5G future the talk of Mobile World Congress, even though consumers won’t see the new tech for at least three years

This year’s Mobile World Congress took a hit before it even began.

Samsung, which in the past three years had unveiled new versions of its flagship Galaxy S phone at the Barcelona event, decided to delay its announcement this year (perhaps due to additional battery tests after last year’s incendiary Galaxy Note 7?).

What’s more, industry trends such as virtual reality and artificial intelligence are either starting to plateau (the former) or are still in their infancy (the latter), meaning that not much could be said about them this year that wasn’t said in 2016.

The four-day event was left to centre itself around the theme of 5G connectivity. Not that 5G isn’t important – quite the opposite. It’s said that 5G, when it reaches consumers (which will be 2020, according to just about every major telecommunication giant, ranging from Huawei to AT&T in the US), will affect our daily lives on a greater scale than 4G or 3G ever did. But the technology is still three years from being ready, and faster and broader connectivity isn’t as instantly headline grabbing as “virtual reality/artificial intelligence is here”.

Still, there was more than enough happening at MWC 2017 to get tech geeks and even casual gadget buyers talking. Here’s what got the most buzz at this year’s event.