March 15th 2018
MOBILE WORLD CONGRESS 2018 | TOP TECH FOR BUSINESS
The 2018 Mobile World Congress, held in Barcelona from 26th February to 1st March excited the world with upcoming technology. Showcasing concepts like the Vivo Apex, a ‘bezel-less’ phone with a fingerprint reader placed underneath the screen and being the launch site of the new Samsung Galaxy S9 and S9 Plus.
But, what new technology/hardware was announced that businesses all around could take advantage of? Let’s find out in our #bizfit blog.
LATEST SMARTPHONES – WORTHY AS AN ONLY-DEVICE?
Arguably the most exciting things to be showcased at the MWC are the latest flagship smartphones, like the Samsung Galaxy S9 & S9 Plus, or the Sony XZ2. With the latest and greatest specifications, anyone would be able to appreciate these new smartphones for what they are, but, how could a business take advantage?
LAPTOP REPLACEMENT?
The new Snapdragon 845, seen on the new Samsung, Sony, and even Asus phones is apparently 25% faster than the 835 seen on the Galaxy S8 and Pixel 2 and is also 30% more battery efficient. The added power with increased battery life could potentially result in an incredible Mobile Working experience, with devices that have more power than most chromebooks and some low-spec Windows 10 PC’s, with a battery that can last.
Additionally, the Snapdragon 845 also has a separate processor that is dedicated to storing biometric scans to make devices even more secure, which is especially a definite added plus for businesses.
A more powerful, battery efficient, secure device that can also make high-quality mobile calls and is probably already being carried by someone without question? Seems like the perfect recipe for the ultimate mobile-working solution.
CAMERAS SERVICEABLE FOR PROFESSIONAL USE?
The cameras that are fitted on phones nowadays have come far, even compared to cameras on phones 3 years ago. Having a good camera on a phone has now become a huge factor in a smartphones success, resulting in companies now competing to put the very best mobile hardware and software on their phones. A smartphone can truly become an only device, now being able to replace a DSLR camera for many.
Sure, in the past using, let’s say, an iPhone 5S to take pictures for your company branding may have looked a little cheesy, or unprofessional rather. But, the image quality that the new S9 Plus, Pixel 2, Sony XZ2 or iPhone X produce is more than enough for most. Check out this article by phonearena which puts the Galaxy S8 against a £1400 mirrorless camera and an entry-level DSLR, you’ll be surprised how the S8 compared.
A phone that can take a good picture will usually be able to take good video also, and there are a variety of accessories out there to turn a smartphone into a powerful video camera. Of course, you need to have a smartphone with a good video camera to begin with to take full advantage.
The new Sony XZ2 is able to take 4K 10-bit HDR video at 30FPS, resulting in richer colours and higher quality dynamic range in high and low-lit areas, where a smartphone usually struggles. Amazingly, it is also able to take incredible slow-motion video at 1080p 960FPS which is a game changer as you’re getting these features on a phone for under £1000, compared to a dedicated camera with the same features costing £1,200.
Of course, a quality DSLR or Mirrorless camera will no doubt provide the absolute best picture quality, so if your business is serious about its ‘image‘ than investing in a dedicated video and photo taker will take you far in your in-house production.
SAMSUNG DEX – THE DOOR TO PREDICTED MOBILE WORKING?
Building on top of Samsung’s already impressive DeX system, which converts Samsung smartphones to Low-Spec’d Desktop PC’s. The Samsung DeX Pad was launched in conjunction with the new S9 and S9 Plus, to remove the need for a mouse by turning your Samsung device into a computer, like the DeX would, but also being able to use the screen as a trackpad.
Samsung’s DeX opens up a new way of Mobile Working, where people can just use their phone as their main device, by taking it with them where ever they go and connecting it to a monitor and keyboard back in the office.
The biggest obstacle that comes with using just a smartphone for everything though, will be its screen size when you don’t have access to a monitor, but still, Samsung is paving the way to the mobile working experience that we all want.
5G FROM ERICSSON
At the MWC 2018, Börje Ekholm the Ericsson President and CEO announced that 5G could be closer than we thought and declared that it is open for business.
He also highlighted three areas that are necessary for services providers to succeed in to make 5G a successful network. These areas are:
- Efficiency – To bring the cost per gigabyte down
- Digital Experience – To improve customer experience and cost reduction
- and to create new revenue streams based on 5G and IoT use cases
What this means for us is that 5G is being pressured to be sensibly priced and will be used for more than just phones. He also announced that Ericsson have completed their 5G platform in 2018, and most noteworthy they have added 5G commercial software for radio and core networks to enable operators to launch 5G already from Q4 2018.