Sony, LG, others back out of year’s biggest mobile tech event amidst coronavirus fears

Enlarge / MWC in 2017. (credit: Ron Amadeo)

Mobile World Congress 2020 (MWC) is supposed to be the biggest week of the year for mobile technology, but the coronavirus public health scare and related travel restrictions have led to a great deal of uncertainty amidst the usual fanfare.

Several major tech companies including Sony, Amazon, LG, Ericsson, and Nvidia have cancelled plans to appear at the conference, and some, like Samsung, still plan to attend but with a reduced presence. The GSMA was quick to point out, as quoted in the BBC, that the event remains "more than 2,800 exhibitors strong."

The announcements have trickled in over the past few days. Many of these companies are usually key players at the event, and while many more companies still plan to attend, this year's show looks like it's going to be very different than what we saw in 2019 or 2018.

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