1980s 1983 – Apple Independent Software Developers Conference In 1983, the first WWDC was held. During this time, the event was called The Apple Independent Software Developers Conference. Participants of the event had to sign an
NDA, so not much is known about the event, but what is known is that people got a first look at
Lisa, the world's first personal computer with a graphical interface.
1984 – Apple II Forever In 1984, Jobs introduced the famous Macintosh, the second graphical interface personal computer, to developers. This was also the first year the conference was open to the media. Notable industry experts, such as Stewart Alsop II,
David Bunnell,
Esther Dyson, Adam Green, and
Guy Kawasaki led several conferences.
1987 – Apple Developers Conference The 1987 DevCon was on the first week of April. In addition to these updates,
Bill Atkinson introduced Version 1.2 of
HyperCard, which provided support for
CD-ROM and other write-protected media.
Summer, 1988 In the second week of September, Apple announced AppleTalk support for
VMS and
DECnet.
1990s 1991 In 1991, WWDC saw the first public demonstration of
QuickTime.
1995 In 1995, WWDC'95 focused almost fully on the
Copland project, which by this time was able to be demonstrated to some degree.
Gil Amelio stated that the system was on-schedule to ship in beta form in later summer with an initial commercial release in the very late fall. However, very few
live demos were offered, and no beta of the operating system was offered.
1996 In 1996, WWDC'96's primary emphasis was a new software component technology called
OpenDoc, which allowed end users to compile an application from components offering features they desired most. The OpenDoc consortium included Adobe, Lotus, others, and Apple. Apple touted OpenDoc as the future foundation for application structure under Mac OS. As proof of concept, Apple demonstrated a new end-user product called
Cyberdog, a comprehensive Internet application component suite offering users an integrated browser, email, FTP, telnet, finger and other services built fully of user-exchangeable OpenDoc components.
ClarisWorks (later renamed
AppleWorks), a principal product in Apple's wholly owned subsidiary
Claris Corporation, was demonstrated as an example of a pre-OpenDoc component architecture application modified to be able to contain functional OpenDoc
components.
1997 In 1997, WWDC marked the return of Steve Jobs as a consultant, and his famous reaction to an insult by a developer. WWDC'97 was the first show after the purchase of
NeXT, and focused on the efforts to use
OPENSTEP as the foundation of the next Mac OS. The plan at that time was to introduce a new system then named
Rhapsody, which would consist of a version of OPENSTEP modified with a more Mac-like
look and feel, the
Yellow Box, along with a
Blue Box that allowed extant Mac applications to run under OS emulation. The show focused mainly on the work in progress, including a short history of development efforts since the two development teams had been merged on February 4. Several new additions to the system were also demonstrated, including tabbed and outline views, and a new object-based graphics layer (NSBezier).
1998 In 1998, in response to developer comments about the new operating system, the
big announcement at WWDC'98 was the introduction of
Carbon, effectively a version of the
classic Mac OS API implemented on
OpenStep. Under the original Rhapsody plans, classic applications would run in sandboxed installation of the classic Mac OS, (called the Blue Box) and have no access to the new Mac OS X features. To receive new features, such as protected memory and preemptive multitasking, developers had to rewrite applications using the Yellow Box API. Developer complaints about the major porting effort to what was then a shrinking market and warnings that they might simply abandon the platform, led Apple to reconsider the original plan. Carbon addressed the problem by dramatically reducing the effort needed, while exposing some of the new functions of the underlying OS. Another major introduction at WWDC'98 was the
Quartz imaging model, which replaced
Display PostScript with something akin to
display PDF. Although the reasons for this switch remain unclear, Quartz also included better support for the extant
QuickDraw model from the classic OS, and (as later learned)
Java2D. Supporting QuickDraw directly in the graphics model also led to a related announcement, that the Blue Box would now be
invisible, integrated into the extant desktop, instead of a separate window.
1999 In 1999, WWDC'99 was essentially a
progress report as the plans outlined in WWDC'98 came to fruition. Three major announcements were the
opening of the operating system underlying the new OS as
Darwin, improvements to the
Macintosh Finder, and the replacement of
QuickDraw 3D with
OpenGL as the primary 3D API. The system formerly named
OpenStep, and during development termed
Yellow Box, was formally renamed
Cocoa. 2,563 developers attended.
2000s 2000 WWDC 2000 was another "progress report" before the upcoming release of
Mac OS X. Recent changes included a modified dock and improved versions of the developer tools.
Developer Preview 4 was released at the show, with the commercial release pushed back to January 2001. Also,
WebObjects was dropped in price to a flat fee of US$699. Approximately 3,600 developers attended and the band
The Rippingtons played at the Apple campus.
2001 In 2001, Mac OS X had only recently been released, but WWDC'01 added the first release of Mac OS X Server and WebObjects 5. Over 4,000 developers attended, and leather jackets with a large blue "X" embroidered on the back were distributed to attendees.
2002 In 2002, Mac OS X v.10.2, QuickTime 6 and Rendezvous (now named
Bonjour) were presented. Apple also said farewell to Mac OS 9 with a mock funeral, thus shutting down the
Classic Mac OS operating system.
2003 In 2003, WWDC 2003 demonstrated the
Power Mac G5, previewed
Mac OS X Panther (10.3), announced the launch of
Safari 1.0 (concluding its beta phase), and introduced the
iApps:
iPhoto,
iMovie,
iDVD, etc.
version 2.0 of
iPhone OS,
Mac OS X Snow Leopard (10.6), and the replacement/rebranding of .Mac as
MobileMe. Seven years later, Yahoo News would describe 2008 as "perhaps the peak year for WWDC product intros", which however was marred by problems with MobileMe that caused "one of the biggest PR disasters in Apple history". Attendees received a
neoprene messenger bag and the band
Cake played at the Yerba Buena Gardens. This was the first year plastic badges were used instead of printed paper badges.
2010s 2010 at 2010 WWDC Bash wearing conference jackets WWDC 2010 was announced on April 28, 2010 and held at Moscone Center West from June 7 to 11. Apple reported that the conference was sold out within 8 days of tickets being made available, even though tickets were only available at the full price of US$1599 (2009 and prior, tickets could be bought with an early-bird discount of US$300). On June 7, 2010, Jobs announced the
iPhone 4, whose technical problems, combined with Jobs blaming phone owners for them, would dominate the aftermath of the conference ("
Antennagate"). The
FaceTime and
iMovie app for iPhone applications were also announced. The band
OK Go played at the Yerba Buena Gardens. Attendees received a black track jacket with the letters "WWDC" across the vest and the number "10" stitched on the back.
2011 WWDC 2011 was held in Moscone Center West from June 6 to 10, 2011. The event reportedly sold out within just 12 hours of the 5,000 tickets being placed on sale on March 28, 2011. The ticket price also remained the same from the 2010 WWDC, selling at US$1,599, however, after-market pricing for tickets ranged from US$2,500 to US$3,500. At the keynote, Apple unveiled its next generation software:
Mac OS X Lion, the eighth major release of Mac OS X; iOS 5, the next version of Apple's advanced mobile operating system which powers the iPad, iPhone and iPod Touch; and iCloud, Apple's upcoming cloud services offering.
Michael Franti and Spearhead played at the Bash in
Yerba Buena Gardens on June 9. Attendees received a black track jacket similar to that of the prior year, but with a smaller "WWDC" across the front and the number "11" stitched on the back. This was the final Apple event hosted by Jobs during his lifetime, before his death four months later.
2012 WWDC 2012 was held in Moscone Center West from June 11 to 15. The ticket price remained the same as the 2010 WWDC, selling at US$1,599. Apple changed the purchasing process by requiring purchases to be made using an Apple ID associated with a paid Apple developer account. Tickets went on sale shortly after 8:30 am Eastern Time on Wednesday April 25, 2012, and were sold out within 1 hour and 43 minutes. The keynote highlighted the launch of
Apple Maps, In prior years, attendees were required to be at least 18 years old. In 2012, Apple changed this requirement to at least 13 years after a minor who was "accidentally" awarded a student scholarship in 2011 successfully petitioned Tim Cook to retain the award. Despite the change, Beer Bash attendees were still required to be 18 years old, and 21 years old to consume alcohol, in accord with local and federal laws.
Neon Trees performed at the WWDC Bash.
2013 In 2013, WWDC 2013 was held from June 10 to 14, 2013 in Moscone Center West. Tickets went on sale at 10 am
PDT on April 25, 2013, Apple also announced that it would award 150 free WWDC 2013 Student Scholarship tickets for young attendees to benefit from the conference's many workshops. In the keynote, Apple unveiled redesigned models of the
Mac Pro,
AirPort Time Capsule,
AirPort Extreme, and MacBook Air, and showcased
OS X Mavericks,
iOS 7,
iWork for iCloud, and a new music streaming service named
iTunes Radio.
Vampire Weekend performed at the Bash on June 13 at the Yerba Buena Gardens. Attendees received a black wind breaker with the letters "WWDC" across the front and the number "13" stitched on the back.
2014 WWDC 2014 was held from June 2 to 6, 2014 in Moscone Center West. For the first time, the opportunity to buy tickets was given at random to developers who were members of an Apple developer program at the time of the conference announcement, and who registered at Apple's developer web site. Apple also gave 200 free Student Scholarship tickets. The keynote began on June 2 and Apple unveiled several new software items, including
iOS 8—the largest update to iOS since the release of the App Store—and
OS X Yosemite, which features a redesigned interface inspired by iOS. Announcements included the new programming language
Swift, many developer kits and tools for iOS 8, but no new hardware.
Bastille performed at the Yerba Buena Gardens, and attendees received a black windbreaker with the letters "WWDC" across the front and the number "14" stitched on the back, along with a US$25 iTunes gift card to commemorate the 25th anniversary of WWDC.
2015 WWDC 2015 was held from June 8 to 12, 2015 in Moscone Center West in San Francisco. The major announcements were the new features of
iOS 9, the next version of OS X called
OS X El Capitan, the first major software update to the Apple Watch, the June 30 debut of
Apple Music, and news that the language Swift was becoming
open-source software supporting iOS, OS X, and Linux. The Beer Bash was held at the Yerba Buena Gardens on June 11.
Walk the Moon performed there.
2016 WWDC 2016 was held from June 13 to 17, 2016, at the
Bill Graham Civic Auditorium and Moscone Center West in San Francisco. The announcements at the event included renaming
OS X to macOS, the new version named
macOS Sierra, as well as updates to
iOS 10,
watchOS 3, and
tvOS 10. Apple proclaimed that the keynote would be the largest ever for developers; this became the reality when they allowed third-party developers to extend the functionality in
Messages,
Apple Maps, and
Siri.
Cisco Systems and Apple announced a partnership at the 2016 WWDC. Cisco APIs, accessed through
Cisco DevNet, were to have greater interoperability with Apple iOS and APIs. The keynote was more about software updates and features, as no new hardware was introduced. Apple released the Home App that works with
HomeKit as a control center for all third-party applications which provide functions for the home. Also,
Swift Playgrounds was announced as an iPad exclusive app that helps younger people learn to code with Apple's programming language Swift.
APFS, Apple's new
file system, was introduced. The Bash was performed by
Good Charlotte at the Bill Graham Civic Auditorium.
2017 WWDC 2017 (stylized as WWDC17) was held from June 5 to 9, 2017, at the
San Jose Convention Center in
San Jose, California, which was the first time since 2002 that the conference took place in the city.
Fall Out Boy performed at the Bash held in Discovery Meadow on June 8.
2018 WWDC 2018 was held from June 4 to 8, 2018, at the San Jose Convention Center in San Jose, California. The announcements at the event included
iOS 12,
macOS Mojave,
watchOS 5, and
tvOS 12. As with 2016, there were no new hardware announcements.
Panic! at the Disco performed at the Bash at Discovery Meadow Park.
2019 WWDC 2019 was held from June 3 to 7, 2019, at the San Jose Convention Center in San Jose, California. The announcements at the event included
iOS 13,
macOS Catalina,
watchOS 6,
tvOS 13,
iPadOS 13, the
3rd generation Mac Pro, and the
Pro Display XDR.
Weezer performed at the Bash at Discovery Meadow Park.
2020s 2020 WWDC 2020 was held from June 22 to 26, 2020 The announcements at the online
Apple Special Event included
iOS 14,
iPadOS 14,
watchOS 7,
tvOS 14,
macOS Big Sur, and Apple's
transition to custom ARM processors for their
Macintosh family of personal computers, including a
prototype ARM-based Mac for developer use. The event video footage was recorded at
Apple Park in
Cupertino, California. In total, the event got over 22 million views with around 72 hours of content. as another online-only conference also due to the
COVID-19 pandemic. Despite the
COVID-19 pandemic, the event also occurred as an in-person conference for the first time since the previous one held in 2019.
iOS 16,
iPadOS 16,
watchOS 9,
tvOS 16 and
macOS Ventura were announced at the conference. Stage Manager for Macs was also introduced during the initial presentation. Hardware announcements included the
M2 chip and updated
MacBook Air and 13-inch
MacBook Pro models based on it.
2023 WWDC 2023, with the tagline "Code new worlds" was held from June 5 to 9 in an online format with an in-person experience at Apple Park on the first day of the show. Similarly to the previous years, Apple held the Swift Student Challenge, launched in 2020 for the first time, with applications through April 19 and results on May 9. Prizes included WWDC outerwear, AirPods Pro, a customized pin set, and a one-year membership in the Apple Developer Program. Among the winners, some were randomly chosen to attend the Apple Park special event. For software, Apple introduced
macOS 14 Sonoma, the 20th major release of macOS, as well as
iOS 17,
iPadOS 17,
watchOS 10,
tvOS 17 and firmware updates to
AirPods. For hardware, they announced the
Apple M2 Ultra SoC for Macs,
15-inch MacBook Air with M2,
Mac Studio with M2 Max and Ultra and the
Mac Pro with M2 Ultra. They also unveiled an AR/VR headset under the name of "
Apple Vision Pro", which would have games and experiences developed with
Unity.
2024 WWDC 2024, with the tagline "Action packed", was held from June 10 to 14, 2024, in an online format with an in-person event at Apple Park on June 10.
iOS 18,
iPadOS 18,
watchOS 11,
macOS 15 Sequoia and
visionOS 2 were announced at this event, with one of its prominent focus being on the AI tailor made for iOS, iPadOS, and macOS which was branded as
Apple Intelligence. As with 2021, no new hardware was announced at the conference.
2025 WWDC 2025, with the tagline "Sleek peek", took place from June 9 to 13, 2025, in an online format with an in-person event at Apple Park on June 9.
iOS 26,
iPadOS 26,
watchOS 26,
macOS 26 Tahoe,
tvOS 26, and
visionOS 26 were announced at this event, along with Apple's new
Liquid Glass design language. No new hardware was announced at the conference.
2026 WWDC 2026 will take place from June 8 to 12, 2026, in an online format with an in-person event at Apple Park on June 8. iOS 27, iPadOS 27, watchOS 27, macOS 27, tvOS 27, and visionOS 27 are expected to be announced at this event. == Scholarships ==