Apple’s Rumoured March Event Cancelled Due to Coronavirus, Claims Report

Rumours have suggested Apple was set to hold a March event to unveil a ‘low cost’ iPhone 9 or iPhone SE 2, however that is no longer happening, claims an anonymous Apple source speaking to Cult of Mac.

The axing of the event is reportedly being blamed on iPhone SE 2, due to coronavirus impacting production in China.

“The source said Apple grew “concerned” about bringing together 1,000 people for the event, originally planned for late March at the Steve Jobs Theater at Apple Park in Cupertino, California,” reports Cult of Mac.

The unnamed source said, “Why have an event when the products aren’t ready?” and “It’s a pretty simple decision.”

Another reason for the axing of the event was Santa Clara County in California, which has banned mass gatherings, in an effort to contain the spread of coronavirus.

Apple apparently will be creating a new schedule for releasing its new products, but things may continue to change from “one day to the next.”

According to a source within Apple:

Apple’s March event is officially cancelled / not happening.

Let me confirm this with a few more sources. Stay tuned…

— Jon Prosser (@jon_prosser) March 8, 2020

Cult of Mac claims other reporters have corroborated the story, citing a Sunday tweet from tech writer John Prosser and also David Phelan from Forbes. The reports all sound similar and may be information directly from Apple, on background.



Coronavirus fears have resulted in numerous tech conferences being cancelled, including SXSW, Facebook’s F8 and Google’s I/O. Apple’s annual Worldwide Developer Conference (WWDC) normally takes place in June, but given how other major tech gatherings have been nixed, it’s safe to assume Apple will follow suit as well. The iPhone maker is already telling employees to work from home and has restricted travel to Italy and South Korea.