Unlike other parts of the economy, software development doesn’t stop when everyone needs to stay home. However, large in person software conferences do stop. This year there will be no Google I/O, but Microsoft is pushing forward with an all digital MSBuild 2020 and Apple is poised to do the same with WWDC 2020. Will it be worth it though?
The main concern that I see is whether or not the prerecorded content will be any good. If people are not allowed to leave their homes, they aren’t going to have studio quality microphones, cameras, and soundproofing. Therefore, why not delay until later in the summer? That was a rhetorical question. Any delay to the Apple hype machine would be bad for sales (what little there can be with the economy crashing) and they need to give developers time to adopt new features and report bugs. So, hopefully this means that this year’s OS releases will be toned down (at least for the .0/.1 releases) to let people ease back into things when they return to normal. The biggest challenge is that if there are no in-person WWDC labs, will Apple up their game on documentation? I sure hope so.
Please stay safe and follow the recommended best practices of your government’s health organization and the WHO.