Nokia 10 launch uncertain after HMD Global drops out of MWC 2020

Nokia 3.2
The Nokia 3.2, shown off at MWC 2019 (Image credit: Future)

Annual smartphone conference MWC 2020 has been shedding companies for the last few days, with the likes of Sony, LG, Vivo and Royole all pulling out due to coronavirus fears. It seems the latest company is HMD Global, which owns the Nokia brand, so we might have to wait to see the Nokia 10.

HMD Global broke the news of its cancelation on February 12, just 11 days before it was set to host its MWC 2020 conference, citing "recommendations from the relevant health authorities".

It's worth pointing out that as well as canceling its conference, HMD Global also stated that it won't be exhibiting at MWC 2020 either, so it won't have a stall where you can see and test out its new phones.

We were expecting the Nokia 10 to launch at MWC 2020, along with a few budget devices, but we'll likely have to wait longer for their arrival now. HMD Global said "We still plan to showcase what we had lined up for our presence at MWC Barcelona and will share details on how we'll do that soon."

At the time of writing, we don't know if that means HMD Global will host a press conference at the same time as its MWC keynote speech was set to take place, or push it back – the latter is more plausible though, as it's likely each phone company will wait to see what the others do before hosting their MWC-replacement events.

Is MWC 2020 canceled?

While a number of the biggest MWC 2020 players have dropped out, some still remain, as Xiaomi and Huawei have confirmed their press conferences and exhibits will still go ahead, and the likes of Oppo, Samsung and Honor haven't dropped out yet either.

However, with several media websites confirming they're not going to attend the event, and MWC itself still waiting to make a decision on the likelihood of the event going ahead, we're really not sure what will happen come the end of February.

TechRadar will continue to bring you all the latest MWC 2020 news – and by that we mean, we'll continue to report as each new company pulls out of the event.

Tom Bedford
Contributor

Tom Bedford joined TechRadar in early 2019 as a staff writer, and left the team as deputy phones editor in late 2022 to work for entertainment site (and TR sister-site) What To Watch. He continues to contribute on a freelance basis for several sections including phones, audio and fitness.

Latest in Nokia Phones
Composite of three new Nokia phones
3 new retro-inspired Nokia phones will have you rocking out like it’s the 2000s
Nokia G42 in So Purple color
Nokia G42 combines repairability and 5G connectivity in a handsome purple package
Nokia 5710 Xpress Audio with earbuds pictured on the screen
Nokia’s new phone is like a 3310 with earbuds built into the back – and I love it
A Nokia G60 5G from the front and back
A trio of cheap phones from Nokia have landed, with eco-friendly credentials
The Nokia G11 from the back, in someone's hand
Nokia G11 review
A Nokia G21 from the front, showing the home screen
Nokia G21 review
Latest in News
Google Gemini Flash 2.0 Images
I tried Gemini's new AI image generation tool - here are 5 ways to get the best art from Google's Flash 2.0
An image of the Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra from a hands-on event
Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra could resurrect an intriguing camera feature
Eurocom Raptor X18
At $15,000, this massive 256GB RAM laptop makes Apple's MacBook Pro look affordable, tiny and very, very slow
Cristin Milioti in Black Mirror season 7
Netflix launches trailer for Black Mirror season 7, giving us a look at its first-ever sequel episode and an unexpected returning character
A graphic of the PC Gaming Show
Get ready for a bounty of PC games on June 8, as the PC Gaming show is back
A close up of The Daily podcast from Pocket Casts' web page
‘Podcasting shouldn’t be locked behind walled gardens’: Pocket Casts slams Spotify and makes its web player free to all