Mike Wuerthele
Apple CEO Tim Cook and company will launch the 2020 WWDC with a "special event keynote" on June 22, at 1 PM Eastern Time — with sessions following on how to build "the next generation of apps."
Apple says that the 2020 WWDC will be the "biggest WWDC to date, bringing together the global Apple developer community of more than 23 million in an unprecedented, virtual way." Leading off that unique gathering is the "Special Event Keynote."
The keynote will stream live from Apple Park on Apple.com, the Apple Developer app, the Apple Developer website, the Apple TV app, and YouTube, and will also be available for on-demand playback after the conclusion of the stream. In China, the keynote will also stream on Tencent, iQIYI, Bilibili, and Youku.
The Apple "Platforms State of the Union" will follow on June 22 at 5 PM eastern time. Apple notes that as usual, that is held with the company's engineering leaders, to "dive deeper into the latest advances across iOS, iPadOS, macOS, tvOS, and watchOS."
Apple also says that an all-new Apple Developer Forums redesign is arriving prior to WWDC. On June 18, the Apple Developer Forums will connect the developer community with more than 1,000 Apple engineers to answer questions and engage in technical discussions. Starting the first day of WWDC, anyone can search and view the forum discussions to follow along, and Apple Developer Program members will be able to post their own questions and learn directly from Apple experts.
Starting June 23, developers will have the ability to learn how to build the next generation of apps with more than 100 technical and design-focused sessions helmed by Apple engineers. Videos will be posted each day at 10 a.m. PDT and will be available in the Apple Developer app on iPhone, iPad, and Apple TV, as well as on the Apple Developer website.
Developers will be able to request an appointment with the Apple engineers who helped build the latest advances in Apple platforms, with by-appointment one-on-one technical guidance sessions available. Those sessions will cover details on how to implement new features.
Developer Labs will be open to Apple Developer Program members as space — and bandwidth — allows.
Apple is expected to use WWDC 2020 to announce macOS 10.16 — and its California-inspired name — plus iOS 14 and iPadOS 14. Also expected are watchOS 7 and tvOS 14.
Reportedly, the iPhone's software update is codenamed "Azul." Apple is also said to be working on what it is internally called "Azul+1."
During the WWDC, Apple is expected to announce a shift from Intel to ARM processors. The timetable for the first Mac to have an ARM processor isn't clear, but rumors place the first units to ship by the end of 2020.
William Gallagher
Christine McKee
AppleInsider Staff
Chip Loder
Malcolm Owen
9 Comments
Of note: the video sessions and sample code are available to everybody. The forum (at least for posting about WWDC 2020 topics), labs, and 1:1 sessions are only available for paying developers.
I'm sure a bunch of people already know this, but for everybody who isn't familiar, the "Apple Developer Program" is the $100 per year membership which lets you submit stuff for the App Store.
They need to get more Catalyst Apps out there for the iPad and Mac platforms. SuperOS on ARM coming along.
Thanks for the heads-up on the keynote. Looking forward to attending virtually. Hoping to see SwiftUI updates and maturity improvements.
Watching the keynote on our Apple TV is an annual treat. Looking forward to how they handle it differently this year.
How are they going to decide who gets the one-on-one time? Previously it was available to the 5-6,000 attendees who paid for a ticket. With 1,000 Apple engineers attending, that meant there were only 5-6 attendees per Apple engineer, guaranteeing an excellent chance for everyone to speak to an engineer(s).
They can’t just let any person with a developer account register for one-on-one time. They would quickly exhaust all available slots and you could end up with a lot of “developers” wasting engineer time with trivial questions. Further, I bet you’d get a lot of trolls who try and register just to screw with the event.
So I’m wondering how they’ll screen developers.