By Damian Martinez, journalist at G&M News.
The largest and most influential connectivity event took place last week at Barcelona, Spain. During the four days of the Mobile World Congress (MWC) 2024, there were over 100,000 unique in-person attendees from 205 countries and territories, over 2,700 exhibitors, sponsors, and partners, more than 1,100 speakers, and 2,600 journalists and industry analysts from around the planet.
In this edition, generative AI (used to create content, whether text or audiovisual) was the sector’s big bet to boost cell phone sales, which have been declining for several months. The trade show occupied the eight pavilions of the Fira Barcelona Gran Via convention center (the future place for ICE London 2025), which brought together more than 400 operators in the telecommunications sector, such as AT&T, Orange, Telefonica, and Vodafone. The development of 5.5G technology was another main topic. Technology heavyweights such as Microsoft, Google and Amazon were also present.
BIG ANNOUNCEMENTS
With the cell phone market slowing down in recent years due to a lack of impact news, this edition of the MWC came at a time when the industry hopes to begin its comeback driven by the development of artificial intelligence. Several manufacturers announced their technological advances in this field, such as the American chip manufacturer Qualcomm or the Chinese company Honor, which presented a camera with AI-enhanced performance.
Nearly twenty conferences and round tables on AI were scheduled on the opening day alone, and some of the key names in the sector spoke at the gathering, including Demis Hassabis, co-founder and CEO of Google DeepMind, considered one of the fathers of artificial intelligence. Hassabis assured that users are only seeing the “surface” of what is to come, and anticipated that, in the next five years, the way of understanding portable devices such as phones may change.
For his part, Brad Smith, president of Microsoft, one of the large shareholders of OpenAI (ChatGTP) and one of the main architects of the rapid adoption of generative AI in the business world, assured that we are facing the emergence of a new economic sector.
Among the new developments on the market this year, equipment such as Samsung’s Galaxy S24 stands out, with AI systems that offer simultaneous translation of calls, as well as tools to improve the writing of text messages and retouch photographs.
The models that are already a reality coexist with conceptual proposals that anticipate the future of the industry, such as the Deutsche Telekom mobile prototype, with an intelligent assistant that replaces all the applications that must be installed on current smartphones. Among the most striking features is also the prototype of Motorola’s ultra-flexible folding cell phone, which can bend enough to be used on the wrist.
In addition, there were many real cases of utilization of 5G, a technology already common at the MWC editions in the last five years, but which has not finished taking off due to the large investments it requires. Added to this are solutions with their new evolution: 5.5G, key to the ever-increasing demand for data transfer, with virtual and augmented reality as the protagonist.
MOBILE BETTING IS INCREASING
Of course, in this context, mobile gambling is an activity in constant evolution. According to a report by Market Research Future (MRFR), “Mobile Gambling Market Information by Type, End-User, and Region – Forecast till 2030,” global mobile betting sector could thrive at a rate of 12.10% between 2022 and 2030. The market size will be reaching around USD 154.81 billion by the end of the year 2030.
Mobile gambling has a wide range of uses and applications, from traditional casino games like blackjack and slots to sports betting and online lotteries. It allows players to access their favorite games and place bets on the go, making it convenient and accessible for players worldwide. In addition, mobile gambling has also expanded to include social gambling, where players can compete against each other in games of skill and strategy. In that sense, technological advancement of mobile devices affects the modalities of gaming, and this will also have to be considered in analysis to come.