COVID! That is the only word in Headlines these days. And because of that, many companies have postponed their upcoming launch events. On the other hand, MWC 2021 (Mobile World Congress), one of the most significant tech trades is still on. The event has been scheduled between June 28 and July 1.
MWC happens once a year which tech fans look forward to. Here is where the biggest smartphone announcements usually happen.
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Companies that are not attending MWC 2021
Earlier Samsung announced that it will not be attending the upcoming MWC 2021 that was happening in Barcelona. Samsung said it has “made the decision to withdraw from exhibiting in-person” and will now audit remotely, prioritizing the health and safety of its customers and employees.
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Now, hardware giant Lenovo has confirmed that it will not be taking part in this event in person. A Lenovo representative told The Verge that the company will now attend virtually instead of in person. And they have informed the GSM Association (the organiser) about its plans on Friday.
Following this, the show organiser, the GSMA, told TechCrunch: “Of course we respect that planning in a pandemic is complicated. Samsung will adapt their presence to virtual for MWC21, and we look forward to seeing them in person 2022.”
Other notable companies have dropped out from the in-person conference, including Nokia, Ericsson, Sony and Oracle.
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The in-person event is still scheduled for June. Despite the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic and problems in the availability of vaccination outside the US, the second wave hit few countries like India and Brazil heavily. The GSMA also worked against shutting down last year event early on in 2020 before some big brands backed off.
This year, we have already seen Google announce that it won’t be exhibiting, in addition to Samsung and Lenovo’s remote announcements.
