Apple warned investors last month that it expects to miss this quarter’s revenue targets because of the coronavirus impact on business. After speaking to five trusted sources, though, Jon Prosser of Front Page Tech believes the outbreak has also started affecting Apple’s plans for the rest of the year.

The March event has been canceled

Apple was planning to announce several new products at a fancy press conference later this month, as some of you may already know. But in light of the ongoing situation, the Cupertino-based giant has reportedly taken the decision to cancel the gathering.

The decision was made internally in recent days before plans for the event could even be announced, so the company is unlikely to confirm the news. Apple had reportedly scheduled the gathering for Tuesday, March 31, and had put Phil Schiller in charge. 

It was meant to be taking place at the Steve Jobs Theater in Santa Clara County, one of the worst affected areas in the United States. So much so that the county has now prohibited gatherings of more than 1,000 people until early April, meaning Apple’s event would have been axed anyway. 

Of course, Apple still has several products that it needs to introduce. It reportedly wants to get “creative” with the announcements and one option includes a digital press event, but at this stage, press releases via the Apple Newsroom website seem more likely.

Despite reportedly being two months behind schedule with everything iPhone, Apple doesn’t seem to have encountered any major issues with iPhone 9 production. But in a meeting yesterday, it nevertheless decided to delay the smartphone’s release.

Apple hasn’t yet set a firm new launch schedule for the budget iPhone, although one source believes it could make an appearance in June, perhaps around the same time as WWDC, while another thinks a fall introduction is more likely. 

Apple is also trying to prevent large gatherings at its retail stores, something the iPhone 9 release would complicate. 

Apple could push back the iPhone 12 too

The next big Apple gatherings this year are WWDC and the annual September event. The former hasn’t been canceled, according to Prosser’s sources, but it has been “modified” to include no face-to-face contact with developers.

That likely means it’ll proceed in an online-only format. Because the situation is constantly evolving, though, these plans could still change. 

As for the all-important September event, it’s looking as though it will be delayed. Because of the travel restrictions Apple placed on employees inside and outside China, prototype iPhone 12 testing has pretty much stopped.