Good morning, Mobile World Congresspeople!
Two days down, two days to go. Or, just one day to go at the startup-focused side event 4YFN, so make an effort to stop by the other Fira if you don’t want a case of MWC FOMO.
The weather today will be mostly the same as yesterday (that is, if you left the Fira), with a high of 18°C (64°F) and mostly sunny.
What to watch for today
AI ethics hits the stage. Two events will address artificial intelligence and ethics, out of 15 speeches and panels today that have to do with AI. One is centered on privacy and the other is about why ethics enforces trust. They’re both in the morning, and you’d have to run from one end of the Fira to the other in zero minutes to catch them both. What algorithm said that was a good idea?
View from the top. Watch six middle-aged men talk about the next generation of technology at a keynote titled, appropriately enough, “The Next Generation.” The panel also teases appearances from “participants from all ages,” but the risk is that this won’t be more than a patronizing pat on the head to the young ‘uns. Prove us wrong.
Cutting-edge technology. Through the technical wizardry of 5G, Antonio de Lacy, head of gastrointestinal surgery at the Hospital Clínic of Barcelona, will be mentoring doctors in real-time from the stage at the Fira as they perform surgery back at the hospital. The Clínic became the first hospital to integrate 5G into an operating room earlier this year.
Meanwhile, in Spain. If you’re looking for something to do tonight, the second leg of the semi-final in Spain’s top soccer competition, the Copa del Rey, kicks off at 9pm. Barcelona takes on Real Madrid—a famously heated rivalry dubbed El Clásico. Find a tapas bar to watch the match, and make sure you show no sympathy or admiration for Madrid.
What everyone is talking about
Point: “Duplicitous and deceitful.” Counterpoint: “We don’t do bad things.” Rumblings about the US government’s effort to stop Huawei from installing 5G equipment around the world came to a head yesterday, as the warring factions launched attacks out in the open.
Robert Strayer, an American cybersecurity official, told reporters that the Chinese telecom giant couldn’t be trusted with critical communications infrastructure—”duplicitous and deceitful” were the words he used—because the firm was beholden to Beijing’s “mass security apparatus.” But Guo Ping, deputy chairman of the Chinese firm, stressed in a keynote speech that the firm would “never plant backdoors” in its equipment. “We don’t do bad things,” he added.
Who to believe? Some of the more outspoken telco bosses, like Vodafone’s Nick Reed, have urged the US to produce evidence that Huawei-built networks are susceptible to snooping. For his part, Guo sardonically asked: “Prism, prism, on the wall, who is the most trustworthy of them all?” To drive the point home—the US government’s once-clandestine data collection program was dubbed PRISM—he added, “If you don’t understand this question, you can go ask Edward Snowden.”
More highlights from yesterday
More phones? More phones! HTC’s Exodus 1, aka the “blockchain phone,” has been out for a few months, but several new features were unveiled at MWC, including a browser with built-in crypto tipping functionality for websites. (If you value this newsletter and want to toss a few dogecoin our way, get in touch.) ZTE subsidiary Nubia showed off the Alpha, a smart watch with a curved screen, camera, and microphone for video calls.
A faster microSD card. Our phones are generating more data than ever, given that multiple cameras and 4K video capability has become the norm. The SD Association announced microSD Express, a new standard that will allow transfer speeds of nearly a 1GB per second.
Apple is in the house. Well, not really, but its phones are. The Cupertino company is traditionally absent from all the major industry conventions, MWC included, but a French company called Remade has been buying up old iPhone 6S and 7 handsets, refurbishing and repainting them, then selling them for a fraction of the original cost. It suggests there’s still plenty of demand for iPhones with a headphone jack.
Digital surveillance. Big tech companies like Google, Microsoft, and Amazon talk about the importance of democratizing artificial intelligence, aiming to make the tech easy enough that any coder can build AI. (Funny how they all have cloud businesses that sell those tools, right?) But this also makes digital surveillance is more powerful and accessible than ever. Somewhat ominously, more than a few booths boast surveillance tools with facial recognition and the ability to estimate the size of crowds.
Chart interlude
Asia has more mobile subscribers than the rest of the world combined.
Mike likes…
Stockholm calling, on 5G. Ericsson’s invite-only booth outlines the network manufacturer’s vision for an extremely connected world. There was a truly impressive demo with Microsoft’s HoloLens, where users can simultaneously interact with digital objects, feeling the tension if a partner pulled them in another direction—something only possible on a wireless network with no latency. Ericsson also showed off what looked like a strip of tape, but was a prototype flexible radio device for 5G. Theoretically, you could hide these in your wallpaper or carpet, giving new meaning to “network rollout.”
… and Dave digs
Befitting a battery company, Energizer’s Power Max P18K Pop (in blue below) doesn’t cut corners when it comes to power. It has a massive 18,000 mAh battery, equivalent to nearly seven full changes of the iPhone XS. It’s bulky, heavy, and beautiful.
Daily challenge
Ask booths bragging about streaming 5G during the show whether they have an actual 5G transmitter and receiver setup or whether they’re “simulating” their stream. Samsung, NTT DoCoMo, and Ericsson installed antennas in their booths, while HTC is cheekily simulating a 5G stream over wifi.
Seen and heard
“AR and VR will be like the senses: our eyes and ears, and even our sense of touch. AI will be the brain and nervous system, and the blockchain will be the DNA of our digital empowerment.”—Cher Wang, CEO of HTC
5G isn’t cool. You know what’s cool? 6G.
If there’s one person you’d expect to be an enthusiastic user of Huawei’s ultra-luxe new folding phone, it would be deputy chairman Ken Hu. That may be the case, but out in the wild he totes around a non-folding handset, just like the rest of us. Why? Because the fancy 5G model “isn’t connected to anything yet,” he says, matter-of-factly.
MWC is making attendees sweat to charge their phones.
There’s a “flying taxi” made by Chinese drone company Ehang at the event, but there appears to be nothing new about it (it makes appears at many events), other than an on-brand sticker saying “5G” on it.
News from around the world
US lawmakers blocked Trump’s border emergency. The House of Representatives easily passed a resolution to overturn Trump’s declaration of a national emergency on the Mexican border, which would have allowed him to tap $5.7 billion in spending for his border wall. The measure now heads to the Republican-controlled Senate, where passage will be more difficult.
Nigeria’s president was re-elected. Muhammadu Buhari defeated his main rival, former vice president Atiku Abubakar, gaining a second term. While pockets of violence marred that election, no independent observer has cited electoral fraud. Meanwhile in Senegal, Macky Sall appears to be headed for victory in that presidential election, according to a media tally.
Facebook will finally launch a “clear history” tool. The company’s CFO, David Wehner, said the feature will be rolled out later this year. First announced last May, the tool will make it harder for Facebook to target ads to users using information collected by third parties.
Chinese electric-car maker BYD reported another drop in profit. The company blamed intensifying competition in the Chinese auto market for the more than 30% drop in its preliminary net profit for 2018. A reduction in government subsidies and weak demand is also putting a squeeze on profits in the sector.
Matters of debate
We need a new word to describe female militants. The tabloid sensationalism of “jihadi bride” flattens a complicated debate about the agency of women who join ISIS.
Apple sees you when you’re sleeping. The company is reportedly preparing a new sleep tracking app for the Apple Watch, putting its privacy policies in the spotlight.
Cutting your personal carbon footprint won’t end climate change. A global political solution is the only possible answer.
Surprising discoveries
A whale carcass was found in the Amazon jungle. The juvenile humpback may have been pulled into the mangroves by the tide.
Pet gadgets are the new smartphones. With phone sales lagging, companies are rolling out canine exercise trackers and smart litter boxes.
Internet vigilantes are taking down psychics who snoop on social media. The group Guerrilla Skeptics sets up fake Facebook profiles (paywall) to ensnare huckster mediums.
Our best wishes for an inspiring day at the expo. Please send any news, tips, Energizer bunnies, and backdoors to Beijing to us, Dave, Mike, and Jason. The best way to keep up with news while you’re on the go is the Quartz app.