As quarantine measures continue and face-to-face events are banned, the largest tech companies Google, Microsoft, Facebook and Apple will not stop hosting developer conferences, but will instead organize them online.

Google I/O

The Google I / O conference will take place on May 18–20. After canceling Google’s biggest event last year, the company announced that the current I / O conference will be virtual. The keynote session will revolve around Google news and its products, followed by technical sessions on product announcements and how to adapt new features. The full schedule of the three-day conference will be announced at the end of April.

Although participation is completely free, those wanting to get the most out of it must register to access workshops, Ask Me Anything sessions, personalized content, interactive Q&A, I / O Adventure chat and more. As part of I / O Adventure, interactive sandboxes will be available, allowing developers to try out new Google products and features in practice. And Codelabs and Learning Pathways are always available self-paced learning environments for Google technology.

Microsoft products Build

Microsoft has canceled its traditional Inspire event for partners, which was due to take place in July, but is still considering whether it will go digital or not. At the same time, the Microsoft Build Developers Conference, which was supposed to take place in Seattle, will be held online on May 25-27.

“In light of the challenges posed by COVID-19, Microsoft is closely monitoring the global landscape and revising its overall strategy for company-wide activities. Microsoft has decided to digitalize all external and internal events by July 2021 “, – said in an official statement.

Microsoft Build 2020 was also virtual, with workshops and keynotes streamed live, and the 48-hour event was free. While Build is aimed at developers, the conference is often a platform where Microsoft showcases the upcoming changes to Windows, Office, Edge, and other services to the general public. At last year’s conference, the company unveiled the Fluid Framework, PowerToys Run, Project Reunion, and a number of other new products.

Build typically attracts around 5000 visitors. The company will now increasingly rely on Microsoft Teams, which allows it to host events like Build remotely while most employees stay away from offices.

Facebook F8 Refresh

Last year’s traditional two-day Facebook F8 conference, which previously gathered about 5 thousand people, was canceled, but this year on June 2, F8 Refresh will take place in a new virtual format.

“At F8 Refresh, we will share the latest tools for working with our family of applications, as well as offer detailed technical presentations, demos and meetings – everything you need to grow.”, – said Facebook in the invitation to fill out the form so as not to miss the start of registration and receive news about the event.

There will be no keynote speech from Mark Zuckerberg this year and Facebook has yet to decide if he will appear at the conference in any form. Instead of the founder and CEO, Konstantinos Papamiltiadis, Vice President, Platform Partnerships, will give an introductory presentation.

“F8 has always brought together an incredible community of people who create, innovate and look for perspectives. Over the past year, our developer community has fueled the growth of businesses of all sizes, adapting to a changing world and accelerating digital transformation. In recognition of this, we want to bring F8 back to its roots: a place to celebrate, inspire and help developers grow. “, – wrote in his blog Mr. Papamiltiadis.

Instead of major launches and announcements, Facebook seems to be focusing more on its ecosystem and developers. Among the areas that Papamiltiadis will look at are design tools for Facebook, Instagram, Messenger, WhatsApp, and Oculus; technical deep diving; demos and panels.

Apple WWDC

Apple announced that WWDC21 will run online from June 7-11 and will be free for all attendees. Developers will get acquainted with future updates to operating systems – presumably macOS 12, iOS 15, iPadOS 15, watchOS 8 and tvOS 15. The company is pleased with last year’s experience and the record number of conference participants.

“We’re thrilled to bring developers to the World Conference every year to educate them about our latest technology and give them the opportunity to interact with Apple engineers. We’re working hard to make WWDC21 the largest and most successful in history, and we’re going to bring Apple developers new tools to build apps that will help us live, work, and play in a new way. “– said the vice president of Apple Susan Prescott (Susan Prescott).

This year, conference attendees are expected to present new products and Platforms State of the Union, online seminars, one-to-one sessions and consultations with technical specialists, as well as new opportunities for communication with Apple engineers and designers.

In macOS 12, it’s natural to assume optimizations for the ARM-based Apple Silicon chips. iOS 15 and iPadOS 15 may receive an interface update. In watchOS 8, you can expect more watch faces, more exercises, even more advanced Apple Maps with improved Siri. And in tvOS 15, live wallpapers will be added, as well as improved integration with HomeKit, and added settings for HomePod. In addition to the software, there is a chance to see new devices, since the Mac Pro and Pro Display XDR were presented at the same time at WWDC 2019.

Apple also announced that it has started accepting applications for the Swift Student Challenge. Participants are encouraged to develop an interactive project in the Swift Playgrounds application, which takes three minutes to fully interact with. Applications can be submitted until April 18th.

Replacing the traditional conference format with an online format deprives the local economy of the city of San Jose, so Apple again donated $ 100 million as part of its REJI initiative, and another million to develop the SJ Aspires program.