Held across four halls at the Shanghai New International Exhibition Centre (SNIEC), the 2016 Mobile World Congress Shanghai hosted nearly 550 exhibitors, including 18 pavilions and attracted around 60,000 visitors over the 3 days.
The Mobile World Congress Shanghai exhibition was a truly international showcase, with 64 per cent of exhibiting companies coming from outside of China. This included our UK team at Redbox Mobile who held both an independent stand and a stand in partnership with UKTI, in a dedicated Country Pavilion.
The event attracted an audience of all ages and focused on how mobile technology is revolutionising every aspect of individuals’ lives and creating a personalised experience. Although there was a huge variety of different stands it was clear that virtual reality prevailed along with 5G, mobile, payment and app security. Two amazing new pieces of technology that really caught our eye were, the Akyumen a smartphone with a built-in projector that beams your screen directly onto any surface and Mybrana a mobile app that uses augmented reality to add special effects in real time about people and places.
The Mobile World Congress Shanghai conference programme included keynotes from leaders of outstanding organisations, including ourselves. Founder & CEO Rory gave an inspirational talk about the benefits of ASO and ASO+ at the Internet and App lab. This was a highlight for us and a great feeling to be up there amongst big names.
This year’s event wasn’t just about meetings, exhibition stands and conference sessions, however; it was our first time to Shanghai so we had a lot of fun in between business. Shanghai oozes an atmosphere of vitality and rivals New York and Paris in terms of modernity and size.
The Shanghai Financial Trade Centre was a great experience where we enjoyed a fantastic bird's-eye view of the city at night. We got the chance to visit the People’s Square, located in the Huangpu District in the centre of Shanghai. It consists of an open square, the People’s Park and some unique architecture themed with culture, tourism and business, and it is one of the most important landmarks in Shanghai. A dinner at M on the Bund made a great end to our trip. Overlooking the Huangpu River, across from the iconic Pearl Tower, the view alone was incredible, added to this was beautifully presented and delicious dishes. All in all an unforgettable dining experience.
Rory Mudie CEO; Mobile in China is exploding, what has taken the rest of the world to achieve in consumer and Industry adoption China will achieve in months possible weeks. The MWCS2016 buzz is reminiscent of MWC2010, big growth and opportunities all round. Android dominates the market but it’s desperate and Wild West -esque, iOS carries a premium feel and user behaviour defaults to western brands as the norm. There is a massive opportunity for western brands in China NOW on iOS
We have learnt a lot about how the Chinese app market works from our visit to Shanghai. If you are or have been considering the idea of optimizing your app for China contact us now.