About 85,000 people are expected to attend Mobile World Congress 2024, which will take place at the Fira de Barcelona on February 26–29 in just over a week. The expo has grown in importance over the last few years, making it probably the year’s most significant mobile event. To talk about what the industry will look forward to in the coming year, reporters, analysts, and representatives from telecoms, phone companies, and other IT vendors get together.
Much like any other significant live event, MWC has had a difficult few years. The show had 109,000 visitors in 2019; while this was less than CES (which had over 175,000 that year), it was still a respectable figure for a show that is ultimately far more focused. For a few years, COVID was very popular (join the club).
The GSM Association (GMA) decided to cancel the 2020 event following weeks of handwringing and numerous significant vendor withdrawals. The following year’s event was a much reduced version with a strict attendance cap. 2022 was the start of a resurgence to 60,000 people, whereas 88,500 attended in the previous year. For this year’s event, the organizers plan for a comparable number. Even though the quantity is still far lower than it was at its peak, MWC is yet considered a huge exhibition.
Several of the most well-known brands in the business are no longer very prominent. Consider Samsung, which has adopted the practice of revealing its newest flagships in the sluggish weeks that precede MWC and CES. As we approach this year’s event, I wish I could tell you that, similar to CES, intriguing little firms have swooped in to take over, but that isn’t the case. If nothing else, it’s not nearly as bad as what we’ve seen from the Vegas event.
Though it exists as a separate sister event, there is a respectable startup representation at MWC. In 2024, 4FYN, or “Four Years From Now,” will commemorate ten years of its founding. I’m hoping that will result in a thrilling performance.
The same group is hosting the event in the same location. I now see it as the Mobile World Congress version of Eureka Park at CES: a large, noisy space packed with startups. To be honest, there are worse things to do with an afternoon than work.
Companies that take part in pitch-offs and the exhibition floor have the opportunity to reach the sizable and active MWC audience.
MWC is a fun exhibition for concept gadgets as well. Here’s where Motorola and Lenovo excel. Of all the big names in consumer electronics, Lenovo is having the most fun. Everything will probably slide or fold. Lenovo isn’t scared to reveal some really, fantastically strange items, although some will be pure concepts. Even a “transparent laptop” is supposedly in the works for the occasion.
