FORBES AFRICA was at MWC Barcelona looking into Agentic AI and a raft of new gadgets coming up.
Making its global debut at MWC, Xiaomi also showed off its SU7 Ultra EV, which goes from 0-
100km/h in a ridiculous 1.98 seconds. It recently went on sale in China and sold over 10,000 units
within two hours, reaching its annual sales target.
Artificial Intelligence (AI) and agentic AI seemed to be the central theme at Mobile World Congress (MWC) Barcelona, with most companies showcasing some form of AI.
Agentic AI refers to AI systems that can operate autonomously, i.e., make decisions or take action without human intervention.
An example on Android is to ask Google’s Gemini to find flight options and send the results in an email to a colleague, or find a specific recipe and share it directly to a contact.
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The introduction of these features means users will rely less on an app-based interface to give rise to ‘AI as the new UI’.
Google provided us with a sneak peek to its conversational AI, Gemini Live, that requires an advanced subscription: Gemini Live with video and Gemini Live with screenshare features.
Most smartphone companies at MWC had similar demos as they are powered by Google’s Gemini.
Meanwhile, technology brand Honor unveiled its $10-billion ‘Alpha Plan’; a change in its corporate strategy: to move from a smartphone maker to an AI device ecosystem company.
It shared a three-step plan to create an ‘intelligent world’ and called on the tech industry to join forces to “‘maximise human potential, ultimately benefiting all mankind”.
Honor CEO James Li said: “I am calling on all of us to unite together to address the challenges, as well as the many opportunities, of AI technology. I also call on the industry to be truly open so that we can fully embrace this exciting AI future.”
Honor said it will leverage Gemini 2.0 to create its first intelligent phone with partners Google and Qualcomm that will “revolutionize human-to-device interaction”.
Part of its plan is to make devices on its ecosystem work seamlessly with others, including iOS, which it demoed through file sharing to multiple devices on Android and iPhone.
Proving to be a major player in the Android space since splitting from Huawei in 2020, Honor also announced seven years of Android OS and security updates, joining the ranks of Google and Samsung.
The best of the rest
AI aside, here are some gadgets that caught our eye this year, which felt somewhat underwhelming compared to our visits in 2023 and 2024.
Lenovo showed off its Yoga Solar PC proof-of-concept laptop, with a lid covered in solar panels that claims an over 24% conversion rate, which it says is one of the highest in the industry.
A 20-minute direct sunlight charge yields enough power for up to one hour of video playback, it said.
Realme showed off an interchangeable lens concept smartphone that lets you swap out DSLR lenses with your device. It used an older device with a Sony one-inch sensor to show its capabilities.
While Xiaomi showed something similar a few years back, this year revealed a magnetic modular lens prototype smartphone that lets you easily swap out lenses using its proprietary lens mount.
Making its global debut at MWC, Xiaomi also showed off its SU7 Ultra EV, which goes from 0-100km/h in a ridiculous 1.98 seconds.
It recently went on sale in China and sold over 10,000 units within two hours, reaching its annual sales target. The company announced it will sell its cars outside of China within the next few years.
On the topic of cars, the Catalonian police showed off a hyperconnected police car with a drone on its roof to help patrol and catch criminals, including a smart police management system featuring a 24 hour in-person and virtual police force. The concept is yet to receive backing and funding to become a reality.
Unveiled at CES but showcased at MWC, TCL showed off the TCL 60 XE Nxtpaper 5G smartphone, which makes the display look like paper for eye comfort, using its proprietary technology.
The phone features various ink paper modes for reading and limited app functionality and a black and white or colour paper mode.
Lastly, Samsung’s Project Moohan mixed reality headset was showcased at its booth, the first Android XR headset, however, no hardware specifications were shared. A rival to the Apple Vision Pro, it’s set to launch later this year.
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