WWDC 2020 Starts Today: How To Watch The Apple Keynote
WWDC 2020 kicks off today, Apple's annual developer event complete with a hotly-anticipated keynote on Monday morning. This year's WWDC is unlike any other, of course, with Apple switching to an all-online format. That's going to make some things very different.
Typically, several thousand developers – those lucky enough to secure in-person tickets in Apple's always-oversubscribed attendee raffle – would be already starting to line-up right about now for the opening keynote. This year the keynote, and indeed all of the sessions, are streaming instead.
It'll mean that not only can anybody tune in to the Special Event Keynote today, that kicks off at 10am PDT (1pm EDT; 6pm BST), but to the sessions throughout the week as well. Usually you'd need to be a registered Apple developer to do that, but the Cupertino company has lifted that requirement for its session videos. You'll also be able to see the related documentation and sample code, too.
To access the stream today, you can watch it direct from Apple's site. Alternatively, it'll be available through the Apple Developer app, which is now available not only for iPhone, iPad, and Apple TV, but Mac as well. As you'd expect it's a free download.
If you want a lab appointment, meanwhile, or to post a question for Apple engineers to hopefully answer on the WWDC content this year, you'll still need to be a registered developer. That means either the Apple Developer Program or the Apple Developer Enterprise Program, or a Swift Student Challenge winner.
Exactly what we're expecting at WWDC 2020 has turned out to be something of a moving target. Initially, there was chatter of new hardware at the event, possibly including a new iMac that would upgrade things like storage, processor, and the overall design. AirTags – Apple's take on Tile-style tracking devices – as well as things like a new Apple TV were also rumored.
Leaks today, however, indicate that may not actually be the case. Apple may end up holding off on those hardware announcements until later in the year.
What we seem likely to see, though, is Apple's big platform switch news. The company is expected to reveal to developers that it's planning to shift Mac to its own Arm-based processors, away from Intel. The actual computers themselves won't be available until 2021 at the earliest, it's believed, but Apple needs to give developers time to update their software to support the new architecture. That could well be the biggest shake-up in the company's desktops since the move to Intel from PowerPC in the first place.