The rumor: Apple’s yearly worldwide developer conference will return to a destination event, according to Jon Prosser (69% accurate).
- “I’m hearing that WWDC is on Monday, June 6. It’ll be live and in-person,” Prosser says
- Apple first switched to virtual events starting with WWDC 2020 and has done so ever since due to the COVID-19 pandemic…but with cases broadly decreasing worldwide there has been speculation that Apple would return to in-person events whenever possible
- The last in-person Apple event took place on September 10, 2019, where the iPhone 11 and Apple Watch Series 5 were unveiled
Sam’s take: I’m almost certain that this is the right date (Apple always holds WWDC in the first or second week of June). But I am skeptical that it’ll be in-person. Sure, COVID-19 cases are steadily decreasing now. But isn’t it possible that another, even more transmissible variant could appear by June? I have no doubt that Apple will take the utmost precaution to keep everyone safe if WWDC 2022 is in-person…but it seems like there’s still a lot of risk in returning to large gatherings right now. I would be comfortable attending, but I can also understand that a lot of folks would not feel the same way.