Sony Mobile, Amazon and other big names continue MWC coronavirus pullout - where will it end?
After LG's much publicised withdrawal from Mobile World Congress 2020 due to fears over the coronavirus outbreak, other manufacturers have announced similar decisions to cancel their attendance and any activities at the show.
Sony Mobile is, perhaps, the biggest of them - releasing a statement explaining that it won't be exhibiting nor hosting its annual press conference at the world's largest phone trade show in Barcelona.
"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," it said on the official Sony news site.
The company joins Nvidia, Amazon and Ericsson. We expect others to follow suit too.
Samsung, for example, is yet to confirm its intentions, but speculation is rife that it will also "pare back" its presence somewhat.
Nvidia highlighted the different subjects it had hoped to discuss at MWC: "We’ve been looking forward to sharing our work in AI, 5G and vRAN with the industry," it said in its statement, as posted on the Nvidia Blog. "We regret not attending, but believe this is the right decision."
Most of those not attending will still host press conferences, except online rather than in person. Sony Mobile, for example, will still livestream its event, which you can read more about here.
How will this affect your next mobile phone?
I have often expressed concerns that coronavirus will start to impact mobile phone and electronic sales due to factory closures in China. Indeed, I am already aware of some launches being pushed back because of worries over production.
This latest development is equally as damaging to the mobile phone industry.
While Mobile World Congress, with over 100,000 attendees, doesn't just revolve around the big companies, losing the biggest announcements will change the dynamic of the show - possibly forever.
For us, the consumers, it also means that we're likely to see a very different next couple of months compared to previous years. Launches from the major manufacturers will be more subdued - spread over the next couple of months rather than coming thick and fast on the first Sunday of the conference.
It's certainly going to be an interesting couple of months in the mobile phone biz.
At present, there is no indication that the larger Chinese phone makers will boycott the show. We are still currently expecting the likes of Huawei, Honor, Xiaomi and Oppo to attend.
Some, including Huawei and ZTE, have put measures in place to minimise any risk to attendees.
And, in light of the withdrawals and concerns, Mobile World Congress' organiser, the GSMA, has confirmed that the event will go ahead as usual, but has enforced other measures itself.
It has, for example, banned any travellers from the Hubai province. Plus, all travellers who have been in China recently will have to prove that they have been outside of China for 14-days or more before MWC starts.
Temperature screening will also be implemented to check for fevers, and there will be increased cleaning and disinfections programmes throughout.
We will update if anything future changes. These are troubling times, not just for the smartphone industry but those who have contracted coronavirus, their friends and families. Our thoughts and prayers go out to them all.
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