Wesley Hilliard
Existing developers can apply to attend the June 6 Worldwide Developer Conference in-person "special event" starting on May 9.
Apple announced WWDC would take place in 2022 from June 6 to June 10 with an in-person component on the first day. This developer-only special event is the first in-person event Apple has held since the COVID-19 pandemic lockdowns began in 2020.
Any Apple Developer Program or Apple Developer Enterprise Program participants can apply to attend starting on May 9. A random selection lottery will determine which applicants will be able to attend, much like previous WWDC in-person events.
While the WWDC keynote and sessions are still pre-filmed digital-only events, Apple is inviting developers to attend the special event in person. Attendees would watch the pre-recorded keynote and State of the Union alongside Apple engineers and experts and gain access to an all-new Developer Center.
Developers can submit their request to attend from May 9 at 9 AM PT to May 11 at 9 AM PT. Winners of the lottery will be notified by May 12 at 6 PM PT.
WWDC is an annual event where Apple reveals its latest operating system updates and developer tools to the world. Apple is expected to share information about iOS 16, iPadOS 16, macOS 13, tvOS 16, and watchOS 9. As always, hardware is rumored — but Apple as of late hasn't done much with hardware at the event.
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1 Comment
Hardware at WWDC makes even less sense now that Apple is minting their own silicon. Before they were at the mercy of Intel's CPU release schedule.
The M-series SoCs rely even more heavily on macOS releases so Apple can focus on new features for the upcoming macOS release and say, "we'll take care of the hardware" similar to what they've been doing with iPhone, A-series SoCs and iOS for years.
As for this special in-person event, it will likely be outdoors. Santa Clara County's coronavirus infection rate has been slowly creeping up recently and county public health officer Dr. Sara Cody has a well-documented track record of health mandates; she was the first US public health officer to issue a shelter-in-place order.
My guess is it will not be held at the spaceship campus which doesn't have the right infrastructure to host a large group of non-employees on site. Santa Clara Convention Center, Levi's Stadium, maybe San Mateo Events Center would be more probable venues. Maybe one of the local colleges or universities.