Developers

Apple announces WWDC 2017 returning to San Jose, kicking off June 5

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated June 30, 2017

Apple announced today that its Worldwide Developers Conference will be kicking off with a keynote on June 5. The five-day conference will be held at the McEnery Convention Center in San Jose, the site of the original WWDC and located just minutes from Apple’s new iSpaceship headquarters in Cupertino.

This will be the first time WWDC will be in San Jose since 2002: WWDCs from 2013 onward were held in San Francisco. Developers will have the opportunity to apply for tickets this spring, the Cupertino company has confirmed. The conference will focus on all platforms—macOS, tvOS, watchOS and iOS—and will be live-streamed through the Apple Developer website and on the WWDC app for iPhone, iPad and Apple TV.

Apple seeds macOS Sierra 10.12.4 beta 2 to developers, iOS 10.3 beta 2 to public testers

Cody Lee ∙ February 7, 2017

Apple on Tuesday seeded the second beta of macOS Sierra 10.12.4 (build number 16E154a) to developers. Registered Mac developers can install the new software via the Updates tab in the Mac App Store or through Apple's dev portal.

Today's beta comes 1 day after the second betas for iOS 10.3, watchOS 3.2, and tvOS 10.2, and two weeks after the original macOS 10.12.4 beta was released. It includes Night Shift mode and other improvements.

Apple seeds second beta of iOS 10.3, watchOS 3.2 & tvOS 10.2

Cody Lee ∙ Updated May 28, 2025

Apple on Monday seeded to its registered developers second betas of what would become iOS 10.3, watchOS 3.2 and tvOS 10.2 software updates. iOS 10.3 beta 2 (build 14E5239e), watchOS 3.2 beta 2 (build 14V5214d) and tvOS 10.2 beta 2 (build 14W5231d) can now be deployed on devices with a prior beta and an appropriate configuration profile.

The latest betas arrived two weeks after iOS 10.3 launched for developer testing and a week following the first beta of watchOS 3.2. tvOS 10.2 beta 1 arrived on January 24.

Google open sources Chrome for iOS

Christian Zibreg ∙ January 31, 2017

Google today announced it is open-sourcing its Chrome browser for iOS. The code for Chrome for iOS is now part of Google’s Chromium project and being moved into the open-source repository so that interested developers can download it and compile an iOS version of Chromium just like they can on other platforms. For those wondering, Chromium is the open-source web browser project from which Chrome draws its source code.

Apple seeds first watchOS 3.2 beta to developers with Theater Mode and SiriKit

Cody Lee ∙ January 30, 2017

Apple on Monday seeded the first beta of watchOS 3.2 to developers. It can be installed by registered developers with the appropriate profile by opening the Watch app in iOS, and navigating to General > Software Update.

The beta arrives a week after the release of watchOS 3.1.3, and just over 3 months after 3.1 rolled out to the public. It also follows a slew of other betas Apple issued last week, including iOS 10.3 and macOS Sierra 10.12.4.

iOS 10.3 has hidden support for one-handed floating iPad keyboard

Christian Zibreg ∙ January 26, 2017

Another hidden keyboard has been uncovered in iOS, according to developer Steve Troughton-Smith who last night tweeted about his discovery of a one-handed floating iPad keyboard in iOS 10.3 beta code.

While not exposed to users just yet, Steve was able to activate this new keyboard by hacking Apple's iOS Simulator app that developers use to test work-in-progress code on their Mac.

iOS 10.3 will let apps change their Home screen icon at any time, no update required

Christian Zibreg ∙ January 26, 2017

Tucked away amid a flurry of new reports covering upcoming new features in Apple's operating system updates, like Theater Mode on Apple Watch and Siri in watch apps, Night Shift on Mac and Find My AirPods on iPhone, Apple yesterday quietly announced that developers will soon be allowed to change their app’s Home screen icon programmatically, whenever they like.

In other words, an update is no longer required to push out the new icon artwork.

The seemingly unimportant change opens up a world of new possibilities for interactions with your favorite apps that simply were not possible before.

Siri for Apple Watch is about to get much more useful

Christian Zibreg ∙ January 25, 2017

In addition to highlighting a new Theater Mode in watchOS 3.2, Apple yesterday announced that the upcoming software update will also enable support for Siri in third-party Apple Watch apps. As you probably know by now, the SiriKit framework made its debut in iOS 10.

It's an officially sanctioned way for developers to enrich their apps for messaging, payments, ride-booking, workouts, calling and searching photos with Siri interactions.

With SiriKit support in watchOS 3.2, developers can add spoken commands to Apple Watch apps to let users ask the personal assistant on their wrist to do things like book a ride, send a message, make a payment or accomplish other supported tasks.

Apple will soon allow developers to respond publicly to App Store reviews

Christian Zibreg ∙ January 25, 2017

Following yesterday's release of iOS 10.3 and macOS Sierra 10.12.4 betas, Apple announced new features allowing iPhone, iPad and Mac developers to respond publicly to reviews on App Store and Mac App Store while letting customers provide ratings and reviews without leaving their app.

Speaking to The Loop's Jim Dalrymple and Daring Fireball's John Gruber, the Cupertino company provided some noteworthy highlights outlining the upcoming App Store review policy changes.

Apple releases iOS 10.3 beta 1 to developers with Find My AirPods & other new features

Christian Zibreg ∙ January 24, 2017

Apple today seeded the first beta of what would become the third major software update to iOS 10 since its September 2016 release. The release includes a new Find My AirPods feature and other enhancements, like Reduce Motion for websites.

iOS 10.3 beta 1 (build 14E5230e) is available to registered developers who are members of Apple Developer Program. A version of the software aimed at public beta testers registered with Apple Beta Software Program is expected shortly.

tvOS 10.2 beta 1 seeded to developers

Christian Zibreg ∙ January 24, 2017

The first beta of a future tvOS 10.2 software update is now available to members of the Apple Developer Program and can be deployed through the Software Update mechanism on any fourth-generation Apple TV with an appropriate configuration profile installed. tvOS 10.2 beta (build 14W5222d), a developer-only release, includes new features, bug fixes and improvements in the operating system and the SDK.

watchOS 3.2 changelog suggests Theater Mode coming to Apple Watch

Christian Zibreg ∙ January 24, 2017

Apple this morning launched first developer betas of iOS 10.3 and macOS Sierra 10.12.4, but the company has yet to officially post a developer-focused preview of watchOS 3.2. However, the official changelog meant to accompany watchOS 3.2 beta 1 is live on Apple's servers, suggesting a rumored Theater Mode that Sonny Dickson said would launch in iOS 10 may be coming to Apple Watch instead. And what's Theater Mode all about?