The Omicron Effect: Many Companies Will Not Attend CES 2022
Due to the rapid spread of Covid 19 new variant Omicron, many companies will not take part in CES 2022. The Consumer Electronics Show
The Consumer Electronics Show, or CES 2022 as it is known, will be held physically despite the pandemic. The event was held virtually last year due to the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic, and companies announced their new products and services online. Although the Consumer Technology Association (CTA), the organizers of CES, hoped to hold a physical event, plans began to fall apart.
Although global access to Covid-19 vaccines has improved in recent months, cases have started to increase due to the ‘Omicron’ variant. Omicon spread rapidly in the United States and Europe, partly because it was more contagious than most previous variants, and partly because most Western countries relaxed their distancing and masking regulations during the summer months and were slow to relaunch. While vaccinated people may not look as sick as unvaccinated people, not everyone can get vaccinated, so the rise in cases has caused many companies to think twice about attending CES 2022.
Big Companies Won’t Be at CES 2022
T-Mobile, Meta, Twitter, Pinterest, and iHeartRadio announced this week that they will either have a limited physical presence at CES 2021 or not attend the event at all. Nvidia told Bloomberg that the press conference will only take place virtually, while AMD will have a downsized physical presence. Amazon and Ring also announced that they will not be involved. Despite a large number of key attendees leaving the event, CTA President and CEO Gary Shapiro reaffirmed in a LinkedIn post Wednesday that the event is still physically running.
Shapiro also minimized the impact of T-Mobile, AMD, Nvidia and other major companies leaving the company and said “the media focused on a few dozen cancellations.” CES will still require face masks on the show floor and attendees will need to be vaccinated. Many news organizations such as CNET, Engadget, TechCrunch, TechRadar, Tom’s Guide and The Verge have also announced that they will not send reporters to Las Vegas due to security concerns.
