In terms of CES, the previous few days have been somewhat quiet – no doubt due to the holiday. Microsoft was the most recent notable absentee, announcing on Christmas Eve that it will no longer be attending the event in Las Vegas. GM, Google, Lenovo, Intel, T-Mobile, AT&T, Meta, Twitter, Amazon, TikTok, and Pinterest all made similar statements. Samsung, LG, BMW, Qualcomm, and Sony are among the big names still booked for next week’s expo.
According to the CTA, “approximately 2,200” firms were still intending to attend the exhibition as of December 23. Anecdotally, I have heard from a number of startups that have decided not to go, as well as a large number who are still intending to come in person.
AMD, MSI, OnePlus, and Proctor & Gamble are among the firms that have joined the list of the former today. In a statement to TechCrunch, an AMD official confirmed the company’s decision: AMD has chosen to cancel our in-person participation at CES 2022 in Las Vegas in favor of a virtual experience after thorough consideration. Our in-person engagements will now transition to virtual in the best interest of our employees, partners, and communities.
While the AMD 2022 Product Premiere was always planned as a digital-only livestream, our in-person engagements will now transition to virtual in the best interest of our employees, partners, and communities. We are looking forward to revealing all of our wonderful news on January 4, as planned.
OnePlus was not an official exhibitor at the exhibition but intended to stage a separate event in Las Vegas to coincide with the main event. Out of rising worry over the omicron variation, the corporation has confirmed to TechCrunch that it will no longer be conducting an in-person event in Vegas. MSI, a gaming company, has stated that it would not be attending the expo in a press statement.
“The fast-spreading Omicron variant has brought a spike of COVID-19 infections to the United States since December,” VP Sam Chern stated in a statement. “Our staff, customers, and fans’ health and well-being are our top priorities. As a result, we’ve chosen not to attend CES 2022 in person, instead opting to participate digitally through our online product introduction.”
In a statement, Proctor & Gamble, which has used the event to display technology for brands including Gillette and Oral-B, said it has made the decision: The health and well-being of P&G employees and partners have been a primary concern for us since we began planning for CES 2022.
While we acknowledge the Consumer Technology Association’s important safety rules, we are switching to an all-virtual experience out of an excess of caution due to quickly changing developments with COVID-19. CTA chairperson Gary Shapiro pushed back on media coverage of large tech dropouts from the event in an op-ed published by the Las Vegas Review-Journal on Christmas Day, calling it the “drumbeat of press and other critics who present the tale primarily through their lens of drama and big-name firms.”
