Steven P. Jobs will not be making his annual keynote address at the Macworld Expo, according to The New York Times.
Apple announced on Tuesday that Jobs would not appear at the conference in January and that the keynote address would be given instead by Philip W. Schiller, Apple’s senior vice president.
The decision has caused much scrutiny as Job’s health is in question. Apple may also be attempting to expand their leadership base by making the change.
Back in July 2008, Directorship reported on Job’s vanquished physical appearance, bringing up questions about succession planning for Job’s position.
The company plans to forego attending the expo completely after this January. Apple intends to unveil its new products at its own events, like its Worldwide Developers Conference, held in June in San Francisco.
“Phil is giving the keynote because this will be Apple’s last year at the show,” said Steve Dowling, an Apple spokeperson. “It doesn’t make sense for us to make a major investment in a trade show we will no longer be attending.
Rumors surrounding Apple include a new version of the Mac Mini, a boxy computer that is sold without a monitor, and a smaller version of the iPhone. Gene Munster, an analyst at Piper Jaffray believes that the new products would give Phil Schiller something worth talking about at the expo. “But the likelihood of that is low,” he added.