Google shows off, banana phones, and news from elsewhere
Good morning, Mobile World Congresspeople!
It’s time for you and thousands of fellow phone enthusiasts to get a first look at the main congress hall. Programming at the Fira Gran Via kicks off at 9am. Get there early to stake your claim as the mayor of MWC.
Expect a high of 8°C (46°F) during the day, but if you’re out late temperatures will drop to just above freezing, with a chance of rain. Bienvenidos, and benvinguts!
What to watch for today
Let’s get it started. The opening keynote features a bunch of telecom bigwigs—from China Mobile, NTT DoCoMo, Vodafone, and others—talking about the future of mobile. If any of them fails to mention 5G within the first minute of their opening remarks, they will be fired on the spot.
Sony tries to stand out. At its press conference first thing in the morning, Sony is expected to unveil two new smartphones: the XZ2 flagship phone and a smaller XZ2 Compact model. Is it what Sony needs to regain its former glory, or will the company continue to fall behind Apple and Samsung in the premium-priced, design-led market?
Google shows off… something. The search giant is also hosting a press conference bright and early at the “Android Auditorium.” It’s unclear what will be discussed, though there are rumblings that it will feature demos of its new augmented-reality technologies, ARCore and Lens, as well as updates to Google Assistant, the disembodied voice in Google Home speakers.
The internet bogeyman speaks. Fresh from winning the NRA’s “courage under fire” award, US Federal Communications Commission chair Ajit Pai will join a panel at the end of the day to discuss the future of international digital policy. Pai is a contentious figure in the US, having rammed through a repeal of net-neutrality rules late last year. Given that the crowd will be packed with telcos keen to remove restrictions on how they operate, MWC is likely to be a friendlier venue than CES last month, where Pai was due to speak but pulled out at the last minute reportedly due to death threats.
The future of #content. It’s not unusual to spend several hours a day staring at your mobile phone. What’s so compelling on the other side of the glass? A panel discussion featuring execs from BT and HTC, as well as Jeff Zucker, president of CNN (or chief purveyor of fake news, depending on your politics), will explore the role telcos and device makers have to play in the content world. Given how content is increasingly consumed on handheld devices, the question of whether operators should “invest in or acquire content” becomes increasingly relevant. (Make us an offer!)
Fancy a nightcap? Barcelona does not lack top-notch food and drink, all made even tastier when it’s paid for by a telco, handset maker, or some other company that’s trying to win your favor. After dinner, head to the party thrown by Dutch mobile companies, overlooking the port, until late.
What everyone is talking about
“Because Samsung is so big now, everyone is doing their launches later,” said one industry observer. Indeed, hordes of journalists and analysts gathered to catch a glimpse of the new Galaxy S9 and S9+ smartphones, the biggest and best-attended launch by far on Sunday. Tellingly, HMD, which licenses the Nokia brand for handsets, offered a shuttle service to the Samsung event to entice people to come to its event without fear of missing the S9 show shortly after.
Samsung’s new phones feature upgraded cameras that can take better low-light photos and super slow-motion shots that make the mundane look epic. It’s available for preorder at the end of this week, and runs at an unexpectedly affordable $740. Although it feels like a souped-up S8, that’s more than enough to make it a strong competitor to Apple’s $1,000 iPhone X.
More highlights from yesterday
This is what a modern Mac laptop should look like. Huawei launched its nearly bezel-less MateBook X Pro, which boasts the highest “screen-to-body” ratio of any high-end laptop on the market today. It also has a pop-up webcam hidden under a fake function key. Try to act surprised when some of these features appear in future iterations of the MacBook.
HMD rebooted another classic Nokia phone. A relaunched Nokia 8110, famous for a cameo in The Matrix, caught many by surprise. (This time around, the curved 1990s throwback boasts 4G, costs just under $100, and comes in “banana yellow.”) It was HMD’s latest retro revival phone, after re-releasing the iconic 3310 last year. “In a sea of sameness, we believe that Nokia phones should stand out,” said Juho Sarvikas, HMD’s chief product officer.
Intel is planning to blanket Tokyo in 5G for the 2020 Olympics. As the Pyeongchang Games came to a close, tech sponsor Intel announced ambitious plans for Tokyo 2020. Its superfast network will enable high-res video streams to moving cars, and, erm, “pervasive facial recognition” for security and stadium admissions, among other things.
Best of the rest. Afraid to be overshadowed by Samsung, splashy launches were rare. ZTE launched a mid-range Blade V9 that sports premium features like a glass back; LG broke from tradition and showed an updated V30 handset instead of the latest addition to its top-end G series; and Alcatel revealed its affordable flagship, the Alcatel 5, which comes with facial recognition and a sub-$300 price tag.
Chart interlude
By poking around the official MWC app, you can glean some insights into the delegations dispatched by Big Tech to Barcelona. Although Apple doesn’t have a booth or make any announcements at the trade show, it sent a decent-sized contingent regardless:
Mike likes…
Samsung’s new phones include a thing called “AR Emoji,” which scans your face and creates a cartoon likeness that mimics your movements. Here’s Mike trying to act suave but managing instead to look like he’s having a stroke:
Seen and heard
“The big issue is whether 5G can make money. It is not a technology-only issue, it is a business issue.”—Jeon Hong-Beom, KT’s head of infrastructure.
For first-time smartphone owners, “battery life is one of the most important attributes,” according to HMD boss Florian Seiche. “They cannot accept anything less than one day.”
It was a feast for the senses in the line outside the Samsung launch event near the Plaça d’Espanya, with aggressively smooth jazz blaring from the venue, mixed with spirited chants of “Viva España!” from noisy, pro-government demonstrators nearby who were awaiting the arrival of King Felipe VI, who is in town for the expo (link in Spanish).
“4G was about buying connectivity, and 5G is about buying experiences.”—Yvette Kanouff, senior vice president at Cisco.
News from around the world
Russia is likely to use its UN Security Council veto. The council has to renew its targeted sanctions on Yemen today, and the US has been lobbying for Iran to be held accountable over its weapons falling into the hands of Yemen’s Houthi group. Russia prefers a rival resolution that doesn’t mention Iran.
China moved to allow Xi Jinping to rule indefinitely. Yesterday, the Communist Party’s central committee proposed removing the phrase that the president and vice-president “shall serve no more than two consecutive terms” from the country’s constitution. The move supports predictions Xi would try to stay in power beyond the 10-year limit.
Warren Buffett published his letter to shareholders. This year the much-anticipated note revealed how Berkshire Hathaway gained $29 billion in 2017 from Trump’s tax reforms (Buffett himself believes higher taxes should be imposed on the wealthy). The “Oracle of Omaha” also said that some of the best market advice can be found in 19th-century poems.
Matters of debate
Facebook and Google are not invincible. The services they’re selling don’t necessarily have staying power—which means they’re vulnerable to disruption (paywall).
Instagram is killing the way we experience art. Before whipping out your smartphone, stand before a work of art and allow yourself to get lost in it.
Let boys be sensitive. If we want true gender equality, we need to encourage boys (paywall) to talk about and express their feelings, instead of telling them to toughen up.
Surprising discoveries
Physical activity benefits your personality—two decades later. A study of 8,500 people found that less active types were less conscientious, agreeable, and extroverted 20 years later.
Eating fish may prevent allergies. A Swedish study found that kids who ate fish at least once a month when they were one year old had a reduced risk of suffering from allergies at age 12.
Nokia’s famous ringtone dates all the way back to the 19th century. Frédéric Chopin’s 1834 waltz “Grand Valse Brillante” was the original inspiration for the chimes heard round the world.
Our best wishes for an inspiring day at the expo. Please send any news, tips, twitchy emojis, and pop-up webcams to us, Jason, Joon, and Mike. The best way to keep up with news while you’re on the go is the Quartz app for iPhone and Android.