Top 10 iOS Conferences in 2018

6) UIKonf

UIKonf is a conference held in Berlin and focused on development, design and business. While the organizers personally invite some of the speakers, for UIKonf you can vote on the talk proposals and be actively involved in creating a schedule that you’d like. See the website for more info.

“UIKonf was great! Great speakers, great attendees, great organizers! Attend the ‘extracurricular’ activities and talk to everyone. The talks were informative and engaging but, more than that, the entire experience was invigorating!” —TJ Usiyan

“I loved UIKonf because it didn’t just focus on tech talks but also people. The conference offered numerous opportunities for speakers and attendees to connect, share knowledge and get to know each other. The talks themselves were wonderfully diverse, ranging from code gen to compassion and AutoLayout to empathy! Finally, the Berlin location made even the moments outside of the conference full of adventure and fun.” —Sommer Panage

• When: May 13–16 2018
• Where: Berlin
• Number of Attendees: 400
• Number of Tracks: 1
• Website: http://www.uikonf.com

7) Appdevcon

Appdevcon is a mobile conference in Amsterdam. Besides iOS, it includes also topics like Android, cross-platform development and IoT.

“One of the best reasons for putting Appdevcon on your list of yearly conferences is that it is organized by people that are actually in the business of making wonderful apps for everyone. That is proven by their endeavor, Year-over-year to bring in the best speakers from around the globe, to improve the craft of fine software making not just for the attendees but for themselves as well.” –Saurabh Garg

• When: March 15-16 2018
• Where: Amsterdam
• Number of Attendees: 320
• Number of Tracks: 5
• Website: http://appdevcon.nl

8) The Swift Alps

The Swift Alps is an experimental conference. It proposes an alternative to the “presentation on stage” format. Mentors propose a topic, and attendees can join them in a group to work on it. It can be a sample project, a framework, a technology. People are encouraged to work together is a workshop-like experience and then give a lightning talk to present the outcome.

“Swift Alps bills itself as an “experimental conference”, and they mean that in a couple of different ways. First, it’s a conference unlike many others and trying out a new concept. Second is the actual concept itself: you get a chance to really experiment with the things you’re learning about from the mentors – you work with the people in the session with you to learn or create cool new things. It’s incredibly fun and a great way to learn.” —Ellen Shapiro

• When: TBA
• Where: TBA
• Number of Attendees: 50
• Number of Tracks: 10

9) Pragma Conference

Pragma Conference is held in Italy but usually in a different city every year. It features technical and design topics that cover iOS, macOS, tvOS and watchOS.

“I attended PragmaConf… Great talks, great social experience and great food!!!” — Andrej Krizmancic

• When: TBA
• Where: TBA
• Number of Attendees: 320
• Number of Tracks: 3
• Website:http://www.pragmaconference.com

10) iOSDevUK

iOSDevUK is held a the University of Aberystwyth in Wales. It’s a pretty remote location and that fosters attendees to gather together and make friends. It started as a very technical conference but now includes presentations about business and user experience.

“iOSDevUK was amazing. Lots of interesting talks and friendly people. Would highly recommend, and it’s a good conference if you are on a budget.” —Greg Spiers

• When: September 3-6 2018
• Where: Aberystwyth, UK
• Number of Attendees: 200
• Number of Tracks: 2
• Website: https://www.iosdevuk.com

Honorable Mentions

Picking 10 conferences to highlight was hard. Here are a few honorable mentions:

• iOSDevCampDC: One-track conference focused on iOS development in DC.
• NSSpain: Single track, with both design and development topics.
• dotSwift: Single track conference held in Paris, mostly focused on Swift.

Which Should I Pick?

Many thanks to everybody who sent their thoughts and quotes about the conferences listed here. We really appreciate it. :]

Feel free to drop your comments and questions below. The team and I hope to see you at some iOS conferences in 2018!