Top 10 iOS Conferences in 2018

Check out the top 10 iOS conferences in 2018, based on input from the iOS community! By Cesare Rocchi.

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Looking to keep your skills fresh and up-to-date? Do you want to meet other developers in your community? Maybe even getting a boost of energy to bring back to the office? Attend a conference! Or three! :]

There are plenty of good iOS conferences held in different countries and with beginner and advanced talks. This post will help you pick the best match for you in 2018.

Choosing the top 10 conferences would be a pretty complicated task. Luckily our community is very friendly and happy to provide feedback. We surveyed over 300 developers and collected their opinions about the conferences they attended in 2017.

I’d love to hear from you too – please add a comment below if you think there’s an interesting conference missing in this list.

Note: The conferences are listed in no particular order.

Without further ado, let’s check out the list!

1) WWDC

WWDC logo

Every year Apple runs WWDC. It’s the official conference for developers in the Apple ecosystem. Tickets are usually sold using a lottery system, so getting one requires some luck. And a credit card with some allowance. :]

At WWDC Apple announces new frameworks and APIs for iOS, macOS, tvOS and watchOS. If you are invested in the Apple ecosystem you should definitely pay attention to announcements made during WWDC.

Even if Apple releases videos a few hours after the presentation, there are still a compelling reasons to attend the conference:

  • Meeting people face to face: Have you ever seen 5000+ developers in one place? With struggles and dreams similar to yours? You’ll find them at WWDC. They’ll gather together spontaneously and chat. It’s an invaluable experience.
  • The labs: Did you ever try to figure out the nitty gritty details of a framework? Or how to best use an API? At the WWDC labs you can talk to the authors of your favorite frameworks and get insights on how to use them at best. The line at the labs might be long, so I suggest you be prepared with specific questions and a sample project to kickstart the discussion.

“WWDC is a one of a kind experience. It offers some things that none of the other conferences do – A sneak peak into the greatest and latest technologies, frameworks, and APIs – right from the developers who built them, awesome labs where you can consult with Apple engineers about many areas regarding your very own apps: Bugs, Issues, Design, etc.

It offers much more than just technical talks, though. For example, this year’s session with Michelle Obama has been truly mind-opening and I’ve personally been awed sharing a room with such a remarkable person.”—Shai Mishali

2) AltConf

AltConf logo

You didn’t get a ticket for WWDC? Fear not, you can still go to San Jose and have a great experience. During that week there are plenty of third-party events related to iOS developers. One of these is AltConf, which hosts plenty of presentations focused on the Apple ecosystem but includes also topics like design, business, marketing and ethics of software. Check out the videos of the last edition to get an idea.

“I was lucky enough to have WWDC tickets but I also went to AltConf sessions across the road. AltConf is no longer just an alternative to WWDC, it’s a supplement. It adds the community factor and the more independent talks, enriching the WWDC experience”Ivo Jansch

  • When: June 4-7
  • Where: San Jose Marriott, San Jose CA
  • Number of Attendees: Around 1,000
  • Number of Tracks: 3
  • Website: http://altconf.com

3) 360iDev

360iDev

Excluding WWDC, 360iDev is the oldest of iOS conference around. It features a great blend of presentations about development, design and business. It is attended particularly by indie developers. If you are running your own software business, it is highly recommended.

“I attended 360iDev. It was a life changing experience. Other than the really freaking awesome photo guy, it was also a great networking opportunity, there were lots of great folks and the organizers are amazing. They really do a great job, it’s just better every year, and they are such nice people.”Fuad Kamal

  • When: August 26-29 2018
  • Where: Denver, Colorado
  • Number of Attendees: 300
  • Number of Tracks: 4
  • Website: http://360idev.com

4) RWDevCon

RWDevCon logo

Full disclosure: RWDevCon is organized by our team, so we may be a bit biased. :]

RWDevCon is different from other conferences on this list, because the focus is 100% on hands-on tutorials. The speakers don’t simply “give a presentation”; instead, attendees code along with the speakers in an interactive tutorial.

Like on this site, all tutorials are high quality, and have two rounds of tech editing and practice before the conference. Just to give you an idea of how much care is put in RWDevCon, speakers start preparing and rehearsing tutorials in October, and the conference is in April.

New this year is a brand new RWConnect, which includes a design lab, a hackathon, open spaces, and more.

The conference has been sold out for the past three years, so don’t miss your chance to get a ticket!

“RWDevCon is another piece in the piece of the puzzle to give you the amazing understanding and picture that it the raywenderlich.com world. It gives both another method to learn unbelievable tech and gives you access to one of the best tech communities I’ve ever had the privilege to know.”Dru Freeman

  • When: April 5-7 2018
  • Where: The Westin Alexandria Hotel, Alexandria, Virginia
  • Number of Attendees: 250
  • Number of Tracks: 3
  • Website: https://www.rwdevcon.com

5) try! Swift

TrySwift logo

try! Swift was started by Natasha the Robot a few years ago. It’s an international conference, held in different locations and featuring 20-minute talks. Attendees can also attend office hours with the speakers, to discuss more personal issues.

“try!Swift – Tokyo – is one of the best conference I ever attended for iOS/Swift developer (on the eastern part of the world)”Sergio Utama

  • When: Many times, see website
  • Where: Many places, see website
  • Number of Attendees: Around 300
  • Number of Tracks: 1
  • Website: https://www.tryswift.co