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Worldwide Developers Conference

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The Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC) is the annual developer conference held by Apple each June. Apple uses its opening keynote to preview the next versions of its operating systems and developer tools, and the rest of the week is given over to technical sessions and labs with Apple engineers.[1] Apple described the 2017 edition as its 28th annual conference and the 2020 edition as being in its 31st year.[2][3]

Apple has announced many of its augmented reality (AR) and virtual reality (VR) software frameworks at WWDC. The 2017 conference introduced ARKit for iPhone and iPad and announced VR support for macOS. Later editions added USDZ, RealityKit and Reality Composer, and in 2023 Apple unveiled Apple Vision Pro and its operating system visionOS at the conference.[4][5] Since 2024, each June keynote has previewed the next major visionOS release. The most recent edition, WWDC26, ran online from 8 to 12 June 2026 and introduced visionOS 27.[1][6]

Reviewed 11 October 2026. Checked edition dates, venues, formats, attendance and edition numbering against Apple newsroom announcements for 2017-2026, and each XR announcement against Apple keynote-day releases plus TechCrunch, Road to VR, The Verge, MacRumors, UploadVR and 9to5Mac coverage. About review dates.

History

San Francisco and San Jose

For many years before 2017 the conference was held in San Francisco. When Apple announced the 2017 dates, MacStories noted that WWDC "has been held at the Moscone Convention Center in San Francisco for the past 16 years."[7] Apple's own announcement described the 2017 move as a return to San Jose, "the site of the original WWDC." It placed the conference at the McEnery Convention Center, "just minutes from Apple's new headquarters in Cupertino," and promised attendees access to more than 1,000 Apple engineers.[2]

The 2018 and 2019 conferences were also held at the McEnery Convention Center, on 4 to 8 June 2018 and 3 to 7 June 2019.[8][9] For the 2019 conference, tickets were issued through a random selection process among applicants, and the conference was live-streamed on the WWDC app and the Apple Developer website.[9] Shortly before the 2019 edition, Apple said that more than 5,000 people from 86 countries would attend.[10]

Online format (2020-present)

In March 2020 Apple announced that WWDC 2020 would use "an entirely new online format" with an online keynote and sessions. Apple cited "the current health situation" as the reason. It also committed US$1 million to local San Jose organizations to offset the revenue lost by moving the event online.[3] The keynote took place on 22 June 2020. During the conference week Apple reported that developers had streamed 206 engineering sessions and were reaching more than 1,000 Apple engineers through the Developer Forums and one-on-one Developer Labs.[11]

WWDC21 was also held in an all-online format, from 7 to 11 June 2021.[12] Announcing WWDC22, Apple referred to "the past two years of virtual events" and kept the conference online, free for all developers, from 6 to 10 June 2022.[13] On the opening day Apple added what it called "a first-of-its-kind special event" at Apple Park in Cupertino, where developers, students and media watched the keynote and the Platforms State of the Union together.[14] Every edition since then has followed the same pattern: a week-long online conference and an in-person event at Apple Park on the first day, with limited space.[15][16][17][1]

Format

WWDC26 opened on Monday, 8 June, with the keynote and the Platforms State of the Union.[1] For WWDC26, Apple listed more than 100 video sessions plus interactive group labs and appointments with Apple engineers and designers. The conference ran on the Apple Developer app, the Apple Developer website and YouTube channel, and Apple's bilibili channel in China.[1] On the 2026 keynote day, Apple made developer betas of iOS 27, visionOS 27, Xcode 27 and its other platforms available at developer.apple.com.[18]

The Swift Student Challenge is tied to the conference. In 2024, 2025 and 2026 Apple said that winning students could apply to attend the Apple Park event and that 50 Distinguished Winners would be invited to Cupertino for a three-day experience.[16][17][1]

XR announcements

AR and VR on iOS and macOS (2017-2022)

At WWDC 2017 Apple introduced ARKit as part of iOS 11, a framework that lets developers place virtual content on real-world scenes using the iPhone or iPad camera, processors and motion sensors. Craig Federighi, Apple's senior vice president of Software Engineering, called it "the biggest AR platform in the world."[4] In The Verge, Adi Robertson explained that ARKit's world tracking uses visual-inertial odometry and compared it with Google's Tango platform, noting that Tango needed special hardware while ARKit would run on many existing iOS devices.[19] The same keynote covered VR on the Mac. Apple announced VR support in Metal 2 for macOS High Sierra, external GPU support over Thunderbolt and a partnership with Valve to bring the SteamVR SDK to the Mac, and Industrial Light & Magic showed a Star Wars demo in which a VR scene was assembled by dragging in ships and Darth Vader.[20] In the conference's "VR with Metal 2" session, Apple described Metal 2 features for VR including single-pass stereo rendering and direct-to-display output for headsets.[21]

The following editions extended ARKit and added tools for 3D content. WWDC 2018 brought ARKit 2 with shared and persistent AR, the Measure app and USDZ, an open file format created with Pixar and based on its Universal Scene Description, which AR Quick Look uses to place 3D objects in the real world.[22] In 2019 Apple added ARKit 3 with people occlusion and motion capture, RealityKit and the Reality Composer app.[23] ARKit 4 (2020) added a Depth API for the LiDAR sensor in iPad Pro, as well as location anchors, and RoomPlan (2022) uses the LiDAR Scanner on iPhone and iPad to build 3D floor plans of rooms.[24][25][26] In 2021 Apple stated that there were "over 1 billion AR-enabled devices powered by ARKit."[27]

Apple Vision Pro and visionOS (2023-present)

On 5 June 2023, at the WWDC23 keynote, Apple unveiled Apple Vision Pro, which it called a "spatial computer", together with visionOS. Apple gave a starting price of US$3,499 and said the headset would go on sale in the United States early the following year.[5] Road to VR reported that the headset was capable of both VR and AR through color passthrough but that Apple was focusing much more on AR tasks.[28] The visionOS SDK followed on 21 June 2023 with Reality Composer Pro and a visionOS simulator, and Apple said it would open developer labs in Cupertino, London, Munich, Shanghai, Singapore and Tokyo.[29] Vision Pro went on sale in the U.S. on 2 February 2024.[30]

From 2024 the WWDC keynote has previewed a new visionOS release each year: visionOS 2 in 2024, visionOS 26 in 2025 (Apple moved all of its operating systems to year-based version numbers that year) and visionOS 27 in 2026.[31][32][6] UploadVR's David Heaney reported that Apple's WWDC26 documentation and developer talks revealed more visionOS 27 changes than the keynote showed, including held object tracking and APIs that let any company build infrared LED tracked accessories for Vision Pro.[33]

Notable XR announcements by year

Edition Keynote date XR announcements Sources
WWDC 2017 5 June 2017 ARKit in iOS 11 for iPhone and iPad; VR support in Metal 2 on macOS High Sierra, external GPU support and SteamVR SDK support on the Mac in partnership with Valve [4][20]
WWDC 2018 4 June 2018 ARKit 2 (shared experiences, persistent AR, 3D object detection, image tracking); the Measure app; USDZ file format developed with Pixar; AR Quick Look in iOS 12 [22][34]
WWDC 2019 3 June 2019 ARKit 3 (people occlusion, motion capture, tracking of up to three faces, collaborative sessions); RealityKit; Reality Composer for iOS, iPadOS and Mac [23][35]
WWDC 2020 22 June 2020 ARKit 4 with a Depth API for the LiDAR Scanner on iPad Pro, location anchors based on Apple Maps data, and improved face tracking [24][25]
WWDC 2021 7 June 2021 RealityKit 2, including Object Capture, a photogrammetry API on macOS Monterey that turns photos into 3D models for AR [27][36]
WWDC 2022 6 June 2022 RoomPlan, an ARKit-powered API that uses the LiDAR Scanner on iPhone and iPad to create 3D floor plans of rooms [26][37]
WWDC23 5 June 2023 Apple Vision Pro headset and visionOS, with the Apple R1 chip, EyeSight and a starting price of US$3,499; visionOS SDK and Reality Composer Pro released on 21 June [5][28][29]
WWDC24 10 June 2024 visionOS 2 (spatial photos from 2D images, new hand gestures, ultrawide Mac Virtual Display, TabletopKit, volumetric APIs); Vision Pro sales announced for China mainland, Hong Kong, Japan, Singapore, Australia, Canada, France, Germany and the U.K. [31][38][39]
WWDC25 9 June 2025 visionOS 26 (spatial widgets, spatial scenes, redesigned Personas, shared spatial experiences, PlayStation VR2 Sense controller and Logitech Muse support); macOS spatial rendering for streaming immersive content from a Mac to Vision Pro [40][32][41]
WWDC26 8 June 2026 visionOS 27 (Siri AI on Vision Pro, panoramas as spatial scenes and personal Environments, framework for third-party IR LED tracked accessories, native Gaussian splat rendering in RealityKit); Reality Composer Pro 3; Spatial Preview framework; visionOS builds in Xcode Cloud [6][18][33][42]

Editions

The table covers the editions since 2017, with dates and venues as Apple announced them.

Edition Dates Venue and format Source
2017 5-9 June McEnery Convention Center, San Jose [2]
2018 4-8 June McEnery Convention Center, San Jose [8]
2019 3-7 June McEnery Convention Center, San Jose [9]
2020 Keynote 22 June Online only [3][11]
2021 7-11 June Online only [12]
2022 6-10 June Online, with a special event at Apple Park on 6 June [13][14]
2023 5-9 June Online, with a special event at Apple Park on 5 June [15]
2024 10-14 June Online, with a special event at Apple Park on 10 June [16]
2025 9-13 June Online, with a special event at Apple Park on 9 June [17]
2026 8-12 June Online, with a special event at Apple Park on 8 June [1]

Current status

WWDC26, held from 8 to 12 June 2026, is the most recent edition.[1] On 14 September 2026 Apple began rolling out the software it had previewed, including visionOS 27 and iOS 27. That release added panoramas as spatial scenes and personal Environments on Vision Pro and a new Thórsmörk Environment.[43]

See also

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 1.6 1.7 "Apple's Worldwide Developers Conference returns the week of June 8". Apple Newsroom. Apple. 2026-03-23. https://www.apple.com/newsroom/2026/03/apples-worldwide-developers-conference-returns-the-week-of-june-8/. Retrieved 2026-10-11.
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 "WWDC, Apple's Worldwide Developers Conference, returns to San Jose June 5-9, 2017". Apple Newsroom. Apple. 2017-02-16. https://www.apple.com/newsroom/2017/02/wwdc-apples-worldwide-developers-conference-returns-to-san-jose-june-5-9-2017/. Retrieved 2026-10-11.
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 "Apple's Worldwide Developers Conference 2020 kicks off in June with an all-new online format". Apple Newsroom. Apple. 2020-03-13. https://www.apple.com/newsroom/2020/03/apples-wwdc-2020-kicks-off-in-june-with-an-all-new-online-format/. Retrieved 2026-10-11.
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 "iOS 11 brings new features to iPhone and iPad this fall". Apple Newsroom. Apple. 2017-06-05. https://www.apple.com/newsroom/2017/06/ios-11-brings-new-features-to-iphone-and-ipad-this-fall/. Retrieved 2026-10-11.
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 "Introducing Apple Vision Pro: Apple's first spatial computer". Apple Newsroom. Apple. 2023-06-05. https://www.apple.com/newsroom/2023/06/introducing-apple-vision-pro/. Retrieved 2026-10-11.
  6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 "WWDC26: Apple unveils next generation of Apple Intelligence, Siri AI, powerful parental controls, and an expansive set of software improvements". Apple Newsroom. Apple. 2026-06-08. https://www.apple.com/newsroom/2026/06/apple-unveils-next-generation-of-apple-intelligence-siri-ai-and-more/. Retrieved 2026-10-11.
  7. ↑ John Voorhees (2017-02-16). "Apple Announces WWDC 2017: Kicks Off June 5 in San Jose". MacStories. https://www.macstories.net/news/apple-announces-wwdc-2017-kicks-off-june-5-in-san-jose/. Retrieved 2026-10-11.
  8. ↑ 8.0 8.1 "Apple's Worldwide Developers Conference kicks off June 4 in San Jose". Apple Newsroom. Apple. 2018-03-13. https://www.apple.com/newsroom/2018/03/apples-worldwide-developers-conference-kicks-off-june-4-in-san-jose/. Retrieved 2026-10-11.
  9. ↑ 9.0 9.1 9.2 "Apple to host annual Worldwide Developers Conference June 3-7 in San Jose". Apple Newsroom. Apple. 2019-03-14. https://www.apple.com/newsroom/2019/03/apple-to-host-annual-worldwide-developers-conference-june-3-7-in-san-jose/. Retrieved 2026-10-11.
  10. ↑ "Thousands of stories, one WWDC". Apple Newsroom. Apple. 2019-05-30. https://www.apple.com/newsroom/2019/05/thousands-of-stories-one-wwdc/. Retrieved 2026-10-11.
  11. ↑ 11.0 11.1 "WWDC20 highlights". Apple Newsroom. Apple. 2020-06-26. https://www.apple.com/newsroom/2020/06/wwdc20-highlights/. Retrieved 2026-10-11.
  12. ↑ 12.0 12.1 "Apple's Worldwide Developers Conference is back in its all-online format". Apple Newsroom. Apple. 2021-03-30. https://www.apple.com/newsroom/2021/03/apples-worldwide-developers-conference-is-back-in-its-all-online-format/. Retrieved 2026-10-11.
  13. ↑ 13.0 13.1 "Apple's Worldwide Developers Conference returns in its all-online format". Apple Newsroom. Apple. 2022-04-05. https://www.apple.com/newsroom/2022/04/apples-worldwide-developers-conference-returns-in-its-all-online-format/. Retrieved 2026-10-11.
  14. ↑ 14.0 14.1 "WWDC22 highlights". Apple Newsroom. Apple. 2022-06-06. https://www.apple.com/newsroom/2022/06/wwdc22-highlights/. Retrieved 2026-10-11.
  15. ↑ 15.0 15.1 "Apple's Worldwide Developers Conference returns June 5". Apple Newsroom. Apple. 2023-03-29. https://www.apple.com/newsroom/2023/03/apples-worldwide-developers-conference-returns-june-5/. Retrieved 2026-10-11.
  16. ↑ 16.0 16.1 16.2 "Apple's Worldwide Developers Conference returns June 10, 2024". Apple Newsroom. Apple. 2024-03-26. https://www.apple.com/newsroom/2024/03/apples-worldwide-developers-conference-returns-june-10-2024/. Retrieved 2026-10-11.
  17. ↑ 17.0 17.1 17.2 "Apple's Worldwide Developers Conference returns the week of June 9". Apple Newsroom. Apple. 2025-03-25. https://www.apple.com/newsroom/2025/03/apples-worldwide-developers-conference-returns-the-week-of-june-9/. Retrieved 2026-10-11.
  18. ↑ 18.0 18.1 "Apple accelerates app development with new intelligence frameworks and advanced tools". Apple Newsroom. Apple. 2026-06-08. https://www.apple.com/newsroom/2026/06/apple-aids-app-development-with-new-intelligence-frameworks-and-advanced-tools/. Retrieved 2026-10-11.
  19. ↑ Adi Robertson (2017-06-06). "Breaking down Apple's new augmented reality platform". The Verge. https://www.theverge.com/2017/6/6/15742736/apple-arkit-augmented-reality-platform-wwdc-breakdown. Retrieved 2026-10-11.
  20. ↑ 20.0 20.1 Lucas Matney (2017-06-05). "Apple introduces 'Metal for VR' in macOS High Sierra". TechCrunch. https://techcrunch.com/2017/06/05/apple-introduces-metal-for-vr-in-macos-high-sierra/. Retrieved 2026-10-11.
  21. ↑ Ben Lang (2017-07-01). "Apple Adds VR Rendering Essentials to MacOS via Metal 2". Road to VR. https://www.roadtovr.com/apple-adds-vr-rendering-essentials-to-macos-metal-2-single-pass-stereo-direct-to-display/. Retrieved 2026-10-11.
  22. ↑ 22.0 22.1 "Apple unveils ARKit 2". Apple Newsroom. Apple. 2018-06-04. https://www.apple.com/newsroom/2018/06/apple-unveils-arkit-2/. Retrieved 2026-10-11.
  23. ↑ 23.0 23.1 "Apple unveils groundbreaking new technologies for app development". Apple Newsroom. Apple. 2019-06-03. https://www.apple.com/newsroom/2019/06/apple-unveils-groundbreaking-new-technologies-for-app-development/. Retrieved 2026-10-11.
  24. ↑ 24.0 24.1 "Apple reveals new developer technologies to foster the next generation of apps". Apple Newsroom. Apple. 2020-06-22. https://www.apple.com/newsroom/2020/06/apple-reveals-new-developer-technologies-to-foster-the-next-generation-of-apps/. Retrieved 2026-10-11.
  25. ↑ 25.0 25.1 Hartley Charlton (2020-06-22). "Apple Announces ARKit 4 with Location Anchors, Depth API, and Improved Face Tracking". MacRumors. https://www.macrumors.com/2020/06/22/apple-announces-arkit-4/. Retrieved 2026-10-11.
  26. ↑ 26.0 26.1 "Apple provides developers with even more powerful technologies". Apple Newsroom. Apple. 2022-06-06. https://www.apple.com/newsroom/2022/06/apple-provides-developers-with-even-more-powerful-technologies/. Retrieved 2026-10-11.
  27. ↑ 27.0 27.1 "Apple introduces new developer tools and technologies to create even better apps". Apple Newsroom. Apple. 2021-06-07. https://www.apple.com/newsroom/2021/06/apple-introduces-new-developer-tools-and-technologies-to-create-even-better-apps/. Retrieved 2026-10-11.
  28. ↑ 28.0 28.1 Scott Hayden (2023-06-05). "Apple Vision Pro Specs, Price, & Release Date Revealed". Road to VR. https://roadtovr.com/apple-vision-pro-specs-pice-release/. Retrieved 2026-10-11.
  29. ↑ 29.0 29.1 "Developer tools to create spatial experiences for Apple Vision Pro now available". Apple Newsroom. Apple. 2023-06-21. https://www.apple.com/newsroom/2023/06/developer-tools-to-create-spatial-experiences-for-apple-vision-pro-now-available/. Retrieved 2026-10-11.
  30. ↑ "Apple Vision Pro available in the U.S. on February 2". Apple Newsroom. Apple. 2024-01-08. https://www.apple.com/newsroom/2024/01/apple-vision-pro-available-in-the-us-on-february-2/. Retrieved 2026-10-11.
  31. ↑ 31.0 31.1 "visionOS 2 brings new spatial computing experiences to Apple Vision Pro". Apple Newsroom. Apple. 2024-06-10. https://www.apple.com/newsroom/2024/06/visionos-2-brings-new-spatial-computing-experiences-to-apple-vision-pro/. Retrieved 2026-10-11.
  32. ↑ 32.0 32.1 David Heaney (2025-06-09). "visionOS 26 To Bring PS VR2 Controllers, Photorealistic Personas, Spatial Scenes & More". UploadVR. https://www.uploadvr.com/visionos-26-announced-apple-vision-pro-wwdc25/. Retrieved 2026-10-11.
  33. ↑ 33.0 33.1 David Heaney (2026-06-14). "visionOS 27 Is A Much Bigger Update Than Apple's Keynote Suggested". UploadVR. https://www.uploadvr.com/visionos-27-announced-apple-vision-pro-wwdc-26/. Retrieved 2026-10-11.
  34. ↑ Tim Hardwick (2018-06-04). "Apple Announces New USDZ Augmented Reality File Format Coming in iOS 12". MacRumors. https://www.macrumors.com/2018/06/04/apple-announces-usdz-file-format/. Retrieved 2026-10-11.
  35. ↑ David Heaney (2019-06-03). "Apple ARKit To Get People Occlusion, Body Tracking, High Level 'RealityKit' Framework". UploadVR. https://www.uploadvr.com/arkit-3-realitykit-wwdc-2019/. Retrieved 2026-10-11.
  36. ↑ Sarah Perez (2021-06-08). "Apple's RealityKit 2 allows developers to create 3D models for AR using iPhone photos". TechCrunch. https://techcrunch.com/2021/06/08/apples-realitykit-2-allows-developers-to-create-3d-models-for-ar-using-iphone-photos/. Retrieved 2026-10-11.
  37. ↑ Scott Hayden (2022-06-22). "Apple Quietly Released One of The Most Impressive AR Room-mapping Tools". Road to VR. https://www.roadtovr.com/apple-roomplan-ar-mapping/. Retrieved 2026-10-11.
  38. ↑ "Apple Vision Pro arrives in new countries and regions beginning June 28". Apple Newsroom. Apple. 2024-06-10. https://www.apple.com/newsroom/2024/06/apple-vision-pro-arrives-in-new-countries-and-regions-beginning-june-28/. Retrieved 2026-10-11.
  39. ↑ David Heaney (2024-06-10). "visionOS 2 Officially Announced For Apple Vision Pro". UploadVR. https://www.uploadvr.com/visionos-2-announced-apple-vision-pro/. Retrieved 2026-10-11.
  40. ↑ "visionOS 26 introduces powerful new spatial experiences for Apple Vision Pro". Apple Newsroom. Apple. 2025-06-09. https://www.apple.com/newsroom/2025/06/visionos-26-introduces-powerful-new-spatial-experiences-for-apple-vision-pro/. Retrieved 2026-10-11.
  41. ↑ David Heaney (2025-06-09). "macOS Spatial Rendering Is Apple's Take On PC VR". UploadVR. https://www.uploadvr.com/macos-spatial-rendering-announced-wwdc25/. Retrieved 2026-10-11.
  42. ↑ Ryan Christoffel (2026-06-08). "visionOS 27 announced with new features for Apple Vision Pro". 9to5Mac. https://9to5mac.com/2026/06/08/visionos-27-announced-with-new-features-for-vision-pro/. Retrieved 2026-10-11.
  43. ↑ "Major updates for Apple's software platforms are now available". Apple Newsroom. Apple. 2026-09-14. https://www.apple.com/newsroom/2026/09/major-updates-for-apples-software-platforms-are-now-available/. Retrieved 2026-10-11.
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