Attention developers! Apple is now accepting requests to attend a special in-person event on June 5 to kick off the 2023 Worldwide Developers Conference. Attendance to the event is by invitation-only at the Apple Park headquarters in Cupertino.
How to get WWDC tickets?
If you want to be in with a chance to attend the keynote event you need to submit your name on the Special Event at Apple Park page on the Apple Developer website.
What is the deadline to request WWDC tickets?
The deadline to submit your ‘Request to attend’ is April 4 at 9 am PDT.
When will I know if I have a WWDC ticket?
Apple will let successful applicants know that they have a ticket via email by April 5 at 6:00 pm.
How much are WWDC tickets?
Tickets to attend WWDC are free and randomly distributed. However that wasn’t always the case. Prior to 2020 it cost a developer $1,599 to attend the event and those tickets would sell out very quickly in the days before Apple used a ballot system.
Who can apply for WWDC tickets?
Tickets are not open to the general public, you have to be a developer or a Swift Student Challenge winner. If you are one of the following you will qualify to enter the ballot for a free ticket:
- Current Apple Developer Program members
- Apple Entrepreneur Camp alumni
- Swift Student Challenge winners (2020 to 2022)
- 2023 Challenge applicants who opt into the a separate random selection process for winners (details below)
- Current Apple Developer Enterprise Program members
How are WWDC attendees chosen?
According to Apple, “Invitations will be allocated through a random selection process and are non-transferrable.”
What happens at WWDC?
WWDC is Apple’s annual conference that it holds to showcase the newest versions of its operating systems and other products. The week-long event is a chance for developers to learn about the new technologies and how to implement them in their products.
WWDC kicks off with a keynote at which Apple previews its plans for software development over the next year. This event is broadcast so that everyone can watch from home. Developers who are able to get a ticket will be able to attend a “special event at Apple Park” which will include a broadcast of the keynote and the State of the Union.
The keynote and State of the Union take place on the Monday. The rest of the week is then full of online sessions, labs, and activities.
As was the case for the past few years, this year’s WWDC is mostly an online event, with the Apple Park Special Event being the only in-person session that is scheduled. The keynote and State of the Union addresses are available for the public to watch live online on Apple’s website.
What is the Swift Student Challenge?
Apple runs a competition for student developers every year. Apple asks students to “Build your app playground, answer a few written prompts, provide documentation, and submit.”
Apple says: “The Challenge is designed for student developers who are cultivating their software development skills. You can receive a Swift Student Challenge award or a WWDC Scholarship up to four times.” There are full details on Apple’s website.
Winners get a year of membership in the Apple Developer Program as well as WWDC23 outerwear, AirPods Pro, and a customized pin set. They can also choose to be entered into the random selection process to get a ticket to the keynote event.
Anything else?
In recent years Apple has requested that those selected to attend provide a negative COVID-19 test no more than three days before the event, this may still be the case in June 2023. In 2022 masks were optional.
Read more about WWDC 2023 date, times and everything you need to know about what will launch in our separate article.
