Counterpoint’s team of global analysts attended this year’s Mobile World Congress event at Barcelona Spain. MWC 2015 drew in more than 90,000 attendees and almost 2000 exhibitors. It is the key industry event for product announcements, launches, exhibition and sales.
However the elephant in the room has been the “partnerships” that are revealed at MWC and which set the tone for the future growth, strategies and technologies with implications on the entire mobile industry.
We review some of the more interesting developments arising at MWC and place them in context:
- Samsung Galaxy S6: The new Galaxies were the stand out products. Both are capable and expected of rekindling growth in Samsung’s high-end portfolio. More importantly they signal a change in Samsung’s attitude
- Partnerships: The announcements at MWC offer insights into directional future trends. Many focused on the nascent areas of wearables and IoT, though we see the substantive focus on the enterprise sector
- Alternative Operating Systems (O/S): The opportunity for alternatives to iOS and Android remains substantial. Windows, Cyanogen and Sailfish currently present the greatest prospect of undermining the incumbent player’s hegemony.
- Wearables: The subject of focus and interest at MWC, however the boundaries and segments within the sector remain blurred and changing. New entrants are coming from traditional watch and fashion brands to challenge tech OEMs. Apple cast the longest shadow despite not being present at MWC.