Everything but the content
WWDC 2024 was a lucky one for us – 100% of our team (that is, both of us) got tickets.
Here are some logistics notes we made for ourselves.
Travel schedule
We like to arrive a bit early to get our bearings and catch up (we’re a remote company), but it would have been better to stay an extra day at the end of the trip. We could have taken advantage of more consultation opportunities with Apple if we had.
What to pack
No matter how many devices we buy (and pack), it never seems to be enough…
We each brought our dev laptop, main phone (iPhone 15 Pro), beta phone (iPhone 13-ish), and main iPad (iPad Pro 11” M4). As soon as the beta OS went live, we put them on the iPads and beta phones - but we quickly realized some features for this particular beta season only work on the 15 Pro, so I doubled down and put the beta on my primary phone too. Thus continues my streak of failing to maintain a non-beta phone over the summer, unbroken since iOS 13.
So far we haven’t put the beta of macOS Sequoia on any devices - we’ll probably avoid it unless the beta version of Xcode requires it later on.
Even though visionOS 2 was announced, we didn’t regreat leaving our Vision Pros (Visions Pro?) at home – we wouldn’t have had time to dive into visionOS 2 on top of everything else anyway. I love Apple’s Vision Pro case, but it takes up about 40% of my carryon, and it was nice to leave it behind.
A lot of our time was spent outside in the sun. I went to most events with a tote containing my iPad (protected by its Magic Keyboard), some water, sunscreen, and sunglasses.
Lodging
This was our fourth time since June 2023 visiting Apple Park, and we’ve stayed in downtown San Jose every time. Being able to walk to drinks and dinner, while still being just 20 minutes away by Uber from everything else, helped us unwind after the information overload. Proximity to retro game stores like Gameshop Downstairs is a nice bonus.
Swag
Some of the other indie devs we met really have their swag dialed in. Squircle app icon enamel pins and stickers seem to be the go-to – the pins especially fit nicely with the pins Apple gives out. Hopefully we can get our act together and participate in the pin and sticker trading in 2025.
Apple also passed out totes and water bottles, which helped me out of a bind since I forgot to pack both.
Community event highlights
Attending Core Coffees, iOSDevHappyHourIRL, and RevenueCat Barcade gave us the chance to socialize with other devs regardless of whether they got tickets or not. Core Coffee really feels like the backbone of WWDC. No matter where you are in the WWDC calendar, there’s always a Core Coffee just a few hours (and kilometres) away.
Apple events
Apple’s hospitality was unmatched by any corporate event I’ve ever attended. Make sure you bring (and wear) sunscreen, drink lots of water, and take shade when you need it.
Summer of betas
Now it’s time to start counting seeds and to build something cool with all the tech announced at WWDC 2024. See you in 2025 🤞
