As COVID-19 Cases Rise, Government Issues Guidelines to Cancel Large Meetings and Events
New Product Launches Likely Delayed or Shifted to Online Events
[Asia Economy Reporter Han Jinju] Apple is facing the risk of canceling its new product launch event and annual developer conference due to the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19). The variable of COVID-19 has caused delays in the delivery of some products, and the possibility of postponing the launch of new products such as the 'iPhone 9' cannot be ruled out.
On the 5th (local time), Santa Clara County in San Francisco, USA, issued guidelines recommending ICT companies such as Apple, Google, and Facebook to minimize or cancel large-scale meetings or events. Along with this, employers were advised to ▲stop unnecessary employee travel ▲recommend working from home ▲operate flexible sick leave policies. Santa Clara County is an administrative region that includes areas where major ICT companies such as Cupertino, Palo Alto, Mountain View, and San Jose are concentrated. More than 20 confirmed cases have been reported in this area.
Due to these measures by Santa Clara authorities, it has become difficult to hold Apple’s March new product launch event and the June annual developer conference WWDC as planned. Apple was expected to unveil new products such as the iPhone 9 (iPhone SE2) and iPad Pro models at the March event, but it is highly likely to be switched to an online event. According to Taiwan’s Digitimes, Apple’s iPhone 9 has entered the final verification stage and its release is imminent. Foreign media suggest that the release plan may change due to COVID-19.
Apple Park photographed at the end of June (Source: Duncan Sinfield YouTube)
Google and Facebook, which hold events around the same time in Silicon Valley, have also canceled their developer conferences entirely. Facebook decided not to hold the developer conference F8 scheduled for May 5-6. Apple has held its developer conference WWDC at the McEnery Convention Center in San Jose, the same venue as F8, and considering last year’s schedule, it planned to hold the event around June 8-12 this year. If the event is canceled, it is possible that it will be broadcast only as an online event, like Huawei and other manufacturers.
IT specialized media MacRumors said, "Considering Facebook’s F8 cancellation case, it can be assumed that Apple will act similarly, but there has been no mention of postponement or cancellation of events so far," adding, "There is also no mention of plans for the March event. Apple will make a decision depending on how much COVID-19 spreads around Cupertino in the next few weeks."
With the outbreak of COVID-19 in China, where Apple’s products are manufactured, Apple’s product production has also suffered a significant blow. Factories such as Foxconn and Pegatron, which assemble Apple products, began operating from mid-February, but suppliers were closed for a considerable period, making it difficult to procure parts smoothly. Supply delays are occurring for iMac, iMac Pro, MacBook Pro, and others, and this situation is expected to continue for several months.
Apple’s stock price has also been volatile due to COVID-19. Apple’s stock reached an all-time high of $327.20 on the 16th of last month but fell to $260 on the 28th and maintained around $298 as of the closing price on the 2nd. Apple announced on the 17th that it would be difficult to achieve its March quarter targets due to the impact of COVID-19.
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