Flip Phones, AI, Naturally Dumb Glasses, and Enhanced Audio: MWC 2024 Major Impressions

What is like to explore audio technologies in the massive show that is Mobile World Congress. A report from MWC 2024 in Barcelona from an audio product development perspective. Audio for mobile platforms, wireless technologies, wearables and true wireless earbuds and hearables. And lot's of AI! MWC 2024 has nearly returned to pre-pandemic size levels, closing with 101,000 attendees from 205 countries.

Wearable demand growth declined to 14.6% YoY in 2022 from 27.7% YoY in 2021 due to the economic slowdown after the peak of the COVID pandemic. This trend persisted in the first half of 2023, as longer replacement cycles and a lack of compelling features suppressed consumer demand. However, technology intelligence firm ABI Research predicts that the overall wearables market will rebound, reaching 689.33 million shipments by the end of 2028, with a CAGR of 11.3% between 2023 and 2028.

The NFC Forum unveiled a new NFC Device Class specification that provides device manufacturers and OEMs with a miniature, low-cost, sustainable solution for wireless wearable devices. The Card Emulation (CE) Device class is the first of its kind answering an industry need for wearable devices that provide basic functionality and longer battery life in a tiny footprint while maintaining interoperability with the current NFC ecosystem.