Apple conference returning to S.J.

Tech giant says being close to Cupertino headquarters was a key reason for move

Apple is bringing its Worldwide Developers Conference back to where it all began: San Jose. Pulling out of San Francisco, where the annual tech fest has

been held since 2003, Apple will host the conference for 5,000 developers this summer at the McEnery Convention Center, back in the South Bay city where the event first took place from 1989 until 2002.

Saying the move promises to be “the start of a long and great relationship’’ between the Cupertino-based tech giant and the city that prides itself as “The Capital of Silicon Valley,’’ Apple’s senior vice president of worldwide marketing, Phil Schiller, told this newspaper in an interview that the time was right for a change of scene. And holding the event in closer proximity to both Apple’s current headquarters as well as its new nearby campus, which is expected to open later this year, was a key part of that decision.

“We were looking at this move from two angles,’’ Schiller said. “First, San Jose is closer to our new campus, and the fact that we’ll have over 1,000 Apple engineers taking part and working at the conference means we’d like to have it as close to Apple as possible. That would bring us the highest level of interaction with as many developers as we can.

“Secondly, we thought about the developers’ experience; and while both San Francisco and San Jose are amazing cities, we thought that for not just the conference, but for all the other activities that take place around it, this was a perfect time to be back where it all began.’’

Analyst Tim Bajarin with Creative Strategies says Apple’s move is great news for both the company and the city of San Jose, “which really has been the heart of Silicon Valley from the beginning.”

“Logistically, it makes sense to have the conference down here because Apple has had to bus hundreds of their people up to San Francisco for the event,’’ he said. “This move makes sense, too, because so many of the tech people who attend this event are coming from the South Bay. This is a win for Apple, a win for San Jose and a win for all of us in the Bay Area who live south of San Francisco.’’

The event, which takes place the week of June 5, will bring developers from across the globe to hear the keynote speech (traditionally given by Apple co-founder Steve Jobs and, since his death in 2011, by CEO Tim Cook), and take part in more than 100 workshops fanning out around the main hall.

And while Schiller would not confirm the keynote speaker or give away any surprise announcements, the event will surely give the audience what they seek the most at this yearly summertime powwow: key updates on software and product announcements that could span Apple’s product spectrum, from the iPhone to the Mac to the Apple Watch, Apple TV and beyond.

Schiller stressed the im- portance of the conference for Apple, calling it “our biggest event of the year,’’ and said WWDC is “the place we launch the tools developers can use to create all sorts of new applications and accessories.”

“It’s an increasingly important place for us to bring together our developers and our engineers,’’ he said.

“And that diversity of thought has grown each year as we get developers who come from all over the world, along with more than 1 million developers who follow it livestreamed. So it truly is a global event.’’

San Jose Mayor Sam Liccardo praised Apple’s move, saying it was another example of put-San-Joseon-the-map collaboration among local corporations, city officials and Team San Jose, a partnership between the San Jose Convention and Visitors Bureau, hotels, arts and labor.

“Apple has recognized the renaissance of our downtown,’’ Liccardo said. “Apple appears to be committed to making it happen here and to grow here.’’

Schiller said the event’s strong following in the developer community helps Apple create more and better products “than we can do on our own. And the diversity of experience at the conference is really profound.”

“The developers conference,’’ he said, “is and will continue to be all about the platforms and how developers take advantage of those platforms to impact all of our lives.”