The Mobile World Congress 2023 presented the most important trends regarding connectivity, mobile telephony and technology.
Every year, the Mobile World Congress (MWC) opens its doors for companies dedicated to the growing field of telecommunications technology to show innovations that seek to become trends. NIUSGEEK from RPP was in the halls of the Fira Gran Vía in Barcelona to find those innovations with the potential to be the “next big thing” in the technology sector.
The figures of the MWC 2023
The GSMA, organizer of the event, announced that the 2023 edition of the Mobile World Congress registered more than 88,500 attendees from February 27 to March 2, days on which the fair was held in person. More than 200 countries were represented in that forum.
In total, more than 2,400 participating brands attended the event, creating 7,400 partial jobs in the city of Barcelona and generating revenues of 350 million euros in industries related to the event, such as tourism, accommodation, transportation and food, among others.
NIUSGEEK was one of the more than 2,400 journalists who attended MWC 2023 to cover the event. In addition, the GSMA’s ministerial program enabled 196 national representations to be present at the venue, including 70 state ministers and more than 100 regulatory body leaders.
The GSMA highlights the presence of more than a thousand speakers at events, more than 10,000 meetings held every day of the fair, more than a million spectators for the different scheduled sessions and more than 800 brands involved in the 4YFN event or “Within four years”, a meeting place for startups and which is the “little sister” of the MWC.
Connectivity on the Moon
Nokia Bell Labs presented advances for the IM-2 mission, in collaboration with Intuitive Machines and Lunar Outpost and which will have an official launch at the end of this year to bring 4G/LTE technology to space. As part of a NASA initiative, Nokia is seeking to demonstrate that the same cellular technologies used to connect our 4G smartphones on Earth can be used to provide critical communications and connectivity for future lunar missions.
Satellite communication out of coverage
In collaboration with the satellite company Iridium, Qualcomm announced in January the arrival of the first satellite connectivity system that allows the use of two-way emergency messages in areas without coverage, and that will enable 5G smartphones – from series 8 to series 4 of Snapdragon built in 2023 – access this benefit. Now, at this MWC 2023, the agreement includes the first construction brands: Honor, Motorola, Vivo, Nothing, Oppo and Xiaomi.
WiFi 7 as a new standard
MediaTek and Qualcomm showed commercial equipment under the new WiFi 7 connectivity standard, the wireless network that uses the 6GHz spectrum to improve stability and increase the data transfer rate compared to current WiFi 5 and 6. In our tests, we were able to get up to 13400 mbps on equipment that MediaTek was showing off at the MWC booth.
Screens of all shapes
We had the opportunity to play with the Moto Rizr, the flexible panel concept that Motorola has presented at this MWC and that, without a doubt, drew our eyes. We are talking about a panel that can go from 5 to 6.5 inches through a small system that “unrolls” the panel from the base, when we use an app that deserves it. For example, going from portrait to landscape mode on YouTube allows the panel to unfold itself. This allows the screen to have other uses on the back cover. For now, Motorola allowed feedback from the specialized press to improve the capabilities of this new device.
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A more collapsible world
After the consolidation of a market led by Samsung’s Galaxy Z Fold4 , other brands have decided to be part of this trend. After the arrival of the Honor Magic Vs internationally, Xiaomi showed its recent Mi Fold 2, worked in conjunction with Leica, and Tecno Mobile presented a Phantom V for less than $1,000 and a MediaTek 5G processor . Along with the Oppo Find N2 , the proposal for flexible panel equipment increases.
space for concepts
In addition to the Rizr, OnePlus showed off an under-chassis cooling system that replicates the behavior of PC systems. PureLifi presented its conversion chip for wireless networks that will allow devices that integrate it to receive data through light in the environment. Lighting company Bioo showed us an energy system that extracts electrons from microorganisms to generate enough electricity to power light bulbs in small gardens.