Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Apple pivoted its annual Worldwide Developers
Conference to a completely virtual format last year. This year, speculation
is starting to mount about whether WWDC 2021 will be virtual again or could
have some sort of in-person component.
WWDC 2020 recap
Last year, Apple held WWDC completely online due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The plans were announced in March, and WWDC proceeded without a hitch in
June. The all-virtual WWDC was
<https://9to5mac.com/2020/06/23/wwdc-keynotes/> widely praised for helping
make the conference more inclusive for everyone, even those who don't
traditionally make it to the in-person event.
In fact,
<https://9to5mac.com/2020/07/30/tim-cook-touts-successful-all-online-wwdc-20
20-with-22-million-viewers-more/> Tim Cook touted that WWDC 2020 drew 22
million viewers across all of Apple's streams. Apple was able to put
together 72 hours of video content for developers and hold 4,500
person-to-person labs.
WWDC 2021 speculation
In the United States, President Biden has said that there will be enough
supply to vaccinate all adults by the end of May. On the surface, this could
seem like good news for WWDC being in person this year, but one of the most
important things to consider is that the amount of planning and preparation
that goes into WWDC.
WWDC is a massive conference that brings together thousands of developers
from around the world every year. If the United States has enough vaccine
supply for every adult by the end of May, that is still cutting it too close
when you factor in the planning and lead time required for WWDC every year.
Additionally, a major piece of evidence to suggest that WWDC 2021 will be
virtual is Apple's own plan for employees returning to in-person work at
Apple Park. Apple CEO Tim Cook
<https://9to5mac.com/2020/12/10/apple-working-remotely-june-2021/> announced
to employees in December that most teams will continue working remotely
through June of 2021. This policy alone seems to almost guarantee that WWDC
will be virtual this year.
And finally, WWDC is a worldwide conference - attendees come from around the
world, well-beyond the United States. This means Apple's plans are dependent
on much more than vaccination progress in the United States alone.
There are certainly ways that Apple could theoretically have an in-person
WWDC this year, whether it be by requiring COVID-19 tests or taking some
sort of "hybrid" approach. This seems unlikely, but Apple could surprise us.
When will Apple announce WWDC 2021?
We won't have to speculate for long, however. Apple has made it a tradition
to announce WWDC details in March, so the 2021 announcement could come as
soon as this week or next week. Here are the dates on which Apple announced
plans for WWDC for the past five years:
* 2016: April 18
* 2017: February 16
* 2018: March 13
* 2019: March 14
* 2020: March 13
What are other conferences doing?
The vast majority of other upcoming conferences have been announced as being
virtual, at least through the first half of the year. A quick look at
<https://www.techmeme.com/events> Techmeme's events calendar shows how many
virtual events have been scheduled for this year so far.
As
<https://www.theverge.com/2021/3/1/22307929/sdcc-e3-anime-expo-cancel-in-per
son-virtual-events> The Verge reported last week, San Diego Comic-Con, E3,
and Anime Expo have also all canceled their in-person events for 2021. The
Game Developers Conference will also be <https://gdconf.com/> completely
virtual this July.
The biggest exception thus far is Mobile World Congress, which was
completely canceled in 2020 due to the pandemic but is planning a return to
in-person for 2021. MWC 2021 is slated for June in Barcelona with around
50,000 employees. As reported by
<https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2021-03-08/wireless-lobby-says-it-w
ill-hold-event-for-50-000-people-in-june> Bloomberg today, the GSM
Association has announced that it will require all attendees to show proof
of a negative COVID-19 test. There will be rapid testing centers on site to
help accomplish this.
So far, MWC is the largest tech conference to signal that it will return to
in-person for 2021. Whether or not other companies follow suit remain to be
seen - and it could depend on how successful MWC is in June.
Wrap up
But with all of this having been said, it looks plausible that Apple could
hold some sort of in-person or hybrid event later this fall for new Apple
Silicon powered Macs or the iPhone 13. So while WWDC 2021 may well be
completely virtual, we might see a return to in-person Apple events this
fall.
By <https://9to5mac.com/author/chmiller44/> Chance Miller at:
https://9to5mac.com/2021/03/08/wwdc-2021-likely-to-be-virtual/
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