Apple to host 2019 Worldwide Developers Conference on June 3-7

SAN FRANCISCO, March 14 (Xinhua) -- Apple announced Thursday it will host its annual 2019 Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC 2019) in San Jose on June 3-7.

Apple said the upcoming event, which is now in its 30th year, will be the company's biggest gathering that attracts "the world's most innovative and creative developers" with a focus on future development of Apple's operating systems (OS).

More than 1.4 billion devices are now running iOS, macOS, watchOS or tvOS across the world, according to the company.

"WWDC is Apple's biggest event of the year. It brings thousands of the most creative and dedicated developers from around the world together with over a thousand Apple engineers to learn about our latest platform innovations and to connect as a community," said Phil Schiller, Apple's senior vice president of Worldwide Marketing.

Apple said it will unveil the latest Apple news at WWDC 2019, where global developers will celebrate their "breakthrough work" in many areas ranging from machine learning, augmented reality to health and fitness.

"This year's program will feature technical sessions, hands-on labs and guest speakers to provide Apple's existing developer community and the next generation of app developers with the knowledge and tools to help turn their next great idea into reality," said the Cupertino, California-based company.

Media reports said Apple will likely launch the new iOS 13 operating system for iPhones and iPads, a major update from iOS 12 with new features that include a system-wide Dark Mode similar to macOS Mojave's appearance options.

It's not clear whether Apple will announce any new hardware at WWDC 2019.