Live from MWC 2019: Do you have 5 minutes for 5G?

It’s been a busy, bouncing and breathtaking few days in Barcelona so far. I’ve had the pleasure of catching up with some of our amazing clients and partners and meeting a whole bunch of fresh faces.

And, over at the Glispa & Mobfox booth, we’ve been bringing the beach vibes to MWC. If you’re still around, you should really join us for our next Happy Hour on Wednesday at 4pm. Free drinks on us? What’s not to like.

But aside from all that, I’ve taken some time from my schedule to roam the halls and get a glimpse of what’s on show at this year’s conference.

Even before it started, I knew 5G was going to be near the top of the agenda. It’s been a hot topic for what feels like an eternity, but I’ve been seriously wow’d by what I’ve seen here.

What models have been announced?

Most of the industry’s big boys are here, and they’re showing off their new 5G models.

If you haven’t already, I would seriously suggest swinging by Samsung to check out their impressive foldable device – likely to be the most talked about phone during the conference – and their Galaxy S10 5G. Not only are they aesthetically mind-blowing, but they’re equipped with phenomenal internal memory and processing power (you wouldn’t expect anything less though, right?).

The foldable and slick looking Huawei Mate X isn’t too shabby either but what’s got me excited is LG’s V50 ThinQ 5G. With its hand ID tech, this sci-fi inspired beauty reads veins in your hand to verify your identify! I MUST get my hands on one!

What does this mean for us in the ad tech space?

While I have you, let’s take a second to look at some of the immediate benefits these phones will bring (you can get back to the conference afterwards).

Video will become more competitive

According to the experts, the introduction of 5G will enable smooth-playing videos to be displayed on smartphones in ultra HD. This enhanced viewing experience will make mobile video advertising even more attractive – and more competitive. This means creative and more engaging storytelling will be needed to attract digital audiences, some of which you’ll see at this year’s conference.

5G will change the game for Playables

This format will break free from 2D graphics as companies take advantage of more bandwidth and faster delivery times to unleash higher-quality and 3D animations. If you want to learn more about Playables, head to our booth at 8.1F70 and don’t forget to ask for Tom and Johnny.

Faster ad loading time and programmatic buying

5G is going to manage data at significantly higher speeds. So, advertisers and publishers can soon rely on much quicker ad-load times, making things like in-app promotion more appealing. Without server delays, the delivery of mobile advertising will be a smoother process and a less frustrating experience for consumers. This means programmatic buying will need to improve and adapt. DSPs, SSPs and DMPs will need to work much harder to keep up with the speed in which 5G processes massive amounts of data.

New formats

VR, AR, Mixed reality, 360 videos – I’m sure you’ve heard a lot about this kind of stuff at MWC 2019. These will become feasible options for advertisers. 5G will take care of the bandwidth and latency issues that have previously held back these formats and will let advertisers tell stories in truly innovative ways without buffering and using up consumer data allowance.