MWC Barcelona 2022 is fast approaching, bringing together the latest developments in mobile alongside today’s most influential visionaries. Under the MWC 2022 banner of ‘Connectivity Unleashed’ the mobile industry will showcase the best technology enhancements to drive 5G and the future of work forward. The event will thus explore, through its chosen themes, the technological innovations that will shape the Enterprise market in 2022: 5G, AI, Cloud, IoT, Edge Computing, Video Conferencing and Metaverse.
The recent shift to hybrid work is just the beginning, we believe that a workplace is no more defined by its physical or geographical boundaries but by what happens in it. The world has chosen hybrid over the conventional workspace, and the future will depend on how OEMs, SaaS Providers, Service Providers, and Business App Developers create and design modern solutions that fit the needs of future workforce.
We expect leading voice, video and live broadcasting platform to feature high-definition, ultra-low latency real-time engagement solutions and also discuss cutting-edge applications of communication technology that will shape collective collaboration in future. For instance, Cisco will be showcasing Webex Connect and Webex Calling, their approach to mobility integration and Communications Platform-as-a-Service.
In the devices space, Samsung is set to launch some new devices during the show, and fellow smartphone heavyweights Alcatel, Nokia HMD and Huawei will also be present. However, Lenovo and Sony Mobile have confirmed they won’t be there. We expect to see plenty of prototypes of foldable and rollable phones being touted.
Wearables and virtual and augmented reality products look set to steal the show, with announcements focus on wider ecosystem development. We also expect the metaverse to feature heavily, with many players expected to use the term in some shape or form. For example, South Korean Telecom (SKT) is set to debut a wide variety of Metaverse, AI, and VR experiences at MWC 2022. The SKT showcase will unveil updates to several of its solutions, including the company’s Ifland Metaverse platform, mixed reality (MR) volumetric video capture stage Jump Studio, and Korea’s first AI semiconductor chip, Sapeon. It also plans to reveal a new intelligent infrastructure for urban air mobility (UAM) and public transportation, as well as a theoretical ‘4D’ Metaverse. Telefonica also outlined a major commitment to the metaverse, stating it would use MWC 2022 Barcelona to showcase its digital transformation and technology leadership efforts through an innovative virtual environment.
Although, the Metaverse is getting a lot of airtime at the moment, but it is still at a very early stage, and still poorly defined. One thing is certain though, the reality of how this pans out will depend on the foundations that the industry builds today. And MWC 2022 will show exactly what is happening right now and signpost where the world is heading tomorrow.
For other MWC preview, please read Networks and Services at MWC 2022: What Will Be Hot