By Jason Snell for Macworld

March 3, 2020 2:49 PM PT

What happens if (and when) Apple cancels WWDC 2020?

Facebook, Microsoft, and Google have now cancelled major conferences in the face of the spread of the coronavirus. Apple’s annual developer conference, WWDC, usually takes place in early June—and all eyes will now turn to Apple to see how the company will respond.

Apple has announced WWDC as late as mid-April in past years, so the company has some time to watch the spread of the virus and reach a final decision. But it’s becoming clear that we’re entering a period where international travel and large groups of people in small spaces is seriously counter-indicated.

The worldwide spread of a new virus isn’t generally something that burns out in a couple of months, which is why it’s likely that Apple is going to have to find an alternative from an enormous party with thousands of developers (and many key Apple employees) in San Jose. So if WWDC as we know it is unlikely to occur, what happens next?

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