The 2022 International Consumer Electronics Show (CES) is in full preparation. However, due to the increasing number of confirmed cases of new coronary pneumonia in the United States, fewer major exhibitors were present than expected. Although the organizers have repeatedly stated that they will continue to hold offline exhibitions, after T-Mobile, Amazon, Meta and other companies announced that they will cancel offline events, companies such as Lenovo and AMD have announced their withdrawal from offline exhibitions.
T-Mobile is the main exhibitor who announced its withdrawal from offline exhibitions earlier this week. As one of the CES guest speakers, the company's CEO Mike Sievert publicly announced on Tuesday that he will no longer give keynote speeches and "significantly limit the scale of on-site participation activities."
According to reports, Amazon decided not to send people to participate in offline exhibitions, and AT&T also announced its withdrawal from the exhibition on Wednesday.
On Thursday morning, Hisense announced that to "ensure the health and safety of our team", the offline press conference originally scheduled to be held on January 4 was converted to online. The company still plans to set up a booth at the show to provide live demonstrations for attendees.
Later that day, Alphabet's self-driving car company Waymo also announced its withdrawal from offline exhibitions. The company said, “Due to the rapid increase in the virus infection rate, Waymo has made a difficult decision not to participate in the 2022 CES in person. We still plan to participate in some related activities online. The company’s co-CEO Tequedra Ma Tekedra Mawakana and Global Public Policy Director Michelle Peacock will speak at several virtual panel discussions."
Intel said on Thursday afternoon: "(On) in consultation with health officials, based on Intel’s security policy, our plan to participate in CES will shift to a digital-first live experience, which will reduce the number of live events." Game accessories manufacturer HyperX also Said that the company will no longer carry out offline activities, instead of supporting virtual dialogues and activities.
On the same day, General Motors announced that the exhibition activities will be completely online. Less than a day ago, General Motors also said that it still plans to participate in CES, CEO Mary Barra (Mary Barra) will give a keynote speech at the exhibition, and release an electric version of Chevrolet Silverado.
The company said in a statement: "We have decided to enable all-digital technology at CES 2022 in January next year. CES is an important technology platform. We will still release important news on January 5, including the release of an electric version. Chevrolet Silverado."
It is closely followed by Google, which usually holds larger and more luxurious hardware exhibitions at CES. Google originally planned to set up a booth, but recently it also plans to withdraw from offline activities.
Google Public Relations Manager Ivy Hunt (Ivy Hunt) said: “After careful consideration, we decided not to attend CES 2022. We have been closely monitoring the spread of Omi Keron variants and made a decision from the perspective of team health and safety. This choice. We will continue to work closely with CTA and partners to identify and support more online opportunities."
Although only a few days before the opening of the exhibition, the list of companies that withdrew continues to increase. AMD had previously stated that it would appear at the show, but on Tuesday, local time, AMD issued a statement saying: "AMD has decided to cancel the live experience event at CES in 2022 and switch to an online experience. Although AMD has already planned to host 2022 products online Press conference, for the health and safety of our employees, partners, and communities, all of our on-site activities will now be carried out online."
The well-known PC manufacturer MSI stated, “Since December, the rapidly spreading Ome Keron variant has caused a surge in confirmed cases in the United States. The health and well-being of our employees, customers, and fans is our top priority. Therefore, we decided not to participate in CES 2022 in person. , Will participate in the exhibition through virtual means while releasing products online."
OnePlus also said that it has canceled the event originally scheduled to be held in Las Vegas. Gillette and Procter & Gamble, the parent company of Oral B, also no longer carry out offline activities.
Meta, Twitter, Pinterest, and iHeartRadio have all announced that they will not participate in the exhibition in view of the new outbreak of the new crown pneumonia epidemic in the United States. The same is true for many technology media such as CNET, Engadget, Gizmodo, and TechCrunch.
If Samsung, LG, Panasonic, Sony, and other companies also announced their withdrawal from the CES exhibition, it may have a significant impact. These companies usually rent a large number of booths on the exhibition site.
A Sony representative said that the company still plans to participate in offline exhibitions; LG, which will set up a very large booth at the exhibition site, said that “unless the CTA stipulates otherwise”, it “will still participate” in the exhibition. But LG added that it is using a hybrid approach, using QR codes and augmented reality technology to display its own products.
There were reports last week that Samsung was still present at the show, NVIDIA will hold an online keynote speech, and Qualcomm and HTC still plan to participate in the show. Sony and Samsung have stated that they are "monitoring changes in local conditions."
On December 21, the Consumer Technology Association (CTA), the organizer of the Consumer Electronics Show, stated that it still plans to hold offline exhibition activities. A director of CTA said: "At present, we are very focused on holding offline exhibitions and ensuring safety. By formulating appropriate rules, everyone is satisfied."
The next day, CTA stated that it had received notices from 42 exhibitors to withdraw from the show, but it also added 60 new exhibitors.
The CTA stated in a statement, “CES will be held in Las Vegas from January 5th to 8th. At that time, we will take strong security measures and also provide digital access services. Our mission is still to convene the entire The industry allows those who cannot attend CES in person to experience the magic of CES digitally."
"Although we have recently received notices from 42 exhibitors withdrawing from the show (less than 7% of our exhibition area), since last Thursday, our on-site activities have added 60 new exhibitors. Exhibition visits and registrations It continues to increase strongly, with thousands of people registering in the past few days."
"In 2022, CES will become an important innovation display platform for the world’s health and safety, mobility, etc. In addition, thousands of small and medium-sized enterprises rely on CES to conduct business. The number of official exhibitors has increased to 2,200, and many senior officials will participate in the exhibition. Activity."
“In view of the adoption of various health measures such as vaccination, wearing masks and nucleic acid testing, coupled with controlling the number of people on site and maintaining social distancing, we believe that participants and exhibitors can hold a valuable and wealthy event in Las Vegas. Effective activities and gain a beneficial experience through digital channels."
Previously, the Mobile World Congress (MWC) in Barcelona was the first large-scale technology exhibition to be held after the outbreak. Although the partners withdrew from the exhibition one after another, the organizer insisted on it for a long time, but eventually had to cancel the 2020 MWC.
As for why “CES will and must continue,” CTA President and CEO Gary Shapiro (Gary Shapiro) said, “Although CES in 2022 will kick off the industry this year in a messy manner, it will be full of innovations, Come to various companies and businesses. We will have risks, but without risks, there will be no innovation."
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