Top 10 Trends at MWC16

Top 10 Trends at MWC16
Mobile World Congress (MWC) in Barcelona is a combination of the world's largest exhibition for the mobile
industry and a conference with executives from mobile operators, device manufacturers, online companies
(e.g. Mark Zuckerberg from Facebook), technology providers, content owners and global brands from across
the world. A record-breaking 95,000+ people attended in 2016.
This is the output from the huge effort by our team. Every year we spend weeks preparing, 100 km walking
and scouting the floor to find the latest and greatest mobile technologies, interviewing exhibitors and
visitors and taking customers and other guests on tours.
When summarizing the MWC top 10 list we look for the technologies, news and trends that present
solutions to real problems that will help our customers and ourselves deliver better mobility experiences
and services.
Enjoy the 2016 report and as usual we encourage your feedback and contacts us if you want a more in-
depth presentation for you and your team.
-
Magnus Jern
President DMI International
Driving Mobile Innovation

1. BIG DEVICE LAUNCHES,
LITTLE EXCITEMENT
Samsung, HTC, LG, SK Telecom, Ericsson, GSMA Connected City,
Catalan pavilion – everyone had VR showcases. Half of the people we
talked to loved it and the other half felt sick from the experience. Less
than 1 out of 10 of the MWC geeks considered buying one within the
next year. So what's the purpose? VR is great for game and
entertainment experiences and definitely has a role to play in the
enterprise, but at MWC it was primarily an attention-grabber. Mass
market adoption of VR products and services are still years away
despite Samsungs $99 Samsung Gear VR.
On the creation side Nokia Networks launched a high-end VR
camera starting at $60K while Samsung launched the VR 360
camera which will have a more consumer-friendly price.
1. Virtual Reality Only an Attention-Grabber?

LITTLE EXCITEMENT
Last year we complained about the lack of real examples of IoT in
practice and things to touch. This year we saw enough proof showing
that IoT has gone from talk to the real deal. Telit had some of the best
showcases, as well as Fujitsu, Ericsson, AT&T and Sigma Designs (Z-
Wave) together with smaller players for the smart home such as Fibra,
Aeotec, Devolo, Essence and Goap.
For the enterprise there was more focus on the opportunities rather
than the barriers this time around, but for the smart home there’s still
a huge challenge with standards for wireless and communication
between devices. One big news item was an agreement on eSIMs
with the carriers for IoT. Logistics in the Innovation City was one of
the best use cases of IoT demonstrated.
2. Real Internet of Things

LITTLE EXCITEMENT
All major device manufacturers launched new devices during MWC,
whether it was smartphones, tablets, virtual reality kits or something
else. Find our top 8 on the following slide. In addition to this 20+ other
handsets launched by brands we’ve never heard of such as Zopo,
General Mobile, Intex, Gionee, Archos and Meizu. Saturated market?
Wireless charging made another attempt, but the only high profile
device support was Samsung Galaxy S7 (and Edge) supporting Qi
and PowerMat. In summary, wireless power is still a tangled mess.
The lack of focus on tablets this year was also quite telling. In many
cases they are being replaced by large smartphones.
3. Big Device Launches, Little Excitement

SAMSUNG GALAXY S7
Evolving with better battery life
and an always-on-display feature
LG G5
Modular designed smartphone
with slideout battery and more
HUAWEI MATEBOOK
2-in-1 device that runs on
Windows 10 with a 12-inch screen
SONY XPERIA XA
Comes with edge-to-edge HD
display and a 13MP rear camera
XIAOMI MI5
Created with a sleek design and
weighs as little as 129 grams
HTC VIVE
VR head-mounted display that
refreshes at 90 frames per second
LENOVO TAB3
Includes a business edition with
pre-installed productivity tools
NOKIA OZO VR
Professional VR camera with a
price starting at $60,000

LITTLE EXCITEMENT
In 2014 and 2015, the big showcases by Samsung, LG, Huawei and ZTE
and the media buzz was around wearables. This year they had been
replaced by VR, but were still visible on the floor as more specialized
and niche showcases. In the consumer space Under Armour, Fossil
Group, Garmin, ZTE, HTC, Sony, Haier and FitBit presented their latest
wearables for health and fashion.
In the enterprise space ProGlove, Daqri (smart helmet and
headbands), Atheer Labs (smart glasses), Epson (third generation of
AR overlay glasses) and Vuzix (also smart glasses) were the
companies that stood out.
4. Wearables Go Niche

LITTLE EXCITEMENT
Another theme from the show is that most of the bigger players are
getting a lot more verticalized in what they are offering and presenting.
Instead of just IoT, it's IoT for manufacturing or transportation. Big Data
as a term has almost entirely disappeared and many of the analytics
companies presented specific analytics tools to improve monitoring,
performance and maintenance of radio and fixed networks.
Other examples included IBM presenting IoT solutions for
transportation/logistics (RFID tags for inventory), Ericsson
demonstrated a connected airport, Vodafone mobility solutions for
mines, Nokia the connected car, SAP connected manufacturing and
Telefonica solutions for healthcare.
5. Enterprise Verticalization

LITTLE EXCITEMENT
For at least 10 years, operators and major Internet players have tried to
agree on and establish standards for single identity and authentication.
So far the most successful initiatives have been social sign-in by
Facebook followed by Google, Twitter and LinkedIn. Many people
thought biometrics would be the solution.
At MWC this year we saw a lot of exciting activity in this space. A few
of the best examples include DDS Inc., GSMA Mobile Connect,
Intercede, OneVisage, EyeVerify, FusionPipe and FaceOn.
6. Authentication - Death of the Password

LITTLE EXCITEMENT
Last year companies such as Wirecard and PayPal presented beacon-
based payment solutions. This year the biggest excitement was that
Visa and MasterCard are now driving ahead with mobility working with
the community on open standards.
Visa showed off how biometrics can be used for payments, announced
secure payments to the automotive industry and demonstrated
fashion wearables for payments in collaboration with Barclays and
Topshop. MasterCard’s big announcement was that they will accept
selfie photos (including a blink test) and fingerprints as alternative to
passwords or ID checks.
7. Mobile Payments Going Mainstream with Visa, MasterCard & Topshop

LITTLE EXCITEMENT
The side event 4YFN for start-ups was bigger, bolder and better with
many start-ups choosing to go there instead of the big venue. Some of
our favorites were Anagog SDK using the phone’s sensors to predict a
user’s status and behavior when e.g. parking their car; Sleeprate
Mobile app and services helping users to sleep better through the use
of wearables and support from experts; MicroBlink
Next generation of OCR technology to integrate in apps;
CartoDB Insights from location data for data-driven visualizations;
Apptimize Pre-launching new apps for feedback and simplifying A/B
testing; ComfyLight Light bulbs with sensors that improve home
security; Semseye Retail footfall and shopping behavior tracking and
analytics; Multipass Future payments for transportation and access
control combining wearables and cloud. And 400+ other start-ups
that we missed...
8. Thriving Mobile Start-Up Community

LITTLE EXCITEMENT
What would MWC be without drones and robots? Many of the stands
featured drones in their videos and showed examples of how drones
use cameras and wireless technology. Most impressive was Intel and
AT&T’s drone cage showing the latest tech in streaming of high-quality
video in real time over the LTE network. This demonstrates how drones
could be flown beyond a pilot's line of sight. And no, Intel is not
planning on manufacturing their own drones.
Ubuntu got a lot of attention for the Snappy Ubuntu powered robot
Robotis OP2 that tracked a red ball and played football (soccer). The
purpose was to show how the Ubunto OS can be used for
IoT/connected devices. See robotis.com for more info.
9. Drones and Robots

LITTLE EXCITEMENT
With many of the stands featuring big 5G logos, Ericsson tried to play
down the short-term importance of 5G explaining that it's still a long
journey. In parallel with defining 5G standards and technologies, 4G
LTE is still evolving with faster networks, better reliability, improved
coverage and lower power consumption.
The biggest requirement on 5G to date is expected to be low latency
remote control, connected cars, smart grids and factory automation
with billions of connected devices.
The first 5G implementations are expected somewhere around 2019-
2020.
10. On the Road to 5G

DMI helps businesses and
government organizations reinvent
themselves through mobility.
Learn more at dminc.com

Top 10 Trends at MWC16

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