Apple has announced the schedule for its forthcoming Worldwide Developer Conference for 2021, including the introduction of a new Pavilions feature for developers looking to choose which online events to attend.
Apple announces details of WWDC 2021
Apple has previously announced that this year's WWDC will run from June 7 to 11, 2021, and also that it will again be exclusively online because of coronavirus issues. Now the company has issued a schedule for the week, including the keynote, and also the first information about a new option for developers called Pavilions.
"WWDC21 kicks off with the unveiling of exciting new updates coming to all Apple platforms later this year," wrote Apple in a press release. "Streamed directly from Apple Park, the keynote address will be available via apple.com, the Apple Developer app, the Apple TV app, and YouTube, with on-demand playback available after the conclusion of the stream."
That keynote will begin at 10:00 AM PT on Monday, June 7. Also on that first day of the week-long event, there will be the Platforms State of the Union at 2:00 PM PT. Not as widely viewed as the keynote announcements, this will see Apple taking "a deeper dive into the new technologies, and advances across Apple platforms that will help Apple developers create even better apps."
Where the keynote will be live streamed across all Apple devices, and YouTube, the Platforms State of the Union will be available only in the Apple Developer app and website.
This is also where the Apple Design Awards can be watched. They are to take place on June 10 at 2:00 PM PT.
Alongside the specific timings of these three events in the week, Apple has also revealed Pavilions.
"New for WWDC21, Pavilions provide an easy way for developers to explore relevant sessions, labs, and special activities for a given topic," continues Apple. "Conference attendees can customize their WWDC experience and check out content organized around specific areas like SwiftUI, Developer Tools, Accessibility & Inclusion, and more -- exclusively within the Apple Developer app."
There are also a series of over 200 unscheduled "in-depth sessions, one-on-one labs" for developers. "Apple Developer Program members can request one-on-one lab consultations," explains the press release, "with more than 1,000 Apple experts to ask questions about the latest APIs and best practices, and apply for user interface and design reviews."
Apple has further revealed that there will be assorted special events "designed to celebrate developers and bring the community together." Also, ahead of the main week, there will be a related celebration of the winners of the Swift Student Challenge on June 1.
Apple will be using WWDC 2021 to announce the next versions of iOS and macOS. It's expected that it may release new Macs, and is likely to unveil more details about its transition to Apple Silicon.
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