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By 23 February 2017 | Categories: feature articles

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If you're looking for a barometer of the mobile industry, carefully studying the trends on display at Mobile World Congress is a necessity. And it's not simply what's happening on the consumer and device fronts either, trends within the industry, and in particular those driving the industry, are also under the spotlight. We touch on a few of the most important ones. 

Fourth Industrial Revolution

Speak to anyone with their finger on the pulse of the technology, and they'll likely tell you that we're on the brink of a fourth industrial revolution. It's sphere of influence is so large that it has the potential to change the way people work and live. 

Given its scale, there are many smaller pieces to the puzzle that need to figured out, and MWC 17 will try to create some discourse around. In particular, we're likely to see a number of companies showcase how their technologies can enable digital services and solutions to better form part of the ecosystem that the fourth industrial revolution will rely upon. 

Consumer IoT

The Internet of Things (IoT) shouldn't be a new concept by now, with the number of devices and objects with sensors embedded within them already growing at an exponential rate. 

To that end, more effective ways of leveraging the ubiquitous state of mobile devices to drive data to IoT services and solutions will be on display in Barcelona next week. The consumer experience is also one that will come into focus, and IoT has the ability to make said experience all the better.  

Converging platforms

With elements such as data privacy, mobile solutions, artificial intelligence and robotics at play during MWC 17, the next step is trying to get all these systems working together seamlessly in order to look at the larger picture. 

No company in particular has designed a unified solution in that regard, but MWC 17 will see more presentations about the need for converging all these technological platforms. As such, we think this year's MWC is the start of converged platforms coming to the fore.  

Mobile Photography

This trend is on the consumer front, and specifically the bevvy of new smartphones that will be unveiled at MWC 17 next week. While each will try and differentiate themselves with unique features, we believe that the quality of camera and photography will be the key decider. 

With many manufacturers going the dual camera route last year, we expect this to continue, with brands aiming to up the size of lenses and embed them with newer sensor technologies. As such, it may not be the screen resolution or processor capabilities that distinguishes flagship devices this year, but rather the camera they're sporting.  

5G and LTE

A trend that sits on the cusp of consumer and industry is 5G/LTE. On the consumer side of things, there will be a handful of devices touting 5G/LTE capable modems and boasting rapid download speeds. As far as the industry goes, we'll likely see 5G modems designed to be part of connected or IoT systems. 

With 5G being called the enabler of the Internet of Everything (IoE) thanks to the speedy transfer of data it affords, it will most probably be the biggest trend of MWC 17. 

We'll be in Barcelona for MWC 17 next week, hopefully seeing a number, if not all of these trends on display. Follow us at @TechSmartMag and our other social media channels to stay in the loop.

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