Apple’s Worldwide Developer Conference 2020 will be online-only due to coronavirus

Due to the coronavirus outbreak, Apple has officially confirmed that this year’s annual Worldwide Developers Conference will be an online-only experience.

“The current health situation has required that we create a new WWDC 2020 format that delivers a full program with an online keynote and sessions, offering a great learning experience for our entire developer community, all around the world. We will be sharing all of the details in the weeks ahead,” Phil Schiller, Apple’s SVP of Worldwide Marketing, said in a statement.

Over the last few years, WWDC has taken place in San, Jose, California. A combination of journalists, developers, and analysts all gather under one roof to watch Apple unveil its latest software developments for products like the iPhone, iPad, Apple Watch, and more.

Apple isn’t the first tech giant to cancel its event ahead of time, either. Earlier this month, Google canceled its I/O developer conference for May.  And in February, Facebook also canceled its F8 developers conference. Both of which were called off due to growing concerns around COVID-19. 

The cancelation of WWDC also comes only a few days after the Santa Clara Public Health Department issued a mandatory order banning mass gatherings in the county of “1,000 or more people in a single room or a single space at the same time.” 

Even though WWDC isn’t until June, it’s clear Apple doesn’t want to take any chances cramming thousands of people together from all around the world in an auditorium. 

As usual, the company is remaining tight-lipped about what to expect at this year’s conference, but has confirmed it will continue to share additional information over the next few months.

We’ve reached out to Apple for comment and will update this story if we receive a response.