Skip to main content
  1. Home
  2. Mobile
  3. News

Apple reveals dates for online-only WWDC 2021, promising ‘unique insights’

Arif Bacchus
By

Apple’s annual developer extravaganza is going fully virtual once more. Now officially set for June 7 through June 11, the company has confirmed in a press release that this year’s Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC) will be a free-to-attend online event for all developers.

Apple notes that last year’s online conference saw “record-breaking participation” and promises that WWDC21 should deliver more of the same, with “unique insight into the future of iOS, iPadOS, MacOS, WatchOS, and tvOS.”

Related Videos

The company leveraged online videos and lab sessions for attendees at last year’s WWDC in place of traditional face-to-face networking and hands-on time. These offerings will return for WWDC21. Apple is even hinting at “new ways for developers to interact with Apple engineers and designers to learn about the latest frameworks and technologies.”

Related

Since WWDC is usually about software, you can expect Apple to announce the next versions of MacOS, iOS, and iPad OS, which are rumored to be called iOS 15, iPadOS 15, and MacOS 12. We also expect to see tvOS 15, and WatchOS 8.

WWDC isn’t typically the stage for new hardware, but with rumors circulating, it wouldn’t be surprising to see new Apple silicon Macs at this year’s event. The photo announcing the conference also has a MacBook in view in front of an Animoji, suggesting that this could be another big stage for the Mac, following last year’s M1 announcement.

“We love bringing our developers together each year at WWDC to learn about our latest technologies and to connect them with Apple engineers,” said Susan Prescott, Apple’s vice president of Worldwide Developer Relations and Enterprise and Education Marketing. “We are working to make WWDC21 our biggest and best yet, and are excited to offer Apple developers new tools to support them as they create apps that change the way we live, work, and play.”

Interested developers will get an email with additional program information. There also will be more information shared through the Apple Developer app, on the Apple Developer website.

Students can also enter a submission for the Swift Student Challenge through April 18. This year, Apple is inviting students to code interactive scenes in a Swift playground that can be experienced within three minutes. Winners will receive exclusive WWDC21 outerwear and a pin set.

Editors' Recommendations

Topics
I love the Galaxy S23 — here are 5 things the iPhone still does better
Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra and Apple iPhone 14 Pro

Samsung’s Galaxy S23 has arrived to the masses, and it’s one of the best Android phones you can get right now, especially the S23 Ultra. However, for those who don’t need all of the fancy bells and whistles, like the S Pen and 200MP main camera, the regular S23 is also plenty powerful for the average person, especially if you prefer smaller devices.

I’ve been using the Galaxy S23 for the past few weeks, and so far, my experience has been delightful. I know that it’s still early on in the year, but for me, the S23’s small size is perfect and comfortable. Android also does a lot of things better than iOS, like individual volume controls and notifications, for example. But I am still primarily using my iPhone 14 Pro — despite Apple having some big flaws, such as overprocessing images after you capture them.

Read more
I created the perfect iPhone home screen — and you can too
iPhone 14 Pro with custom home screen icons and widgets

With iOS 14, Apple began to open the floodgates for software customization on the iPhone. For the first time, you could add widgets to the home screen and even change app icons to custom ones without the need for a jailbreak. And iOS 16 gave us some more customization options in the form of the lock screen, although the interface for that is su-par, to say the least.

While I see a lot of people still use a stock grid layout on their home screen, I took some time when iOS 14 first came out to customize my iOS experience. I enjoy that it’s not just a boring grid of stock icons — having custom icons and widgets really mix things up a bit and gives me a more informative home screen.

Read more
Will my phone automatically change for daylight saving time?
The iPhone 14 Pro's Dynamic Island showing the timer and music playing.

Like it or not, it's that time of year again — time for daylight saving time. On Sunday, March 12, at 2:00 a.m. (local time), the majority of people in the United States will be "springing forward" and setting their clocks ahead by an hour. Along with losing an hour of sleep, it also poses an important question: will your phone automatically change for daylight saving time?

It's a question that applies regardless of which phone you have. Whether you're rocking an iPhone 14 Pro, a Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra, or any other smartphone, it's important to know whether or not you need to change it for the new time.

Read more