People and Pets First, Technology Second

The annual mobile mega trade show the Mobile World Congress is drawing to a close in Barcelona this week and the headlines from the show have largely been concerned with: who made the best folding smartphone, which device packs the most lenses, and the carrier that’s best poised to deliver 5G (when it finally arrives in a couple of years). Despite the entertaining spectacle of brands trying to convince us theirs is the shiniest and fastest horse in the stable (no touching allowed), well-funded games of one-upsmanship aren’t the most fruitful way of illuminating the technological developments that really matter to both brands and their consumers.

So, away from the some of the ostentatious announcements, here’s a few of the ‘human-centred’ designs on show that grabbed our attention at MWC this week:

The Microsoft Hololens 2 was the most exciting wearable on display, this business-focused solution has the potential to alleviate existing pain points that any business spread across multiple locations experiences – from assisting junior colleagues to giving remote working the ‘same room’ collaboration. Hololens takes the turn-by-turn instructions that we’re used to from Alexa or City Mapper and brings that to the world of work. Without any previous experience, I can be guided through airplane repairs, before trying a spot of 3D modelling and eventually build up to medical procedures. It won’t always be just for business, as Epic Games, the multi-billion dollar creator of Fortnite, announced a Hololens partnership at MWC.

Google seized the opportunity to show off the potential for AR as the next evolution of Google Maps. For the last nine years conference punters have collected cute Android pin badges, but this year the treasure hunt added a digital component to show off VPS (visual positioning system). This signals the move away from the blue dot reliance that most of us have a love-hate relationship with, and obviously has huge implications for how we experience spaces for the first time. It’s prime for overwhelming navigation moments like your first visit to NYC, Glastonbury, or even Westfield.

As the battle for the connected ecosystem (smart: phone, speaker, TV, fridge, etc.) begins to get a bit stale, it was refreshing to see Vodafone pick out their Kippy pet tracker as a product worth showcasing. This GPS and activity tracker takes the regular data outputs we’re familiar with and delivers them for your pets – to check they’re actually being walked and set a safe zone around your home for peace of mind. A move like this is a lot more compelling for people than claims like the “UK’s #1 network” and could help Vodafone stand out in a landscape of homogeneous data tariffs and slowing smartphone sales.   

As for the festival turkey, the Nubia α (alpha), the smartphone-watch wrap around hybrid stood out for the wrong reasons. At a time when plenty of us are trying to cut down on screen time, it’s a step in the wrong direction. A bigger screen, more processing power, more weight on your wrist and even harder to avoid, it’s the opposite of what I’m looking for in a wearable. Just because you’ve got the resources to build it, doesn’t mean you should.

Pierce Calhan is a strategist at Twelve Agency.