Due to the major coronavirus outbreak, many companies and brand have decided to fully or partially withdraw from Mobile World Congress (MWC) scheduled in Barcelona. Some of the more popular companies to back out of MWC 2020 include Sony and Amazon.
Vivo
More recently, Vivo decided to putt out. The Chinese manufacturer recently announced that it plans to withdraw from MWC 2020 in light of coronavirus spreading. The company did so by emailing the Android Authority and mentioning the same. The email states, “Vivo has been closely monitoring the Novel Coronavirus Pneumonia (NCP) outbreak and continuously evaluating planned activities. The health and safety of our employees and the public are our top priority. Based on the present situation, we have decided to withdraw from our debut at MWC 2020 and other related events later this month in Barcelona, Spain.”
Vivo was planning to exhibit its 2020 Apex Concept device at MWC 2020, which would be the latest concept phone there. The company mentioned that since it would have to pull out of the MWC, they will make arrangements to show off the new concept phone soon enough. However, more details about the month or day have not been mentioned yet. Counterpoint Research ranks Vivo sixth with regards to smartphone shipments.
Sony
Sony also had decided to withdraw from participating at MWC 2020 in Barcelona. The World Health Organization declared the ongoing coronavirus outbreak a global emergency on January 30. The company quoted this as a reason for withdrawing, “the utmost importance on the safety and wellbeing of our customers, partners, media and employees.”
Sony then decided to hold a press conference on Monday, February 24. They decided to live stream at 8:30 am CET using their official Xperia YouTube channel. The company is planning to announce the Xperia 1.1 flagship. The smartphone is slated to come with 5G network support, Snapdragon 865, a 6.6-inch display, and a quadruple-camera setup. The phone will also have a headphone jack and front-facing stereo speakers. In addition to the Xperia 1.1 flagship, the company could also be planning to release two mid-range smartphones. As of now, we don’t know a lot about the products, but these are expected to replace the Xperia 10 and Xperia 10 Plus.
Other Companies Not Participating In MWC 2020
Mobile World Congress is one of the biggest tech events in the world. Big brands and start-ups alike flock to the event. However, due to concerns about the coronavirus outbreak, many brands have decided to withdraw to ensure safety for the staff and others. While Vivo is among the most recent ones to do so, there are other brands that decided against joining Congress this year. This includes the likes of ZTE, LG, Amazon, Ericsson, Sony, NVIDIA, and TCL.
Here’s a quick list of all the brands that have withdrawn from the MWC 2020 so far.
- Apple
- Amazon
- AT&T
- Ericsson
- HMD Global
- Intel
- LG
- Nokia
- Mediatek
- NVIDIA
- Royole
- Sony
- TCL
- Vivo
- ZTE
