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WWDC Journal

Twelve years of Apple platforms, distilled.

An experimental, educational guide for navigating the evolution of Apple platforms across years of iOS projects. It does not guarantee accuracy; it is here as a personal love letter to WWDC, and to the many great things Apple has given developers to keep track of.

2025
Liquid Glass & Foundation Models
164 sessions
119 transcripts
13 pathways
  • Liquid Glass design system across SwiftUI / UIKit / AppKit
  • Foundation Models on-device LLM framework
  • Swift 6.2 main-actor-by-default concurrency
  • visionOS 26 maturity, immersive video pipeline
2024
Apple Intelligence debut
123 sessions
119 transcripts
13 pathways
  • Apple Intelligence, Writing Tools, Genmoji, Image Playground
  • Swift 6 strict concurrency migration
  • Swift Testing framework debut
  • visionOS 2, RealityKit improvements, Translation framework
2023
visionOS reveal
196 sessions
177 transcripts
14 pathways
  • visionOS & Vision Pro platform reveal
  • SwiftData & Observation frameworks
  • Swift macros, parameter packs
  • Interactive widgets, watchOS 10 redesign
2022
Async/await maturity & Charts
191 sessions
177 transcripts
14 pathways
  • Swift Async Algorithms, structured concurrency
  • SwiftUI Charts framework debut
  • NavigationStack / NavigationSplitView
  • App Intents debut, Live Activities, Lock Screen widgets
2021
Swift Concurrency debut
211 sessions
200 transcripts
14 pathways
  • async/await, actors, structured concurrency debut
  • SharePlay & GroupActivities
  • Object Capture, RealityKit 2 custom systems
  • Xcode Cloud, DocC, Focus modes, Live Text
2020
Apple Silicon transition
227 sessions
212 transcripts
14 pathways
  • Apple Silicon Mac transition (M1 era begins)
  • macOS Big Sur design overhaul
  • iOS Home Screen Widgets & WidgetKit debut
  • App Clips, Swift 5.3, watchOS 7 sleep tracking
2019
SwiftUI & Combine debut
165 sessions
155 transcripts
14 pathways
  • SwiftUI declarative UI framework debut
  • Combine reactive framework debut
  • Sign In with Apple, Mac Catalyst, iPadOS launch
  • RealityKit & Reality Composer debut, Dark Mode
2018
iOS 12 Performance & Siri Shortcuts
124 sessions
116 transcripts
14 pathways
  • iOS 12 performance focus, Auto Layout linear complexity
  • Siri Shortcuts API & Shortcuts app debut
  • ARKit 2 (shared experiences, persistent worlds), USDZ
  • Create ML, Core ML 2, Network framework, Marzipan preview
2017
ARKit, Core ML & Vision debut
155 sessions
137 transcripts
14 pathways
  • ARKit, Core ML, and Vision framework debuts
  • Drag and Drop on iPad, Files app
  • iOS 11 design refresh, Swift 4 Codable
  • Metal 2 (argument buffers), HEIF/HEVC adoption
2016
SiriKit, Swift 3 & iMessage Apps
125 sessions
125 transcripts
14 pathways
  • SiriKit DEBUT (intent domains, third-party Siri integration)
  • Swift 3 (huge breaking API guidelines refactor)
  • iMessage apps & sticker packs DEBUT, CallKit DEBUT
  • watchOS 3 redesign, APFS sneak, Differential Privacy
2015
Swift 2 & Open Source announcement
106 sessions
106 transcripts
14 pathways
  • Swift 2 & open-sourcing announcement, error handling
  • Protocol-Oriented Programming paradigm shift
  • iPad multitasking debut, App Thinning & Bitcode
  • watchOS 2 native apps, tvOS & GameplayKit debut
2014
Swift & the Five Framework Debuts
108 sessions
108 transcripts
14 pathways
  • Swift LANGUAGE DEBUT — Apple's new programming language
  • HealthKit, HomeKit, CloudKit, Metal, App Extensions all debut
  • iOS 8 widgets, custom keyboards, Continuity / Handoff
  • Adaptive UI / Size Classes, Touch ID API, PhotoKit, WatchKit preview