Nvidia, Sony and Amazon cancel MWC appearances due to coronavirus concerns

Mobile World Congress (MWC) is set to kick off later this month, with smartphone makers and app developers scheduled to appear to show off what's next for 2020. Unfortunately, the coronavirus outbreak is thinning out the numbers a bit, with Nvidia, Sony and Amazon all pulling out.

On the Nvidia front, the company planned to share its latest developments in 5G, AI and vRAN. GeForce Now may also have been part of plans as the service is now available across Android devices. Unfortunately, due to concerns around the coronavirus, Nvidia has informed the MWC organisers that they won't be sending any employees out to the event, saying “ensuring the safety of our colleagues, partners and customers is our highest concern”.

In its own statement, Sony said that after “closely monitoring the evolving situation following the novel coronavirus outbreak”, the company has “taken the difficult decision to withdraw from exhibiting and participating at MWC 2020”. Amazon delivered its own statement via TechCrunch, also saying that it will withdraw from the event due to continued concerns about the coronavirus.

Nvidia, Sony and Amazon join the likes of LG, ZTE and Ericsson, which have all also withdrawn from the trade show. Currently, MWC is still scheduled to take place from the 24th to the 27th of February in Barcelona, although more companies may be re-evaluating their plans to attend over the next week.

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KitGuru Says: The coronavirus has been causing disruption across industries, from mobile to hardware manufacturing to gaming. Hopefully the situation can get under control soon, as 2020 is set to be a big year for trade show events thanks to 5G, new games consoles and other emerging technologies.

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