Apple’s annual Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC) will return this summer, as if there were any doubt. The company announced the dates Tuesday—June 6 through 10—and confirmed that it will again be an online-only affair.

Before the pandemic, Apple hosted WWDC in person at San Jose’s McEnery Convention Center. But this marks the third year in a row that Apple opted for an online-only event, even though it is asking employees to return to their offices this month.

Few major tech conferences and events have fully returned to their original in-person formats, though. Google’s May I/O event will be a hybrid one, and last month’s Game Developers Conference (GDC) was also a hybrid event, albeit one with a substantial in-person presence.

In its WWDC22 announcement, Apple says that it will, as usual, “showcase the latest innovations in iOS, iPadOS, macOS, watchOS, and tvOS while giving developers access to Apple engineers and technologies to learn how to create groundbreaking apps and interactive experiences.”

In addition to the June 6 keynote, at which the newest major updates to Apple software will be detailed, Apple will offer developer sessions on specific topics and APIs, learning labs, and digital lounges. Further, Apple promises “more localized content to make WWDC22 a truly global event.”

While some developers we’ve spoken with lamented the loss of in-person networking opportunities, some say the online events are preferable because they lower the barrier to entry, especially for developers outside the United States.

Apple will also host another Swift Student Challenge around WWDC. This will be the third one. Students will use Swift Playgrounds to create an app “on a topic of their choice.” The submission deadline is April 25.

https://arstechnica.com/?p=1845931