Tim Bajarin has covered Apple for 40 years and has only missed four public events Apple has held during those four decades. He believes that Apple’s pre-taped, edited special event videos are the way the company will continue to operate in the future.
In the summer of 2020, Apple’s WWDC shifted to an online conference… Since then, all Apple launch events have been videoed. More importantly, taping them in advance changes how Apple presents new products. In the past, the live events took months of planning and sometimes weeks of rehearsals. Testing product demos on stage dozens of times; even then, some failed during the live events.
More problematically, the schedules of Apple’s execs were turned upside down as they needed to do pre-event rehearsals at the event site. This scheduling demand took them away from performing their leadership roles and temporarily put many projects on hold.
The recent iPhone 14 launch highlighted this new format. Although hundreds were invited to the Steve Jobs Theater to see the launch in person, those who attended saw the exact taped event everyone saw from their work or homes. The only difference for those in the theater is that Tim Cook came out to greet us and launch the video and came back at the end to bid us farewell. Will Apple still hold on-site event launches for the media if the presentation is taped and viewers can watch it from their homes or offices? Yes, for one key reason. After the event, Apple set up a hands-on area for the media to see and touch the launched products. This hands-on gives the press a quick way to show the products to their readers, which adds a rich dimension to their coverage of these events.
Apple has shifted the whole product launch concept to online events that allow anyone interested in what Apple launches to view it in real-time and in the future. They have brought a whole new way to introduce products to potential partners and customers and have now influenced almost all companies to follow suit.
MacDailyNews Take: It’s highly likely that Apple’s pre-taped, edited special event videos are with us for the foreseeable future due to the significant reduction on demand on executive presenters’ time alone. The hands-on area and access to Apple executives at these events are easily strong enough draws for the media to attend in person: Watch the movie, then play with — or at least see — and photograph the actual tech afterwards with an executive Q&A. It obviously works.
If Apple ever again gets a dynamic, charismatic CEO who’s mastered on-stage live presentations, we may return to such events, but, for now, enjoy the videos!
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