I wish there was better news, but it’s been some time coming…
Per iMore, IDG, the parent company of both Macworld magazine and the Macworld/iWorld conferences, announced on Tuesday that the conference is “going on hiatus”, and that the 2015 event will not happen. Macworld/iWorld has struggled in recent years with the loss of Apple as a keynote partner, with the company around which the conference revolved opting to focus more on their own events and putting significant capital into WWDC.
IDG’s MacIT Mac-focused enterprise technology conference will continue, but the larger Macworld/iWorld is no more. IDG is likely working to rework the conference, but that it’s going on hiatus doesn’t bode well for Macworld/iWorld’s future. It’s a blow to have the January-duo of CES and Macworld be no more, although it’s unlikely that this will be a significant impediment to the OS X and iOS developer communities.
The official statement from IDG reads as follows:
“We are announcing today that Macworld/iWorld is going on hiatus, and will not be taking place as planned in 2015. Our MacIT event, the world’s premiere event for deploying Apple in the enterprise, will continue next year with details to be announced in the coming weeks.
Since 1985, Macworld events have brought together a community to celebrate the incredible innovations that Apple has brought into the world, shining a spotlight on the developers who add value to the user’s experience in infinite ways. As Apple products and the related ecosystem have changed, so has the marketplace, and we are proud to have played a part in that evolution. Literally thousands of companies and hundreds of products have come to market at Macworld, and countless professional relationships have been forged. We’d like to take this opportunity to thank the Apple community for allowing us to host these events and be a part of the incredible story that is the Apple market.
We are committed via our MacIT event to bringing together the product developers innovating with enterprise iOS and OS X based solutions, and the growing legion of professionals empowering their organizations through these tools. We are exploring exciting new partnerships, venues and delivery opportunities through which MacIT can continue to serve this market, and we look forward to announcing our plans for this event within the next few months.”
I’m sad to see this go and over the past 20 years, there have been some amazing Macworld and iWorld events. With any luck, this will return in one form or another and, as always, stay tuned to the PowerPage for details as they become available.