Apple has announced the dates for WWDC 2021, confirming that its next developer conference will take place between June 7-11. WWDC (or Worldwide Developers Conference) is Apple's annual gathering where it unveils the next generations of its software platforms — including iOS, iPadOS, watchOS, macOS, and tvOS. Along with the big keynote on the first day to formally showcase the new software versions, Apple also has various workshops for developers to help them prepare for the next batch of Apple software.

WWDC is traditionally a physical event that takes place at Apple's headquarters, but last year the event went all-digital in light of  COVID-19. That resulted in WWDC looking and feeling a lot different than it usually does, but even so, Apple still came prepared with plenty of big announcements. Some highlights from WWDC 2020 included iOS 14 and confirmation that Apple was developing its M1 chip for Macs.

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In a press release published on March 30, Apple confirmed that WWDC 2021 is set to begin on June 7 and run through June 11. Just like last year's event, WWDC is once again taking place entirely online. It'll be free to access for all developers, along with the opening keynote being broadcast for everyone to watch. As noted by Apple in the press release, "WWDC21 is an opportunity for developers to learn about the new technologies, tools, and frameworks they rely on to build innovative and platform-differentiating apps and games."

iOS 15, watchOS 8, And More Will Be At WWDC 2021

Apple iPhone 12 Rotation With Ghost

While Apple has yet to confirm any specifics about its next software versions, the company has said that WWDC 2021 will "offer unique insight into the future of iOS, iPadOS, macOS, watchOS, and tvOS." Considering just how drastic of an update iOS 14 was last year, it'll be really interesting to see what Apple does with iOS 15. This year will likely be one of refinement, with Apple possibly adding new features/tweaks to widgets, the App Library, etc. iPadOS 15 should also be quite promising, and with its past two updates focusing on taking better advantage of its unique form factor, more features in that same vein should be a given.

When it comes to watchOS 8 and tvOS 15, things become a bit more uncertain. watchOS 7 was filled with a bunch of smaller additions, including things like Family Setup and upgraded watch faces. It seems unlikely that Apple is going to completely redesign watchOS this year, so another round of subtle (but important) updates seems to be a safe bet. For tvOS 15, however, the exact opposite could be true. Word on the street is that Apple is developing new Apple TV hardware for later this year, and assuming that's true, a revamped tvOS interface would line up nicely with that. Not to mention, it's been a long time since tvOS saw any major interface tweaks.

Last but certainly not least, the next version of macOS will probably be a relatively small one. macOS Big Sur introduced a completely reworked design language, and for this year, Apple will more than likely focus on refining all of those big changes and bringing some stability to the platform. Whatever happens, Apple can be expected to announce everything in grandiose fashion once June 7 rolls around.

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Source: Apple