“The topic of artificial intelligence is seeping out everywhere it can” – Kommersant FM

Kommersant FM columnist Alexander Levi explains what the cross-section of technologies at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona shows.

The annual Mobile World Congress in Barcelona provides a good snapshot of the technologies that the industry is betting on, that vendors believe in, and that are attracting users. For many years, 5G connectivity has been at the forefront of this exhibition.

The results of these efforts are partially reflected in the Counterpoint Research report. At the end of the last quarter of 2023, total shipments of 5G smartphones reached 2 billion units. Moreover, half of the volume came from just two companies – Apple and Samsung. It took the mobile industry five years to reach a major milestone. By comparison, 4G devices took a year longer to reach the same value.

The congress that opened in Spain will certainly continue to discuss the applications of the latest generation of communications. At the same time, the topic of artificial intelligence is still modestly, but reasonably, seeping out wherever it can. The AI-RAN alliance announced its creation in Barcelona. Amazon Web Services, Ericsson, Microsoft, Nokia, NVIDIA, Samsung Electronics, SoftBank, T-Mobile and several other large companies in its composition plan to improve network efficiency, reduce energy consumption and modernize current infrastructure using AI tools. The phrases are still general, but the intention and the team have been stated.

Smartphone and smart device brand Tecno came to the exhibition with a new Megabook T16 Pro 2024 Ultra laptop, as well as an artificial intelligence-based image processing system. The latter will probably be implemented at least in the manufacturer’s flagship solutions.

Oppo, for example, has already shared a more specific announcement. Advanced generative AI technologies will be available in their new Reno family. In particular, we are talking about the Oppo AI Eraser function. Moreover, the vendor announced the opening of its own AI center.

The Honor brand showed ready-made new products at the MWC exhibition. The developers of the Magic6 Pro smartphone, MagicBook Pro 16 laptop and Pad 9 tablet have already introduced artificial intelligence technologies into their gadgets. Moreover, the company announced a strategy aimed at the widespread use of AI.