Sony and Amazon are the latest global tech companies to pull out of the Mobile World Congress 2020 in Barcelona, Spain, amidst fears surrounding the Coronavirus outbreak. They now join the likes of LG, ZTE, Erricson and Nvidia who have also made the decision to ditch the event.
ICYMI: The World Mobile Congress is said to be the biggest annual technology trade show which hosts hundreds of tech enthusiasts and major industry players.
“Sony has been closely monitoring the evolving situation following the novel coronavirus outbreak, which was declared a global emergency by the World Health Organization on January 30th, 2020,” says Sony in an official statement.
“As we place the utmost importance on the safety and wellbeing of our customers, partners, media and employees, we have taken the difficult decision to withdraw from exhibiting and participating at MWC 2020 in Barcelona, Spain.”
Amazon, meanwhile, tells TechCrunch that “due to the outbreak and continued concerns about novel coronavirus, Amazon will withdraw from exhibiting and participating in Mobile World Congress 2020, scheduled for Feb. 24-27 in Barcelona, Spain”.
According to The Verge, the news that Amazon has withdrawn from the event is not entirely devastating as the company “has not historically had a major consumer-focusing presence”. However, Sony “often uses the show to reveal its most important mobile devices. Last year, for example, the company announced its Xperia 1 flagship phone at the show”.
Instead, Sony now plans to use its Xperia YouTube channel to make announcements.
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