The
Apple Worldwide Developers Conference (
WWDC), is a
conference held annually in
California by
Apple Inc. The conference is used by Apple to showcase its new software and technologies for
software developers.
Attendees can participate in hands-on labs with Apple engineers, and
in-depth sessions covering a wide variety of topics. WWDC began in 1983
in
Monterey, California. Until 2007, the number of attendees varied between 2,000 and 4,200; however, during WWDC 2007,
Steve Jobs
noted that there were more than 5,000 attendees. The WWDC events held
from 2008 to 2015 were capped, and sold out at 5,000 attendees (5,200
including special attendees).
History
| Event |
Dates |
Venue |
| WWDC 1988 |
|
San Jose Convention Center |
| WWDC 1989 |
May 9–12, 1989 |
| WWDC 1990 |
May 7–11, 1990 |
| WWDC 1991 |
May 13–17, 1991 |
| WWDC 1992 |
May 11–15, 1992 |
| WWDC 1993 |
May 10–14, 1993 |
| WWDC 1994 |
May 15–20, 1994 |
| WWDC 1995 |
May 8–12, 1995 |
| WWDC 1996 |
May 13–17, 1996 |
| WWDC 1997 |
May 13–16, 1997 |
| WWDC 1998 |
May 11–15, 1998 |
| WWDC 1999 |
May 10–14, 1999 |
| WWDC 2000 |
May 15–19, 2000 |
| WWDC 2001 |
May 21–25, 2001 |
| WWDC 2002 |
May 6–10, 2002 |
| WWDC 2003 |
June 23–27, 2003 |
Moscone West,
San Francisco |
| WWDC 2004 |
June 28-July 2, 2004 |
| WWDC 2005 |
June 6–10, 2005 |
| WWDC 2006 |
August 7–11, 2006 |
| WWDC 2007 |
June 11–15, 2007 |
| WWDC 2008 |
June 9–13, 2008 |
| WWDC 2009 |
June 8–12, 2009 |
| WWDC 2010 |
June 7–11, 2010 |
| WWDC 2011 |
June 6–10, 2011 |
| WWDC 2012 |
June 11–15, 2012 |
| WWDC 2013 |
June 10–14, 2013 |
| WWDC 2014 |
June 2–6, 2014 |
| WWDC 2015 |
June 8–12, 2015 |
| WWDC 2016 |
June 13–17, 2016 |
Bill Graham Civic Auditorium and
Moscone West, San Francisco |
| WWDC 2017 |
June 5–9, 2017 |
McEnery Convention Center, San Jose |
Since 1998, the conference has generally started with a
keynote presentation. It was usually delivered by Jobs, resulting in their becoming termed
Stevenotes.
[citation needed] After Jobs' 2011 resignation and death, his successor
Tim Cook delivered the keynotes.
1980s
In 1989, announcing
System 7.
1990s
In 1991, first public demonstration of
QuickTime.
In 1995, WWDC'95 focused almost fully on the
Copland project,
[1] 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.
In 1996, WWDC'96's primary emphasis was a new software component technology called
OpenDoc,
[2]
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.
In 1997, 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).
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.
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
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.
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.
In 2002, Mac OS X v.10.2, QuickTime 6 and Rendezvous (now named
Bonjour) were presented.
[3]
Apple also said farewell to Mac OS 9 with a mock funeral, and told the
developers that no more Mac OS 9 development would occur, reinforcing
that the future of the Mac was now entirely on Mac OS X.
[4]
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. Attendees received Apple's first model of the
iSight
web camera (to coincide with the launch of iChat AV), pre-releases of
Mac OS X 10.3 and Mac OS X 10.3 Server, the O'Reilly book
Cocoa in a Nutshell, and a 17-inch notebook carry bag. Apple also screened the Pixar film
Finding Nemo for attendees, ahead of its premiere in cinemas. Originally scheduled for May 19 to 23 in
San Jose, California, WWDC 2003 was rescheduled for June 23 to 27 at San Francisco's Moscone Center. Approximately 3,000 developers attended.
In 2004, WWDC was held from June 28 to July 2. Jobs noted that 3,500
developers attended, a 17% increase from 2003. New displays were
introduced in 23- and 30-inch widescreen.
Mac OS X Tiger
(10.4) was previewed and iTunes 4.9, the first version with integrated
podcast support, was demoed by Jobs. All attendees received a developer
preview of Tiger, a grey T-shirt with the Apple logo on the front and
"WWDC 2004" on the back, a backpack able to hold a 17-inch PowerBook,
and a copy of Apple Remote Desktop 2.0. The band
Jimmy Eat World played at the Apple campus after attendees were taken there by bus from Moscone Center West.
WWDC 2005 was held from June 6 to 10. After a basic market update,
Jobs announced that Apple would transition the Macintosh platform to
Intel x86 processors. The keynote featured developers from
Wolfram Research, who discussed their experience porting
Mathematica
to Mac OS X on the Intel platform. The conference consisted of 110 lab
sessions and 95 presentation sessions, while more than 500 Apple
engineers were on site alongside 3,800 attendees from 45 countries. The
band
The Wallflowers played at the Apple campus.
In 2006, Jobs once again delivered the keynote presentation at the WWDC, which was held from August 7 to 11 in
Moscone Center West, San Francisco. The
Mac Pro was announced as a replacement to the
Power Mac G5, which was Apple's prior
pro desktop computer and the last remaining
PowerPC-based
Mac. The standard Mac Pro featured two 2.66 GHz dual core Xeon
(Woodcrest) processors, 1 GB RAM, 250 GB hard drive, and a 256 MB video
card. An Xserve update, based on the dual core Xeons, was also
announced. Redundant power and Lights Out Management were further
product improvements to Apple's server lineup. While certain key Mac OS X
improvements were undisclosed, there were 10 improvements in the next
iteration,
Mac OS X Leopard (10.5), including: full 64-bit app support,
Time Machine,
Boot Camp,
Front Row,
Photo Booth, Spaces (Virtual Desktops),
Spotlight enhancements,
Core Animation, Universal Access enhancements,
Mail enhancements, and
Dashboard enhancements (including
Dashcode, and
iChat
enhancements). Along with the Leopard features that were announced, a
major revision to the Mac OS X Server product was announced. New
features to the Server included: a simplified set-up process,
iCal Server (based on the
CalDAV standard),
Apple Teams
(a set of web-based collaborative services), Spotlight Server, and
Podcast Producer. The 2006 WWDC attracted 4,200 developers from 48
countries, while there were 140 sessions and 100 hands-on labs for
developers. More than 1,000 Apple engineers were present at the event,
and the DJ
BT performed at the Apple Campus in Cupertino.
WWDC 2007 was held from June 11 to 15 in Moscone Center West, and
started with a keynote presentation from Jobs. Apple presented a
feature-complete beta of
Mac OS X Leopard, even though its release date was pushed back to October. Jobs announced that a version of
Safari, Apple's proprietary
web browser, had been created for
Windows,
and that a beta release was being made available online that same day.
Apple also announced support for third-party development of the
then-upcoming
iPhone
via online web applications running in Safari on the handset. The
announcement implied that Apple, at least for the time being, had no
plans to release an iPhone
software development kit (SDK), meaning that developers must use
standard web protocols.
Also, Jobs noted during the keynote that more than 5,000 attendees were
present at WWDC 2007, breaking the prior year's record. The band
Ozomatli played at the
Yerba Buena Gardens.
In 2008, WWDC 2008 took place from June 9 to 13 in Moscone Center
West. Apple reported that, for the first time, the conference had sold
out. There were three tracks for developers, iPhone, Mac, and IT.
Announcements at the keynote included the
App Store for iPhone and
iPod Touch, the stable version of the
iPhone SDK, a subsidized
3G version of the iPhone for Worldwide markets,
[5] version 2.0 of
iPhone OS,
Mac OS X Snow Leopard (10.6),
[6] and the replacement/rebranding of .Mac as
MobileMe.
[7] For the bash held June 12, the band
Barenaked Ladies played at the Yerba Buena Gardens.
In 2009, WWDC 2009 took place from June 8 to 12 in Moscone Center
West, and Apple reported that the 2009 conference sold out in late
April. Announcements at the keynote included the release of the
iPhone OS 3.0 software announced to developers in March, a demonstration of
Mac OS X Snow Leopard (10.6), the new 13"
MacBook Pro, updates to the 15" and 17" MacBook Pros, and the new
iPhone 3GS.
Phil Schiller, Apple's
SVP
for Product Marketing, presented the WWDC keynote this year, instead of
Jobs, who had taken medical leave of absence since the start of the
year.
[8] 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
OK Go at 2010 WWDC Bash wearing conference jackets
In 2010, WWDC 2010 was announced April 28, 2010.
[9] WWDC 2010 was held at Moscone Center West from June 7 to 11, 2010.
[10]
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,
[11] and renaming
iPhone OS to
iOS. The
FaceTime[12] and
iMovie app for iPhone
[13] 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.
In 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.
[14]
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.
[15] 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.
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 8:30am Eastern Time on Wednesday
April 25, 2012, and were sold out within 1 hour and 43 minutes. In the
keynote, Apple announced new models of the MacBook Air, and MacBook Pro
including one with
Retina Display. They also showcased
OS X Mountain Lion and
iOS 6.
[16]
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.
[17]
In 2013, WWDC 2013 was held from June 10 to 14, 2013 in Moscone Center West.
[18][19] Tickets went on sale at 10am
PDT on April 25, 2013,
[18][19] selling out within 71 seconds (1 minute and 11 seconds).
[20]
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.
[21]
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.
[22] 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.
WWDC 2014 was held from June 2 to 6, 2014 in Moscone Center West.
[23]
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.
[24][25]
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.
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 is becoming
open-source software supporting iOS, OS X, and Linux.
[26] The Beer Bash was held at the Yerba Buena Gardens on June 11.
Walk the Moon performed there.
[27]
WWDC 2016 was held from June 13 to June 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.
[28] Cisco APIs, accessed through
Cisco DevNet, are to have greater interoperability with Apple iOS and APIs.
The keynote was more about software updates and features, as no new
hardware was introduced. New apps that Apple created are the Home App
that works with
HomeKit
as a control center for all third-party applications which provide
functions for the home. Swift Playgrounds was also announced as an iPad
exclusive app that helps younger people learn to code with Apple's new
programming language,
Swift.
[29][30][31]
WWDC 2017 will be held on June 5 to June 9, 2017 at the
McEnery Convention Center, in
San Jose, California,
which will be the first time since 2002 that the conference will be
held in the city. Expected announcements to be made at the conference
include
iOS 11,
watchOS 4,
macOS 10.13, and possibly
tvOS 11.
[32][33]
