ABI Research at MWC26 Shanghai: The Top Tech Trends to Watch

After moderating several panels at Asia Tech x Singapore in late May, ABI Research’s Singapore team is now making the trip to Mobile World Congress (MWC) Shanghai 2026 from June 24 to 26. The team will use their time to meet with the top innovators in the telco AI, space tech, and consumer tech industries to assess how vendors are meeting enterprise pain points.

ABI Research VP Jake Saunders, along with Industry Analysts Rachel Kong and Ben Chan, will pay special attention to the following tech trends at MWC26 Shanghai and are open to meeting key stakeholders to discuss them.

Table of Contents:

The Push Toward AI-Native Mobile Networks

Satellite-Enabled Direct-to-Device and Non-Terrestrial Networks

Mobile Technology Innovations

The Push Toward AI-Native Mobile Networks

Jake Saunders is looking forward to attending MWC Shanghai again in 2026. At last year’s event (2025), key themes were sustainability (such as dynamic power savings), efficiency (implementing leaner architecture), developing Integrated Sensing and Communication (ISAC) solutions (network-as‑radar), and developing a platform for multiple, collaborative AI agents for telcos and their customers to implement.

Last year, Jake witnessed a number of telcos set out their visions, including China Mobile (ACN experiments), NTT DOCOMO (its 6G priorities), KPN (Holistic Service-Based Architecture (HSBA) + AI Service Management and Orchestration (SMO) work), and Orange (its CogNet initiative). You can read last year’s ABI Insight, “How to Make AI in the 6G Core Work for the Telco Community? Can It Keep Up?,” to learn more. This year, Jake is keen to see how their Research and Development (R&D) programs in telco AI, enterprise AI, and 6G are evolving.

This year’s MWC Shanghai is expected to delve into “The IQ Era.” The GSMA and China's telecom giants (China Mobile, China Telecom, and China Unicom) recently launched the “Mobile AI Innovation Initiative.” The participating telcos, vendors, and software developers want to accelerate the transition from simple bandwidth expansion to deeply integrated intelligence.

Jake is also keen to meet with companies, executives, and visionaries that are exploring three key themes:

• Telco AI: The industry is moving from AI theater to structural change: agentic networks (autonomous AI agents for intent‑based orchestration), AI‑Radio Access Network (RAN) (software‑defined RAN with distributed Graphics Processing Units (GPUs) or AI Central Processing Units (CPUs) at the edge), and a focus on data fabrics to replace siloed Operations Support Systems (OSS)/Business Support Systems (BSS) so AI agents can act on clean, real‑time data.
• Enterprise AI: Telcos and cloud providers wish to develop monetized, on‑site AI: private 5G + edge compute enabling Physical AI (robots, drones, computer vision) for real‑time operations; Network‑as‑a‑Service Application Programming Interfaces (APIs) for programmatic slices and Subscriber Identity Module (SIM)‑based tokens; and sovereign edge frameworks to meet data‑residency and privacy needs.
• 6G and ISAC: Early 6G work aims to be AI‑native, with open, software‑defined architectures for distributed intelligence, and ISAC to let networks simultaneously transmit data and map physical environments (radar‑like sensing for drones, traffic, weather).

Satellite-Enabled Direct-to-Device and Non-Terrestrial Networks

Industry Analyst Rachel Kong will be covering the following tech trends reshaping Satellite Communications (SatCom).

1.) Direct-to-Device (D2D) and Direct-to-Cell (D2C) Move Toward Commercial Reality

• After several years of trials and Proofs-of-Concept (PoC) demonstrations, 2026 is expected to be a pivotal year for D2D and D2C services. The industry is moving beyond emergency messaging and SOS applications toward commercial voice, messaging, and data services delivered directly to standard smartphones gradually. A key theme at MWC Shanghai 2026 will be how operators, satellite providers, and device manufacturers collaborate to scale these services and develop sustainable business models.
• Meanwhile, mobile operators including China Mobile, China Telecom, and China Unicom continue to evaluate how Non-Terrestrial Network (NTN) services can complement terrestrial coverage, with partnerships in place with BeiDou for D2D messaging.
• Attendees should watch for announcements related to paying subscribers, operator-satellite partnerships moving beyond trials, expanded coverage footprints, and new D2D-enabled devices entering the market. The industry's focus is increasingly shifting from technical feasibility toward commercial scalability and monetization.

2.) NTN Ecosystem Readiness Accelerates Adoption

• While satellite connectivity services continue to mature, the broader NTN ecosystem remains the key enabler for mass-market adoption. Commercial success will depend not only on satellite networks, but also on the availability of NTN-compatible chipsets, modules, antennas, smartphones, Internet of Things (IoT) devices, and testing platforms.
• Device manufacturers including Huawei, HONOR, Xiaomi, OPPO, Samsung Electronics, and Apple have already introduced satellite-capable devices, while chipset vendors such as Qualcomm, MediaTek, UNISOC, and Samsung Electronics continue integrating NTN functionality into next-generation platforms.
• The Chinese ecosystem is particularly active, with module vendors such as Quectel, UNISOC, and HiSilicon accelerating the commercialization of NTN-enabled IoT and enterprise devices. Testing and validation companies, including VIAVI Solutions, Rohde & Schwarz, Spirent Communications, Accuver Shanghai, and Beijing Starpoint Technology, are also expected to showcase solutions supporting NTN certification and deployment.
• MWC Shanghai 2026 could see a wave of announcements involving new NTN-capable smartphones, IoT modules, antenna technologies, and integrated connectivity platforms that further strengthen the ecosystem.

3.) 3GPP Release Evolution Brings NTN Closer to Mainstream Mobile Networks

• Another major theme to watch will be the evolution of The 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) standards, particularly the industry's transition beyond the foundational NTN capabilities introduced in Release 17/18. Attention is increasingly turning toward Release 19 and emerging Release 20 developments, which aim to improve mobility management, handovers, spectral efficiency, device power consumption, and overall user experience.
• The long-term objective for operators is to make satellite connectivity a native extension of terrestrial 5G and future 6G networks, rather than a standalone service. This vision of integrated terrestrial and non-terrestrial connectivity is gaining momentum globally and is particularly aligned with China's ambitions around space-air-ground integrated communications networks.

• Companies such as Huawei, ZTE, Qualcomm, MediaTek, and industry bodies such as GSMA and 3GPP are expected to highlight how NTN capabilities are evolving within the broader mobile ecosystem.
• Key discussion areas are likely to include seamless roaming between terrestrial and satellite networks, NTN support for IoT devices, satellite-enabled 5G-Advanced services, and preparations for future 6G architectures. As standards mature, the industry's focus will increasingly shift toward interoperability, service continuity, and large-scale commercial deployment.

Rachel is looking forward to meeting several companies in these areas:

• Telcos: China Mobile, China Telcom, China Unicom
• Handset Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEMs): Huawei, ZTE, HONOR, Xiaomi, etc.
• Chipset Vendors: Qualcomm, Quectel, CEC Huada, Nordic Semiconductor, UNISOC
• Satellite Operators/Related: Spacesail Technologies, BeiDou, ICOE

Consumer Technology Innovations

Industry Analyst Benjamin Chan covers the consumer technology verticals, with a primary focus on smart devices such as smartphones, tablets, laptops, and wearables.

1.) Foldables Go Mainstream as Vendors Race Past Apple

The year 2026 has pushed the smartphone industry toward more creative ways of reshaping what a mobile device can be. As the market awaits the iPhone Ultra (Apple's first foldable), rivals have already leaped ahead. Following Huawei's tri-fold Mate XT in 1H 2025, Samsung's own tri-fold Galaxy Z TriFold reached the market in 1Q in a limited run and was later pulled after roughly 3 months—less a flop than a deliberate probe of pricing tolerance and appetite for radical form factors, and a sign the multi-fold category has moved from Chinese vendor curiosity to potentially a contested premium battleground. HONOR, OPPO, vivo, and Xiaomi are all prioritizing larger book-style foldables this cycle, with HONOR's Magic V6 leaning on a 6,660 Milliampere-Hour (mAh) silicon-carbon battery to compete on endurance over thinness. The effect: foldable engineering is maturing fast, narrowing the gap with conventional slates—and forcing Apple to enter an already-crowded field, rather than define it.

2.) HONOR's Robot Phone Signals a New Axis of Differentiation
Beyond folding, HONOR's Robot Phone points to something more radical. It integrates a motorized, titanium-alloy gimbal arm housing a 200 Megapixel (MP) sensor—what HONOR calls the industry's smallest 4-Degrees of Freedom (DoF) gimbal system—enabling physical subject tracking, cinematic stabilization, and AI-driven gesture interaction. Whether or not it reaches volume production, it's a deliberate attempt to open a new hardware category, rather than iterate within one. Together, these moves mark a break from the design unification of the slate-dominated era, when vendor differentiation had largely collapsed into camera tuning and incremental silicon gains. Form factor is re-emerging as a genuine vector of diversification in a mature market.

3.) Screenless Wearables Step into the Spotlight, Showcasing Strong Use Cases in Both Enterprise and Consumer Verticals

Screenless trackers are also on the rise. The display-free sensor bands that target users seeking recovery and continuous health metrics have essentially been a WHOOP monopoly for years. That changed over the past year as established names such as the Amazfit Helio Strap, POLAR Loop, and Google Fitbit Air all moved in as subscription-free rivals. With the field growing increasingly crowded, the contest is shifting from hardware to software depth and brand pull. The smartphone pairing keeps the band light and out of the way, and that unobtrusiveness is doing a lot of the work behind the form factor's pull away from the wrist.

The bigger story lies on the enterprise and clinical side, where the band is becoming a front door to medical-grade health platforms. WHOOP's recent Series G brought in Abbott and the Mayo Clinic as strategic investors, which reads as a path toward tying WHOOP's coaching layer to Abbott's continuous glucose biosensors, much as Dexcom did with Oura. Abbott's Lingo integration into the Withings app shows that same logic already shipping. The throughline for analysts to press on: the screenless wearable is looking less like a fitness accessory and more like a consumer-facing front-end for metabolic and longevity health, a space where regulatory credibility and clinical partnerships, not step counts, decide who wins.

Benjamin will meet with technology industry stakeholders who’d like to discuss the following key themes:

• Smart Device Innovation – Hardware manufacturers that are looking to innovate consumer experience and differentiate competitive advantage in the mature market.
• On-Device AI – Hardware and software vendors that look to integrate AI applications, use cases, and other scenarios on consumer day-to-day devices that improve productivity, entertainment, and convenience.
• All Other Consumer-focused Device Vendors, including smartphones, tablets, notebooks, wearables, and smart glasses.
  

Connect with an Analyst: If you or your team is attending MWC Shanghai 2026 on June 24 to 26—whether you’re a tech vendor or end user—schedule a meeting with ABI Research’s Singapore team. Our analysts can share how your market is evolving and use your insight to help shape technology research narratives.