Written by Rudrank Riyam.
Update: This post has been updated on June 6 2022 to reflect the new information that Apple has shared about the upcoming announcements of WWDC 2022.
With the hype train off the rails, Apple’s Worldwide Conference 2022 is swiftly approaching - the dates for WWDC are June 6 to June 10, and that means that is starts… today! We at Codemagic are pretty excited about the upcoming announcements of WWDC 2022! We are sure you are also thrilled to celebrate Christmas for Apple Platform developers (and that’s what WWDC is!). So, let’s explore the conference’s schedule for the new announcements and discuss what we can expect this year!
Apple Keynote @ WWDC 2022
The keynote is the conference’s headline, scheduled for June 6, 10 AM PT. Apple announces new features for watchOS, tvOS, macOS, and iOS, and if we are lucky, we can see hardware announcements as well.
The Apple Store is down ahead of the keynote. Historically, this usually happened when Apple prepared to announce new hardware products. The rumors out there are hinting at a MacBook Air with the M2 chip.
This year promises to be big, as the rumors suggest that we’ll see another operating system called RealityOS - the one for the rumored new VR/AR headset. We may see an announcement about it during the keynote.
With the new tagline - Code one, code all., it seems like Apple will push further on the SwiftUI framework for developing across multiple platforms and even make it easier to work with Augmented Reality with SwiftUI.
Another rumored feature in iOS 16 is the always-on screen, which is similar to what we have on the Apple Watch Series 7. The rumor mill also expects a social-network-like functionality in the iMessage app. We can also expect macOS to follow the iOS design with an overhaul in its look and feel.
Platforms State of the Union
Platforms State of the Union starts at 1:00 PM PT on June 6. It’s a keynote specifically for developers that covers the new features/announcements related to the Swift language and different Apple frameworks.
We can expect new features and improvements in Apple’s three-year-old SwiftUI framework and some tips on how to get started with the new Apple RealityOS if it happens to be released during the keynote.
Apple Design Awards
Apple celebrates the apps and games on the App Store in different categories, like Inclusivity, Delight and Fun, Interaction, Social Impact, Visuals and Graphics, and Innovation. The awards ceremony starts on June 6 at 5:00 PM PT. You will find many amazing apps and games that you may already use or even new apps to download. These apps are also an inspiration for great design, in case you were looking for some.
Apple has released the list of the 2022 finalists. You can find it here.
Sessions
Apple is releasing hundreds of sessions on new technologies, APIs, features, and frameworks that update you on how to work with them. A set of videos will be released each day, starting from June 7.
All the videos are supported with transcripts and time codes to search for the keywords, go straight to the time they are mentioned, and share a link to that specific time.
To make the best out of WWDC 2022, download the Apple Developer app, which is available on all platforms. It helps to watch the sessions at different playback speeds, and you can copy the code directly, as mentioned in the video, and even search the code snippets!
Also, enable notifications in the app to get updates about new videos, labs, Digital Lounges activities, and more.
Labs
Like the labs we had in the offline WWDC, you can get one-on-one guidance from Apple engineers, designers, and experts with virtual labs.
You can request an appointment for one-on-one guidance throughout the week to answer your questions about implementing, optimizing, or debugging technologies you’re using in your app. You can even schedule a one-on-one appointment to learn about the latest design principles, best practices, and design patterns if you are an indie dev, to get support for making the most of your presence on the App Store, and much more!
You can only submit an appointment request if you’re a member of the paid Apple Developer Program, are enrolled in the Apple Developer Enterprise Program, or are a 2022 Swift Student Challenge winner.
You can find more details about the labs here. Appointment requests can be submitted on June 6 after the keynote.
Digital Lounges
One of the most amazing parts of the remote conference is that you can attend the digital lounges. You can join Apple engineers and designers throughout the conference week while they host sessions for your questions, have a watch party for different WWDC sessions with presenters themselves, community icebreakers, and more! You can register for more lounges at any time. Here is the registration process.
Head over to this link to Get the most out of Digital Lounges at WWDC22.
Registration for the WWDC 2022 digital lounges opens on May 31. You have to be a current member of the paid Apple Developer Program, the Apple Developer Enterprise Program, or a 2022 Swift Student Challenge winner.
Apple Developer Forums
While Digital Lounges are available till June 10 only, you can still ask your doubts regarding the new features and announcements all year long on the Apple Developer Forums.
To know more about creating a post on the forums like a pro, and organizing the post with tags, discover the forums here.
Challenges
Like last year, you can explore the new features or frameworks announced at WWDC through daily coding and design challenges. These are fun to work with while learning about the new technologies. And do not forget to share your creations with others! Apple also encourages you to use the hashtag #WWDC22Challenges to flaunt your creativity!
Codemagic and WWDC 2022
After a week of announcements, we will have quite a lot of content for you!
MEGA-PRE-WWDC Twitter Space
While you wait for WWDC Keynote, you can listen to the MEGA-PRE-WWDC Twitter Space by the hosts:
- Rudrank Riyam, sincerely yours Developer Relations Engineer at Codemagic
- Stefan Blos, iOS Developer Advocate at Stream
- Jeroen Leenarts, iOS Developer Relations Team Lead at Stream
- Amos Gyamfi, iOS Developer Advocate at Stream
- Mikaela Caron, iOS Engineer at Lickability and organizer of iOS Dev Happy Hour
- Danijela Vrzan, iOS Developer at Gamesys and iOS author at raywenderlich.com
- Josh Holtz, lead maintainer of fastlane
- Jordi Bruin, Indie dev who created The SwiftUI Series and apps like Vivid, Posture Pal
- Malin Sundberg, Indie dev working on Orbit, a time-tracking app
Here is the link to the space!
If you are more into listening to podcasts, no worries, you find the space as a podcast here - WWDC expectations and predictions.
Post WWDC Keynote and SOTU Reactions
Then, you can attend the POST Keynote and Platforms State of the Union Twitter Space on June 6 at 3 PM PT, where Rudrank Riyam, Swapnanil Dhol and Raghav Vashisht are the hosts, discussing their thoughts and reactions.
Post #WWDC22 Keynotes & SOTU Reactions will be happening June 6 - 3PM PDT. If you want to share your reactions, you can send a request & will bring you on stage or tag @WWDCCommunity and we'll read it for you.
— WWDCCommunity (@WWDCCommunity) June 4, 2022
Don't forget to set your reminder! 😊https://t.co/o4rEWtrmaw
Daily Recap Twitter Spaces
On the Twitter channel of Codemagic, we will have a daily recap of WWDC days, discussing the new frameworks, improvements, and features across various WWDC sessions.
Now is the time to follow @codemagicio if you haven’t done so before!
Summarising Keynote and Platforms State of the Union
We will summarise the Keynote and Platforms State of the Union for you on Codemagic’s blog, curating the important improvements, frameworks, and features announced on the first day of the conference.
Highlights of WWDC 2022
After the five days of the conference, we will highlight the major features announced during the different sessions so that you can learn them to level up your app game.
Conclusion
With an amazing set of software features that lies ahead of us to explore, WWDC 202 promises to be a huge event, and a very exciting one for all who are into Apple. The updates and improvements rumored and expected in iOS 16 will make quite a difference, and having a new OS to code for in the future is a cherry on the top.
We hope that you will enjoy WWDC 2022 as much as we will, and we’re planning to enjoy it a lot! Please share your favorite expectation of the conference with us by joining our Slack community or mentioning @codemagicio on Twitter. Have a great next week ahead, exploring and experimenting with the new features!
