WWDC 2021 is due to start tomorrow and once again it’s online only. It seems strange now that last year we were wondering whether an in-person event would be doable, and of course with hindsight the right decision was made. But not just because of the global pandemic – Apple touts inclusiveness as one of its core beliefs and the online nature of WWDC meant that it was the best “attended” WWDC in history (citation needed obvs).
This year I am once again very excited about WWDC week, last year’s event was brilliant and I was able to participate like never before. I’ve already taken part in the WWDC Trivia Party, and it was good fun again despite the technical gremlins that made it a text-only event for me this year! I’ve also signed up to a few other things during the week, which given the time difference I may not always be able to attend, but hopefully I can make some of them. There is a real buzz around the iOS dev community at this time of year and I love being part of it. One of my aims for the next 12 months is that by WWDC 2022 I can play a bigger part in it, whatever that turns out to be.
Next week I am mostly looking forward to the Keynote and Platforms State of the Union, desperate as I am for any news of SwiftUI updates and a possible sighting of SwiftData (if it even exists, which it surely must?). That takes care of Monday evening for me, and then it will be on to consuming everything I can about whatever is announced. Be that the Apple developer videos that were so brilliant last year, to all the various blogs and podcasts and videos that the wider community produces. With so much planned by so many, it’s going to be a busy week. I’m on UK time so I get to work all day and then around 18:00 the new videos will drop from the Apple developers and that’s another night gone!
My most important goal for this year is to finally release my app, ExerPlan, onto the App Store – it’s an app based around creating your own exercise plans. I have struggled for 2 years to get the app released, and it was only with 2019’s introduction of SwiftUI that I finally thought I would ever release it – yet two years later I still haven’t done it. I care less now about the completeness of the initial launch version as I do about the goal of launching – I need to prove that I can do it and move on from there.
To sum up; I am hoping that WWDC 2021 gives me the excitement and impetus to get back on track with ExerPlan and ultimately to help me towards my over-arching goal of transitioning to being a full-time app developer. And, er, SwiftData – I really want them to announce SwiftData please and thank you!