Apple to host virtual WWDC 2020 starting June 22

Apple has announced the date for Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC 2020). The conference kicks off on Monday, June 22. The conference material, including the Keynote, Platform State of the Union, and session videos, will be available for free for all developers through Apple's Developer website and Apple Developer app.

From Apple:

"WWDC20 will be our biggest yet, bringing together our global developer community of more than 23 million in an unprecedented way for a week in June to learn about the future of Apple platforms," said Phil Schiller, Apple's senior vice president of Worldwide Marketing. "We can't wait to meet online in June with the global developer community and share with them all of the new tools we've been working on to help them create even more incredible apps and services. We look forward to sharing more details about WWDC20 with everyone as we get closer to this exciting event."

Apple is also today opening up submissions for the Student Swift Challenge through May 17. This challenge allows young programmers to use Swift Playgrounds to showcase their burgeoning expertise. To enter the challenge, students can download the Swift Playgrounds app for iPad or Mac, tackle the first Learn to Code challenge, create an interactive scene, then enter their scene through Apple's Swift Student Challenge website.

Of this challenge, Apple said:

"Students are an integral part of the Apple developer community, and last year WWDC saw attendance from more than 350 student developers spanning 37 different countries," said Craig Federighi, Apple's senior vice president of Software Engineering. "As we look forward to WWDC20, although our gathering will be virtual this year, we want to recognize and celebrate the creative contributions of our young developers from around the world. We can't wait to see this next generation of innovative thinkers turn their ideas into a reality through the Swift Student Challenge."

Winners of the challenge will receive an exclusive pin set and jacket for WWDC 2020.

The last full week of June is quite a bit later than Apple normally holds WWDC, but it makes sense given that Apple doesn't have to deal with venue booking schedules this year. The company will undoubtedly take this time to polish its initial beta releases of iOS, iPadOS, watchOS, macOS, and tvOS.

WWDC moved online-only this year as a response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Apple joined many other companies, including Google and Microsoft, in canceling its in-person conferences this year. Developers can still expect virtual versions of labs, sessions, and, as previously noted, the Platform State of the Union and Keynote.