several years and have always been impressed by what was presented at the MWC and we have to admit that 2018 has raised the bar once again.
So which projects caught our eye and impressed us the most? Check out our top 8 picks below
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Bringing the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) to Life
For 2018, the GSMA partnered with Barcelona artists, Brosmind, to demonstrate the unique role mobile is playing in supporting the United Nations SDGs. Each character created a visual representation of the mobile industry impact in supporting the goals and how we can create a #betterfuture together.
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NEXTech
Put the spotlight on disruptive technologies from virtual reality/augmented reality and robotics, to cognitive computing, artificial intelligence, graphene and more.
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Championing Industry Diversity
The Women4Tech programme provided a global platform for attendees focused on reducing the gender gap and championing diversity in the mobile industry.
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Honouring Excellence in Innovation
Twenty-five companies were awarded 38 GLOMOs (Global Mobile Awards) for their advances in technology; across 8 categories recognizing outstanding achievements in mobile innovation. Winners were honoured for everything from best content and devices, to mobile innovations for health and education, commerce, and social good.
Now let’s take a look what the mobile competitors launched at MWC 2018:
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Samsung officially launched the Galaxy S9
The Samsung Galaxy S9 is a refined version of last year's S8. However, that was widely known due to a series of leaks. So by the time the launch came around we knew pretty much everything, there was to know about the new Galaxy phone, but that didn't take away from its appeal.
They also confirmed its Bixby smart speaker for the second half of 2018. Aimed at the premium end of the market, the speaker looks to take on Apple's HomePod.
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LG brought AI smarts with its V30S THINQ
The LG V30S ThinQ features an AI-powered camera, packed with a super camera powered by AI, which could show up the new Samsung Galaxy S9 and Sony Xperia XZ2.
The camera's artificial intelligence will automatically alter the settings according to what you are shooting and it will apparently be able to recognise an object – a piece of clothing, for example – and tell you where you can buy it online.
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Huawei wowed with its pop-up Matebook X PRO Webcam
Although Huawei did not launch any new phones this year they did release its new Huawei MateBook X Pro, which joins the MateBook X that it launched last year, to create a MateBook range.
Huawei says it has a 91% screen to body ratio. And its thin bezels leave no space for a webcam, leading to the webcam being hidden in a little pop-up function key in the top row of the keyboard.
The MateBook X Pro features a 13.9-inch3K touchscreen with a 3000 x 2000 pixel resolution and is set at a 3:2 aspect ratio.
They also announced a trio of Android tablets: the MediaPad 5, the MediaPad M5 and the MediaPad M5 Pro. The MediaPad 5 is 8.4" which the two M5 variants are 10.8". All three feature speakers tuned by Harman Kardon.
Lastly, they announced their new flagship smartphone - the P20, which was released on the 27 March 2018
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Nokia went bananas with the rebooted 8110
Nokia rebooted the Matrix phone, the banana-like Nokia 8110. And now it's even available in a cheery yellow. If you want to find out more about the release then check out our post-Nokia Nostalgia with the relaunch of the 8110
Nokia also announced the Nokia 1, Nokia 6, Nokia 7 Plus and Nokia 8 Sirocco.
Future Predictions
The MWC is the ideal platform for anyone who wants to get involved in the mobile sector and provides a platform for individuals and businesses to interact and create partnerships that will lead to even bigger things. The Mobile Congress keeps getting bigger and better, with each year and continues to impress us with what is on display and we sure this trend will continue during future iterations.
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