Vivo Apex 2020 launch delayed as company is latest to pull out of MWC 2020

The Vivo Nex (Image credit: Future)

Chinese smartphone brand Vivo had previously confirmed that it would be introducing a new device called the Vivo Apex 2020 at MWC this year, but it has now had to delay the launch thanks to the coronavirus.

According to a statement sent to TechRadar, the company has "decided to withdraw from our debut at MWC 2020 and other related events later this month in Barcelona".

A spokesperson for the company confirmed that it would not be debuting the Apex 2020 at the same time as the show. They said, "We will introduce the APEX 2020 concept phone, which we had originally planned to showcase at MWC, soon."

That may mean the company has a back-up plan to introduce the device through another method such as online livestream, rather than a face-to-face press conference. 

That said, if that were the case we would have expected to hear about that at the same time as the company confirming it wouldn't be at the tech show this year.

Sony pulled out of MWC 2020 earlier this week but has plans to debut its new devices at the same time it intended to through a YouTube video showing off the products.

Vivo joins a growing list of companies that have withdrawn from the big mobile tech show, including LG, Ericsson and Amazon, while TCL has canceled its press conference. Big brands such as Huawei and Samsung are still set to attend the show, but that could be subject to change in the coming days.

James Peckham

James is the Editor-in-Chief at Android Police. Previously, he was Senior Phones Editor for TechRadar, and he has covered smartphones and the mobile space for the best part of a decade bringing you news on all the big announcements from top manufacturers making mobile phones and other portable gadgets. James is often testing out and reviewing the latest and greatest mobile phones, smartwatches, tablets, virtual reality headsets, fitness trackers and more. He once fell over.

Latest in Phones
Three iPhone 16 handsets on show
Apple could launch an iPhone 17 Ultra this year – but we've heard these rumors before
Man using iMessage on an iPhone
Apple will finally enable encrypted RCS messages between iOS and Android, and it's about time
Android 16 logo on a phone
Android 16 Beta 3 has arrived – here are the 4 features I think will be the most useful
Apple iPhone 16e on blue background with big savings text overlay
Total Wireless' latest iPhone 16e deal gets you $300 off plus a cheap plan for a year
Apple iPhone 16e REVIEW
Some iPhone 16e owners are reporting Bluetooth audio issues that could be an iOS problem
The Apple iPhone 16e held at a slant at a window
From iPhone to Android and (almost) back again – the iPhone 16e failed to lure me back to iOS
Latest in News
Three iPhone 16 handsets on show
Apple could launch an iPhone 17 Ultra this year – but we've heard these rumors before
Super Mario Odyssey
ChatGPT is the ultimate gaming tool - here's 4 ways you can use AI to help with your next playthrough
Ray-Ban smart glasses with the Cpperni logo, an LED array, and a MacBook Air with M4 next to ecah other.
ICYMI: the week's 7 biggest tech stories from Twitter's massive outage to iRobot's impressive new Roombas
Brad Pitt looks over his right shoulder with 'F1' written behind him
Apple Original Films will take you behind-the-scenes of a racing cockpit in this new thrilling F1 movie trailer
AI writer
Coding AI tells developer to write it himself
Reacher looking down at another character from the Prime Video TV series Reacher
Reacher season 3 becomes Prime Video’s biggest returning show thanks to Hollywood’s biggest heavyweight