Three telecoms industry giants have launched an initiative called ‘5G Apps of Tomorrow’ at MWC in a bid to kickstart 5G app development.
Mobile operator EE, smartphone manufacturer OnePlus, and chipset giant Qualcomm believe there's yet to be a ‘killer app’ which takes advantage of 5G’s capabilities.
Speaking on a panel, OnePlus CEO Pete Lau said he's unconvinced there's been enough ambition when it comes to how 5G can improve people's lives.
Lau believes 5G adoption will come in three phases:
5G 1.0 – Faster mobile internet with cloud data increasingly being treated the same as local data.
5G 2.0 – Around five years later, AI-powered devices will become more prevalent.
5G 3.0 – Expected in around 10 years, interconnected devices will be commonplace and your data will be available whenever needed.
“With the well-established infrastructure and diverse smart devices in the market after 10 years, we’ll be embracing the era of 5G 3.0, where everything is smartly interconnected and a truly burdenless experience can be achieved”, Lau said. “The service will be there only when you need it, and be on standby out of your way when not needed.”
The contest will be whittled down to 20 finalists. Winners receive a OnePlus device, a trip over to the company's headquarters, a year's worth of funding, and valuable support from the involved partners.
5G’s increased reliability and speed, combined with minimal latency, opens a wide range of new possibilities.
On the floor of MWC, there were many cool 5G demonstrations – including the ability to pilot a drone in South Korea from Barcelona:
Cool demonstrations are one thing, but real life-changing applications are yet to emerge. EE, OnePlus, and Qualcomm are seeking to change that.
If you want to give it a go, you can read more about the contest and apply here.
(Photo by Hassan OUAJBIR on Unsplash)
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