Facebook has announced it is cancelling its upcoming F8 Developers Conference scheduled for May, marking the second large international tech event to be canceled out of precaution after the last minute cancelation of the Mobile World Congress at the beginning of the month due to coronavirus fears.
As more countries report cases of COVID-19, thoughts are starting to turn to whether Apple will follow suit and cancel this year’s Worldwide Developers Conference which last year saw 5,000 attendees from across the globe gather for a week’s worth of announcements and hands-on developer sessions.
Apple usually announces the dates for its WWDC events in March ahead of the conference itself typically held in June. The company is undoubtedly keeping an eye on the situation, especially with the cancelation of Facebook’s F8 and the spread of the virus globally.
What will happen if Apple cancels WWDC 2020?
At this stage it is unknown if Apple will cancel WWDC 2020. If the situation was to worsen, Apple may choose to cancel the main event and simply host a live stream from its base in Cupertino as it does with new product announcements, this time without an audience at the Steve Jobs Theater.
It is unlikely Apple will postpone WWDC 2020 past June, mainly due to the fact by doing so it would delay the release of beta software to developers, cutting down on the time Apple has to perfect the upcoming OS versions prior to their public debut in fall, also shortening the time developers have to test their apps and add new features prior to the public rollout.
There’s still time for the coronavirus to develop, whether that be for better or for worse. The possibility of a virtual WWDC this year sounds likely, but for the moment we’ll have to wait and see.
