For years, Apple used its Worldwide Developers Conference to throw a weeklong party for its partners and developers. But after spending the last year under …
For years, Apple used its Worldwide Developers Conference to throw a weeklong party for its partners and developers. But after spending the last year under attack from rivals and competitors, this time Apple needs to rally the faithful to its cause. On Monday, the iPhone maker is set to kick off WWDC with a slickly produced opening keynote address announcing new software updates for its iPhones, iPads, Mac computers and Apple Watches, among other things. In most years, WWDC inspires a Christmas-like excitement among Apple’s biggest fans, who passionately debate changes they hope the company will make to the software and technologies that power its devices. This year the mood is markedly different. Over the past 12 months, Apple has faced an unprecedented level of conflict. It’s being scrutinized by lawmakers and regulators at home and overseas. It’s awaiting judgment in a lawsuit initiated by Fortnite maker Epic Games, one of its biggest development partners. It’s started an all-out war with Facebook over privacy. Not to mention the already daunting challenge of navigating a once-in-a-generation pandemic, and all the personal and economic turmoil that’s come with it. But you wouldn’t know that listening to Apple CEO Tim Cook. „After the challenges of this past year, we’re optimistic about the challenges that lay in front of us,“ he said when headlining Apple’s Spring Loaded event in April. „As we move forward, we feel it’s important that Apple continues to make a difference in people’s lives through our products and our values.“ Follow along: How to watch WWDC from home June 7 to 11 The challenges the tech titan faces are part of a dramatic shift in Silicon Valley. Until recently, Apple was largely able to stay out of the fray as pressure from lawmakers, regulators and users mounted on Amazon, Facebook, Google and Twitter over a litany of scandals surrounding user privacy, harassment, disinformation and the spread of extremism.
