Here are all the companies that have dropped out of MWC 2020 (so far)
Update: MWC 2020 is canceled
The Mobile World Congress will not run this year due to coronavirus fears. As companies like Apple, Nokia and Sony had already canceled or scaled down their appearances, the event was already on its last legs before GSMA's announcement.
Original article follows below:
The Mobile World Congress (MWC) is one of the largest tech trade shows of the year. Typically, the Android flagships that drive discussion for the first half of the year are announced at or around that time. We learn about the mobile trends to expect for the upcoming year like 5G, foldables, multi-camera support, etc. This year, it's not going to be that smooth.
Due to the global coronoravirus outbreak and health-related fears, tech firms are pulling out here, there, and everywhere.
Here's a list of all the tech firms to have said adios to Barcelona so far.
Apple
While not typically a large presence at the Mobile World Congress, Apple does have a small showing of sorts. It's not overly important to the firm, so pulling out seems likely, and reports are already indicating that to be the case.
https://twitter.com/RDRv3/status/1227251070201552896
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Amazon
Amazon earlier this week decided to pull out from the Mobile World Congress.
As per an Amazon spokesperson (via TechCrunch):
AT&T
The US carrier AT&T will be opting out of the Mobile World Congress this year. ike other parties, this is driven by coronavirus concerns.
Ericsson
Ericsson will not be attending the Mobile World Congress this year. Due to health and security reasons, it'll not be attending the conference. The telecoms firm, while not a phone maker, is very important in the 5G space and would have done some of that year agenda-setting we mentioned above. As one of the MWC's biggest presences year after year, its absence will be felt.
Börje Ekholm, President, and CEO, Ericsson, said in a statement:
Facebook will also be absent from the Mobile World Congress this year. While Facebook prefers to keep its largest announcements isolated to its F8 developer conference, employees often attended MWC to hold small meetings and announcements.
As per CNET, that's out this year.
HMD Global
HMD Global has decided that it would be better to opt-out of MWC 2020 this year due to health concerns. The firm had planned to announce new phones at the fair, but will now be launching them at another time.
Health and safety of our employees, partners and media is our first priority. After carefully evaluating the situation, we have decided to cancel our MWC plans. We will get back to you soon with new date for introducing new awesome Nokia phoneshttps://t.co/FiOsuAj1csHealth and safety of our employees, partners and media is our first priority. After carefully evaluating the situation, we have decided to cancel our MWC plans. We will get back to you soon with new date for introducing new awesome Nokia phoneshttps://t.co/FiOsuAj1cs— Juho Sarvikas (@sarvikas) February 12, 2020February 12, 2020
Intel
Intel will be skipping this year's MWC due to health and safety concerns.
The firm gave the following statement:
LG
LG confirmed last week that it would be skipping the Mobile World Congress this year due to health and safety reasons. The firm will instead hold its own separate launch events for upcoming products.
Mediatek
Mediatek will also be pulling out of the MWC, as per The Register. The firm will find another (yet to be announced) event to showcase its wares.
Nokia
Nokia has decided to cancel its participation at Mobile World Congress this year to safeguard the health and well-being of employees. The company will instead be holding "Nokia Live" events to introduce new products that it had planned to launch at MWC 2020.
NVIDIA
NVIDIA has opted out of sending its employees to Barcelona due to coronavirus concerns. It would have made announcements revolving around its work on 5G and AI, but has now chosen not to.
Royole
The makers one of the first foldable phones, the Royale Flexpai will no longer be making an appearance at the Mobile World Congress. The sequel to the Flexpai will be announced at a later date.
Due to the health and safety concerns following the coronavirus outbreak, Royole Corporation has regretfully decided to withdraw from MWC 2020. We will be announcing FlexPai 2, a brand new foldable phone featuring flagship performance and Royole's core tech, before MWC 2020.Due to the health and safety concerns following the coronavirus outbreak, Royole Corporation has regretfully decided to withdraw from MWC 2020. We will be announcing FlexPai 2, a brand new foldable phone featuring flagship performance and Royole's core tech, before MWC 2020.— Royole Corporation (@RoyoleOfficial) February 11, 2020February 11, 2020
Sony
Sony was expected to announce a new flagship, among other products, at a press conference this year's MWC. It will no longer be doing so, opting instead for a YouTube video on the 24th of February.
TCL
TCL has also pulled out of its Mobile World Congress press conference this year due to health and safety fears. It won't be abandoning the conference wholesale but will retain its booth and stand at the Fira Gran Via.
Update on TCL’s presence at #MWC20. We hope to see you at our booth in Hall 3, Stand 3D11! pic.twitter.com/EYptRI6BlGUpdate on TCL’s presence at #MWC20. We hope to see you at our booth in Hall 3, Stand 3D11! pic.twitter.com/EYptRI6BlG— TCL Mobile (@TCLMobileGlobal) February 10, 2020February 10, 2020
Vivo
Vivo will pull out of the Mobile World Congress as well. It had planned to launch its new concept phone at the event but opted not to due to fears of the virus. It will instead debut the APEX 2020 concept phone at its own independent event at a later time. Vivo provided the following statement to Android Central:
ZTE
ZTE confirmed to Android Central that it would not be attending the Mobile World Congress in this event, citing safety concerns as the overriding reason for non-attendance.
Will the show go on?
As far as we know, MWC 2020 is still scheduled to run as planned —absent the missing companies. But news is traveling around that GSMA may simply cut its losses and cancel the MWC in its entirety. It has yet to decide so, but it'll make its decision by Friday.
Facebook, Cisco, and Sprint have also pulled out of MWC. Rumors suggest GSMA will announce its "final" MWC plans on Friday 14th.Facebook, Cisco, and Sprint have also pulled out of MWC. Rumors suggest GSMA will announce its "final" MWC plans on Friday 14th.— Tom Warren (@tomwarren) February 11, 2020February 11, 2020
https://twitter.com/RDRv3/status/1227217650595426305?s=20
GSMA will decide on Friday whether to cancel #mwc2020. We will hold off on any further decisions regarding the show until then. https://t.co/me4ZnOfaDkGSMA will decide on Friday whether to cancel #mwc2020. We will hold off on any further decisions regarding the show until then. https://t.co/me4ZnOfaDk— Sascha C-Band (@saschasegan) February 11, 2020February 11, 2020
While most of the MWC attendees are still coming, notice has been taken of the framing by the non-attendees. The firms which are not going have stated so for health and safety reasons. Perhaps GSMA will err on the side of safety and cancel the event wholesale.
On the other hand, the MWC is a really expensive business to run. It's also one that demands costs from not just the companies involved, but also brings in income and revenue to the local businesses in Barcelona. Whatever decision GSMA makes by the end of the week, it won't be an easy one.
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