It's been a while since we've been to a Samsung event. The Galaxy S20 and Galaxy Z Flip launch in February 2020 was the last in-person flagship event from the company. Since then it has only conducted virtual launch event for new products.
As vaccinations pick up across the globe and travel restrictions ease, it looks like Samsung may finally be willing to hold in-person events. It's reportedly considering the possibility of conducting its annual developers' conference this year.
SDC 2021 would be Samsung's first in-person event in almost two years
The Samsung Developer Conference was cancelled last year due to the pandemic. All smartphone launches since February 2020 have also been entirely virtual. Even the upcoming Galaxy Z Fold 3 and Galaxy Z Flip 3 are going to be launched virtually. There's zero indication that we'll get an in-person launch for those devices.
This is further cemented by the fact that Samsung decided against attending the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona. MWC 2021 was already delayed from its traditional February slot to the last week of June just to allow for the COVID situation to settle down a bit.
The SDC has normally taken place towards the end of the year. A report out of South Korea suggests that Samsung is reviewing plans to conduct an in-person Samsung Developer Conference in October or November this year. However, the company is also said to be considering online options due to the ever changing COVID reality.
SDC is by no means a small event. Trust us, we've been there. Thousands of developers and partners from across the globe have historically participated in the proceedings. Some 5,000 people participated in SDC 2019. An event of this magnitude will definitely be challenging in the world that we're living in right now.
That's not to say we won't ever see a return to in-person tech events. The Consumer Electronics Show 2022 is going ahead with the in-person format come January next year. Samsung might eventually return to the format as well. It may be encouraged if the SDC 2021 is able to be sufficiently managed.
