<!–One of the Biggest Tech Events of the Year Just Got Canceled • Gear Patrol<!– –>

Coronavirus is having a growing impact on consumer tech


Mobile World Congress, held annually in Barcelona, Spain, is one of the biggest international tech events of the year. The international show is typically home to (or at least concurrent with) announcements from some of the largest phone-making companies across the globe. Not this year, however, as it has been fully canceled on account of concerns about the coronavirus.

Yesterday, the governing body behind the event announced the cancelation citing “due regard to the safe and healthy environment in Barcelona and the host country today” and “the global concern regarding the coronavirus outbreak, travel concern and other circumstances.”

Mobile World Congress isn’t the only consumer tech event that coronavirus may have disrupted. Analysts have suggested that the supply chain disruptions the virus is causing in China could also impact the planned release of the new Xbox and Playstation consoles later this year, and potentially the new iPhone as well.

Further delays are only predictions at the moment, but the outbreak is making it increasingly clear to even casual consumers how the supply chains used to produce all your favorite gadgets is a global web with roots that almost always trace back to China in one way or another. It’s a good a reminder as any that these products don’t just grow on trees.

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Eric Limer

Eric Limer is Gear Patrol’s tech editor. A resident of Weehawken, NJ, his current obsessions include mechanical keyboards, mechanical pencils and Formula 1.

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