A few days ago, numerous rumors and speculations kept surfacing on the web regarding the possible call off Apple‘s Worldwide Developer Conference (WWDC) due to the novel coronavirus pandemic.
On March 13th, the Cupertino-based tech giant released a statement in which it announced that the local event is canceled, but fans will get an online-only conference to reveal all the new Apple products. For the first time since it established, Apple WWDC will not take place in California, as it happens every year.
The decision to hold WWDC online was made because of the ‘current health situation,’ Apple marketing chief Phil Schiller said in the statement. More information on the event will be published in the following weeks.
Numerous other big companies are currently suffering from the new COVID-19 pandemic. Important events were already called off, such as the MWC 2020 and E3 2020. WWDC is an extremely significant event for Apple, as the company uses it to reveal details about the future of its software.
Apple’s WWDC Will be Held Online
Usually, WWDC begins with a keynote to detail the next versions of iOS, macOS, tvOS, as well as watchOS. Apple dedicates the remaining days to on-site sessions regarding developing its platforms, but the company is using a different pattern this year as it holds those sessions and the keynote in a digital format.
This could help prevent the disperse of the novel coronavirus, and create social distancing, which could prevent people from contacting the virus from those who are already sick. The Apple conference will reveal the new iOS 14, iPadOS 14, watchOS 7, as well as the new macOS. There’s also a small possibility that the iPhone 9 announcement will also take place during the event.
Many other events and conferences have been called off, with Google canceling its in-person big developer show, Google I/O. Facebook has also annulled F8, Microsoft its Build event. Other big conferences like SXSW, the Game Developers Conference, and Mobile World Congress have also been canceled because of coronavirus.
