Mobile World Congress (MWC) is the biggest event of the year for the global mobile community. Since 1987, the Barcelona conference has been held annually in late February. I’ve attended several times, but the event seems to keep getting bigger, and this year was busier than ever before. In its early days, Mobile World Congress had a focus on telecommunications providers, and then it expanded to include mobile devices and apps. More recently, it evolved to embrace the ever-growing IoT space: connected cars, connected homes and even, at one booth, a connected cow!

The trending topics this year included 5G mobile networks, new smartphones and other mobile devices, virtual reality experiences, the IoT and cognitive computing.

5G mobile networks

Today, enterprises and customers are predominantly using 4G mobile networks. The 5G networks of the near future will provide massive increases in speed to facilitate better video streaming, quicker downloads and much more, allowing mobile to become an even stronger rival to traditional television.

New mobile devices

At Mobile World Congress, major manufacturers announced new smartphones and other devices. You can see a roundup of the new hardware at CNET and even check out some photos.

Virtual reality

Virtual reality (VR) is growing in importance in the mobile space. At MWC, a VR roller coaster gave attendees a chance to feel like they were on a real ride. Though this is an emerging area in mobile technology, some companies are ready to start distributing VR headsets and social networks are eager to integrate the capability.

IoT

This year’s MWC theme was “Mobile Is Everything.” As time goes on, it becomes more and more clear that mobile is pervasive and becoming relevant in places that you may not have originally expected. IoT sensors are now being used in much more than just connected vehicles and homes. These sensors have also been put into place to track livestock, vineyards, street lights and factory equipment. IoT technology is already being used in the manufacturing, health, insurance and finance sectors, and now it’s expanding into even more industries.

Cognitive

As Forbes points out, MWC also focused on the topic of mobility in the cognitive era. Though cognitive technology isn’t new, it’s entering the mainstream and bringing incredible potential for data analytics across industries. Attendees crowded around the IBM MobileFirst zone to see a cognitive robot that could process human language and converse with them.

Throughout the event, I spent a lot of time talking with other mobile enthusiasts about mobile cognitive computing. I performed IBM Bluemix demos that highlighted its many cognitive services, which include Personality Insights, Concept Expansion and Dialog.

And of course I had to make sure our robot got a ride in the IBM cab: http://bit.ly/1Rh09GT

The half-day IBM MobileFirst Conference on Tuesday was standing room only. A panel of clients and IBMers presented great sessions on how to unlock new value with mobility and redesign engagement in the digital era. Wimbledon shared its story of designing the ultimate fan experience by developing a digital strategy for engagement through mobile, and clients in banking, transportation and retail spoke about the ways in which they are using mobile to change how they do business — to work faster, smarter and more competitively in a world where mobile is everything.

Mobile is a fast-moving business, and it’s always exciting to see what’s coming next. Welcome to the new way forward!

For more on Mobile World Congress, check out the slideshare below.

Top 5 Insights: Mobile World Congress 2016 from ibmmobilefirst

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