I also want to know what the heck developers will do with native Apple Watch apps...and whether Apple's "don't glance for too long" design philosophy on watch will be heeded or rejected.
I'm curious to see if everyone's Apple Watch is going to remind them to stand up about 50 minutes into this thing.
We are definitely crammed in here really tight.
I think last year actually had more than 6,000 developers. We'll see what they say today.
Today’s annual confab for developers marks the fourth event hosted by Apple in the past year, following September’s iPhone 6, Apple Watch and Apple Pay announcement; October’s iPad Air 2 and Mac update; and March’s Apple Watch event. Apple’s Worldwide Developer Conference, or WWDC as it’s known, takes place June 8 to 12 in San Francisco’s Moscone Center, with more than 5,000 developers participating in sessions about Apple’s various products.
So what I'm most excited to hear about: Apple Watch. And that's because of real, native apps. An SDK will be announced today. Will it help? Will it make the Apple Watch feel like it's taken another big step? It's a big moment to hear about how much will change, and how soon.
I can't really see any other execs or celebs from where I'm sitting but someone said they saw Dr. Dre, which would make sense. There will be big Beats news today.
I awkwardly brushed by more butts and people in seats than ten coach flights.
The event kicks off at 10 a.m. PT with a two-hour keynote by Apple CEO Tim Cook and other top execs. I’m joined by Scott Stein, our iOS device and wearables expert, and Jason Parker, our Apple software and apps reviewer. They’ll both be providing commentary about today’s announcements. James Martin is providing our great photography for the keynote.
To introduce myself, I'm Shara Tibken, the Apple beat reporter for CNET News. I’m online at Moscone Center West in downtown San Francisco, which is conveniently located only a few blocks from CNET’s offices.
by "web chat" I mean CNET Live
HI! Scott Stein here. I just did a very live rush-to-the-seats web chat that I hope was recorded for posterity.
I also saw Phil Schiller, Apple's head of marketing
Right when I got in here, Will.I.Am was chatting with Eddy Cue, Apple's head of iTunes
Music is going to be a big theme of the day. We're going to hear about Apple's revamped Beats streaming service. It's not going to have the Beats name, but it should have a lot of the customization details.
They started off with a Sia song. Love her music.
James Martin got seats in the second row for me and Scott Stein. But Jason Parker is a row behind us.
It was complete pandemonium getting in, as usual. As soon as they opened the doors, everyone sprinted into the auditorium.
Hey everyone! We're just getting logged on here inside Moscone Center West
@Mr. Y, you won't get your answer today. We're all about software today, unless Apple has a big surprise for us. We anticipate Mac OS X 10.11, iOS 9, an iTunes/Beats revamp, and other developer tools and updates. In other words, nothing too exciting.
So just to catch you up, we're not expecting any new devices today -- this one should be all about software. Apple has not shut down its online store (yet anyway), another sign that there will be no product launches this morning.