IFA 2021 was initially scheduled for the first week of September, but it seems that due to the uncertainties surrounding COVID-19, the organizers of the event have decided that it might simply be safer just to cancel the event.
“The decision was made following detailed conversations with public health experts and multiple stakeholders. Ultimately, several key global health metrics did not move as fast in the right direction as had been hoped for – from the rapid emergence of new COVID-19 variants, for example in South Asia, to continued uncertainties about the speed of the rollout of vaccination programmes around the world.”
Without a doubt this is rather disappointing, but IFA 2021 wouldn’t be the first event in 2021 to have been cancelled due to the pandemic. Other events like CES were cancelled for in-person attendance. Other companies like Apple and Google have opted to host pre-recorded events, so we guess we can’t say we’re too surprised at this decision.
There was no mention as to whether or not a virtual event could take the place of an in-person event, but we expect that companies who might have planned announcements at the event will probably still make them anyway by themselves.