Every year there are plenty of Tech related events happening. But, Among those, CES Events are significant. All of the leading companies, including Samsung, Google, and Sony, always launch plenty of products at those events. Also, Iconic persons like CEOs attend those events. Due to the current situation, CES canceled the physical event in 2021 and got it entirely as a Virtual event. Currently, the conditions are ok with some countries. But, again, the situation is getting out of hand slowly. So, To avoid the consequences, Google, GM, and Waymo are planning for Virtual only Events at CES 2022. Since all of these three are big companies and fill most of the places, Those who buy the tickets for attending these companies will affect.
Leading companies Begin to Opt-In for Virtual only Events at CES 2022
Increasing COVID incidences in the United States may be putting a halt to CES, the largest technology event in the world. After T-Mobile, Meta, and Amazon announced that they would discontinue Las Vegas, exhibitor Lenovo said on Wednesday evening. This was despite statements made today by CES organizers that the show would continue.
T-Mobile
T-Mobile was the largest exhibitor to leave early in the week. CEO Mike Sievert and one of the featured speakers at the Consumer Electronics Show, publicly stated that they would not be giving a keynote address and would limit “significantly” our participation in person.
According to the company’s press release, “T-Mobile will remain a CES sponsor as well as the title sponsor for the DRL Championship Race, but the vast majority will not be traveling down to Las Vegas.” T-Mobile CEO Mike Sievert won’t be giving a keynote either in-person or virtually.
I’m sorry we’ll miss seeing everyone at CES this year, but we are prioritizing the safety of our team and other attendees.
Our statement here: https://t.co/WAIkFYMzc7
— Mike Sievert (@MikeSievert) December 22, 2021
Amazon
According to Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman, Amazon decided not to attend the show in person. AT&T also pulled out Wednesday, according to Axios’Ina Fried.
Hisense
Hisense hosts a large press conference and presents in the LVCC’s main hall. However, Hisense announced that its January 4th press conference would be entirely virtual. This decision was made “to ensure the safety and health of our team.”
Waymo
Waymo followed closely, and Alphabet‘s self-driving car company posted explaining the decision. They also made the difficult decision not to participate at CES 2022 due to rapidly rising COVID-19 infections rates. We will still be participating in some CES-related events. Our Co-CEO Tekedra Makana and our Global Head for Public Policy, Michelle Peacock, will be speaking at several virtual panels with the Female Quotient as part of the Self-Driven Women Series.
Waymo stated in a Blog Post that it wants to participate virtually at the Las Vegas event. This annual event has traditionally drawn more than 180,000 people from all over the globe to discuss emerging technologies, party the night away with business contacts, and share their experiences.
The safety and wellbeing of our team is our top priority, so based on quickly evolving COVID infection rates, Waymo has made the tough decision not to participate in person at CES’22. We are aiming to still virtually participate in some CES-related events https://t.co/2BBmwYeQWk
— Waymo (@Waymo) December 23, 2021
General Motors
GM Chief executive Mary Barra was scheduled to deliver a keynote speech at this year’s annual conference. The company would have displayed its first electric Silverado pickup truck during that time. A spokesman for Barra said that he would still give the speech and present it remotely.
The statement said that the US automaker had decided to adopt an all-digital approach for CES 2022 activation in January. “We will continue with our plans for Jan. 5 to share important company news, including the unveiling of the Chevrolet Silverado EV.”
A spokesperson for Google stated that they had decided not to have a CES 2022. He added that Google would continue to support virtual opportunities and “identify and help them.”
ByteDance
TikTok, owned by ByteDance, said it would host a virtual event to welcome advertisers and partners. Intel also stated that it would reduce staffing at CES.
Response from CES Officials about COmpanies Opt-Out Location Events
Officials at CES stated that the event would still be held from January 5-8 in person with “strong safety precautions in place,” including masking, vaccination requirements, and availability of COVID-19 testing.
“Our mission is to gather the industry and allow those who can’t attend in person to experience the magic CES digitally,” CES stated in a statement. “CES 2022 will continue to be a major innovation in world health, safety, mobility, and solving issues.”
The company stated that although it had received 42 cancellations from exhibitors since Thursday, this was less than 7% of the exhibitor floor. They had added sixty additional exhibitors.
Over 2200 companies are confirmed to participate in person at CES 2022 in Las Vegas. Our focus remains on convening the tech industry and giving those who cannot attend in person the ability to experience the magic of CES digitally.
— CES (@CES) December 24, 2021
Wrap Up
CES is not only a Tech Event. It is an important event that grabs media attention and tourists to Las Vegas. When popular companies go for Virtual Events, they may also stream those videos into their platforms. It may affect the audience volume. Also, Since Popular Mobile related companies are opt-out, Tech reviewers have to cover the other companies. CES mentioned that more than 2000 companies are still attending the event In-Person. On the one side, We may miss the experience of Google and other companies. On the other side, you may explore new things that you may not get time when the leading companies attend. What are your thoughts about CES 2022? Share your thoughts below.
Selva Ganesh is the Chief Editor of this Blog. He is a Computer Science Engineer, An experienced Android Developer, Professional Blogger with 8+ years in the field. He completed courses about Google News Initiative. He runs Android Infotech which offers Problem Solving Articles around the globe.
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