Will Apple be holding an in person or virtual event this fall?

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With most, if not all, of Apple's staff expected to return to Apple Park this September, it brings up the question — will Apple hold a virtual or in-person event this September? Originally, it was rumored that Apple was hoping to hold an in-person event for the launch of the iPhone 13 — which would have been the first in-person event held by Apple in over 2 years. But unfortunately, those plans were scrapped, with Apple pushing back the requirement for employees to return to the main campus.

This gives us every possible reason to believe that this year's upcoming event will be yet another virtual-only event. According to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman (reliability: 84.38%), Apple had only considered the idea of an in-person event.

If all Apple employees were back in the office as originally planned, and if cases of infections were low, it’d be plausible to think Apple would be gearing up for its first in-person product event since 2019. Instead, expect another promotional video on Apple’s website and YouTube, plus a focus on online sales. — Mark Gurman

This decision to slow the process of allowing employees to return to the main campus came from a recent surge in COVID-19 cases, and as a result of the highly transmissible Delta variant. This also led to Apple asking their retail employees to start wearing masks again, even if certain employees have gotten the vaccination.

Last year, the iPhone 12 wasn't launched until October. The reason that happened was because of a supply chain issue — which was caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. The iPhone 12 launch in October was not a desirable move, but it was necessary. Apple even went out of their way to warn investors that quarterly sales would be lower than average. But this year's iPhone 13 is expected to go on sale when it's ready. This means that the iPhone 13 is on track to be released in September.

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Published to Apple Scoop on 26th July, 2021.