Apple schedules free virtual WWDC 2020 for June 22

For the very first time, Apple has just announced that its 31st annual Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC) will be held virtually on June 22.

According to Apple's Senior Vice-President of Worldwide Marketing Phil Schiller, Apple made the decision to turn this year's WWDC into a virtual one in light of the "current health situation".

The Covid-19 pandemic has lead to a number of events having to be cancelled, such as the Mobile World Congress.

"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 Schiller in a press statement.

Unlike previous WWDC's, where attendees will have to fork out around US$1,600 (S$2,300) to gain entry into the event (along with a limited edition WWDC hoodie), this year's virtual event will be completely free for Apple developers interested in catching it online.

Apple has also announced a new "Swift Student Challenge" where students from around the world can create and submit an interactive scene they made in the Swift Playgrounds app within three minutes.

"As we look forward to WWDC20, although our gathering will be virtual this year, we want to recognise 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," said Craig Federighi, Apple's senior vice president of Software Engineering.

Winners of the Swift Student Challenge will get to win an exclusive WWDC20 jacket and pin set.

More details about the event's Keynote, Platforms State of the Union, sessions, and labs will be shared on the Apple Developer app sometime in June.

Developers interested in catching WWDC20 online can do so on the Apple Developer app or Apple Developer website.

This article was first published in Geek Culture.