CES, the Consumer Electronics Show, is now roughly 7 months away and that might be too soon to hold a large, indoor event that involves throngs of people touching and wearing electronic devices.
Each January, CES graces Las Vegas bringing with it huge stories for tech enthusiasts. News from the show expands into almost every field of technology, from home appliances to video games to artificial intelligence. For many people, this is the best showcase of the upcoming year in electronics and its a necessary event from a "how far we've come" perspective. Unfortunately, there's an ongoing global pandemic that threatens to make 2021's CES a logistics and health nightmare scenario.
Given the progression of the US's reopening, it's easy to assume that, by January, people will be back to attending large gatherings. However, that's only if our progress against COVID-19 continues apace. There are too many major unknown factors for us to be committing to an event like CES – one that draws crowds from all over the globe. The Consumer Technology Association, the show's owners, laid out ideas of what to expect from CES 2021, and it's clearly mindful of the hurdles exhibitors will face. There's a strong emphasis on expanding the show's digital presentations and engaging with remote viewers, but the show will still go on. Here are some reasons why it maybe shouldn't.
Most pandemics happen in phases, historically. While social distancing efforts have proven successful, and we're seeing fewer new cases even in the hardest-hit areas of the world (for the most part), failure to remain vigilant could induce a second wave of the virus. Medical professionals warn that another round of COVID-19 could come later in 2020, which would end up being just before CES. Canceling the event potentially within a few weeks of its opening could be a huge financial setback for the various corporations involved. Not canceling it would be reckless on a terrifying scale.
CES is often criticized for being too "pie in the sky". While there are always amazing demonstrations of things like bipedal robots, paper-thin TVs, and refrigerators with AI, many of the most impressive products shown never make it to market for various reasons. This time, though, after the setbacks caused by COVID-19, many companies are likely prioritizing parts of their businesses that have a more direct impact on recouping lost revenue than CES does. Given the number of places that have canceled or delayed 2020 product releases, it's tough to envision companies that are just now getting back to work having meaningful advancements to display half a year from now.
One thing to consider as a counterpoint here is that CES is a convention. These kinds of events have fees and costs associated with renting out the space for vendors and distributors. Those costs are paid well in advance, for obvious reasons. So it's possible that money has already changed hands and reversing those payments would be an insurmountable logistics hurdle. The Consumer Technology Association could be moving forward with the event and hoping for the best because it's already too late to back out.
Source: CES
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