Google is the latest company to drop out of in-person events from CES 2022. Google joins its sister company Wamo and a star-studded lineup of tech companies that have canceled their in-person events.
A spokesperson from Google announced, “After careful consideration, we have decided to withhold from having a presence on the show floor of CES 2022,” adding that it would continue to “identify and support virtual opportunities.”
CES 2022
CES is the world’s largest technology trade show with exhibitions from some of the biggest names in the tech space. But all that is to change this year as the pandemic still wreaks havoc across the US. The latest jeopardy arises due to the new Coronavirus variant, Omicron.
According to the CDC, daily case reports have risen to 170,000 in the US and Omicron cases will peak in January 2022. Amidst the rising cases, some companies would obviously consider going for a virtual exhibition rather than risking the health of their employees and attendees in person.
Who’s Out?
More than 40 companies have already canceled their exhibitions, with more opting to go virtual every day since the beginning of this week. A list of some big-name companies that have pulled out of CES 2022 is:
- Waymo
- T-Mobile
- Intel
- Lenovo
- TikTok
- Meta
- General Motors
- AT&T
On the other hand, Amazon has decided not to attend the show in-person entirely, according to Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman.
What Now?
The organizing committee, CTA, remains focused on hosting an in-person trade show in Las Vegas despite so many companies pulling out.
“While we recently received 42 exhibitor cancellations (less than 7% of our exhibit floor),” the CTA said, “since last Friday, we’ve added 60 new exhibitors for our in-person event.” They emphasize that the event also provides a floor for small- and medium-sized businesses, most of which can’t afford to pull out of such a big opportunity.
The @CES account posted in a Twitter thread that, “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.”
What To Expect?
Despite the various pullouts, some tech companies are still willing to carry on with their exhibitions on-site. Leading names include Samsung and LG.
Samsung is planning to showcase its first displays that will support the HDR10+ Gaming standard. HDR10+ is the build-up on HDR10 that supports automatic calibration. Samsung has partnered with Saber Interactive to bring support for HDR10+ to Redout 2 and Pinball FX. Both of these will be showcased at CES 2022.
HDR10+ Gaming will have more visual metadata than HDR10 and will support variable refresh rate (VRR) and auto low latency mode (ALLM) for an enhanced gaming experience.
LG Display is planning to reveal a reclining OLED throne called the “Media Chair.” LG has partnered with a Korean massage chair company to develop and bring it to market someday. The Media Chair is a rotating curved 55-inch OLED TV attached to a reclining slice of chair that changes positions to give you the best angles for gaming. The throne is still a concept and will be revealed for the first time at CES 2022.
What are your thoughts on the latest developments of the Covid-19 variant and the CES 2022 jeopardy? Let us know in the comments below!
