at the

Mobile World
Congress 2015
Welcome to #MWC15
GroupM Insight bring you key trends directly from the worlds largest annual mobile conference - if anything is happening
in mobile, it can be found at the Mobile World Congress.

2015 - the year of the wearables?

Mixed
reviews
of
smartphone releases

Even before the official start of

#MWC15, the latest smartphone
devices were being launched. Sunday
1st March saw unveilings of the
Samsung Galaxy S6 & S6 Edge and
the HTC One M9. Although Samsung
is still the best selling smartphone
manufacturer, criticism of the design
of S5 led to a freeze in workers wages
and a dramatic drop in profits. Clearly,
Samsung does not want a repeat and
so has focused on the design. However,
although Samsung claims the S6 can
be charged considerably quicker, the
battery is no longer removable and
battery life is lower.
HTC (who in July 2014 saw a return
to profit after 3 consecutive quarterly
operating losses) announced the One
M9, a device boasting upgrades in
nearly every area. However, the One
M9 looks similar to the M8, as one
commentator noted youd be hardpressed to tell the handsets apart.
Focus has shifted from smartphones to
wearables, technology that is set to be
one of the big trends in 2015.

A focus on wearables opens

up the smartphone market
Following success in LatAm and Eastern
Europe, Alcatel One Touch announced
a 30% increase in production as it
aims to become a top 3 handset
manufacturer. If they succeed in
growing share in Western Europe, they
will represent a real threat to the big
players, particularly as they shift focus
from smartphones to wearables.

Will Apple steal their

competitors thunder
after #MWC15?

The HTC One M9 was launched before the official start

of MWC

Smartphone
growth is slowing

16.8% 7.6%
growth in
2 0 1 5

growth in
2 0 1 8

Wearables are forecast

to grow

1000%
17m 187m

in

2013

by

2020

In 2014, sales were

13.5m
wearable

health
and fitness trackers

4.1m
smar twatc hes

As both devices advance

into the others primary
space, a convergence is
set to occur. By 2018,

smartwatch sales are

set to overtake the
trackers

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A world of wearable technology

has thus far, failed to materialise.
However, #MWC15 has seen
multiple product announcements
as the market forecasts wearable
device shipments will increase by
1000% from 2013 to 2020. Huawei
have focused on wearables rather
than smartphones with the Huawei
watch and the wristband/ Bluetooth
headset. HTC has, for the first time,
announced a wearable product, the
HTC Grip. Their partnership with
Under Armour, an American Sports
Clothing company, has resulted in
a wearable fitness tracker. LG will
release the Urbane and Urbane
LTE smartwatches, the latter being
described as the worlds first 4g based
smartwatch with NFC technology
allowing the wearer to tap and pay.
Design in 2015 seems to be key
with Andy Coughlin, LGs Head of
Mobile in UK/ Ireland remarking
we are not competing against
other
smartwatches,
we
are
thinking about creating beautiful
timepieces. However, as the Worlds
press headed for #MWC15, Apple
extended an invitation to their
wearable presentation for 1 week
later. Tim Cook will likely weaken
follow-up coverage of wearable
tech while avoiding being drowned
in the PR generated by numerous
announcements this week.
Sources - Mobile World Daily, Engadget.com,
eMarketer, Tractica, Gfk