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Rumor has it that Apple is planning to present some new products this month as part of a classic keynote. However, this has been in jeopardy due to COVID-19 (coronavirus). Now the decision seems to have been made - this year's World Wide Developer Conference (WWDC) is also affected.
Santa Clara County, which includes cities such as Cupertino, Palo Alto, Mountain View, and San Jose, issued new health guidelines a few hours ago, advising businesses to reduce or cancel “large in-person meetings and conferences.” press release, which have The Verge was published:
The County of Santa Clara Health Department is taking proactive steps to protect the health of our community by issuing recommendations designed to slow the spread of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) in our community and reduce the number of people infected, especially protecting those most vulnerable to severe illness. These recommendations are effective immediately and may be updated after further evaluation and as public health needs require.
Subsequently, various recommendations for behavior were grouped into several categories, including "New Guidance for Workplaces and Businesses." It lists the following points:
Employers should:
- suspend non-essential travel by employees.
- Minimize the number of employees working at a distance from each other, including minimizing or canceling large in-person meetings and conferences.
- Consider using telecommuting options for eligible employees.
- Consider staggering start and end times to reduce the number of people gathering at the same time.
Live event hardly imaginable
Accordingly, large events and the like are generally discouraged. This means that the classic Apple keynote also falls under such an event. Since Apple says it works very closely with local health authorities, it should come as no surprise if we don't see an Apple event this month. But there are alternatives - product presentations via press releases were very popular last year. A live broadcast from the empty Steve Jobs Theater could also theoretically be possible.
Will WWDC 2020 be cancelled?
As I pointed out in an earlier article, Apple prefers to announce the World Wide Developer Conference in February or March. So far, nothing of the sort has been documented. This means that the major event, which traditionally takes place in June, is in jeopardy (Facebook & Google have already canceled their own developer events F8 and Google I/A). After the new health guidelines are published, we should be realistic in this regard. Even if Apple cancels the event in its known form, there will certainly be an alternative plan. Should this likely case occur, some kind of online event would be a good idea. (Photo by MrVettore / Bigstockphoto)
