Developers lucky enough to attend WWDC in previous years will know that Apple’s Company Store in the McEnery Convention Center is always a popular spot. Each year, the pop-up shop sells a variety of limited edition clothing and souvenirs only available to attendees. This year, Apple looks to make it easier for busy developers to get in, get the items they want, and get back to the conference.
Update: Store visitors report that while self-checkout is active and functions as expected, store staff are directing customers to purchase with assistance instead. Merchandise isn’t available to pick up without requesting it. Take a look at our gallery for everything available for attendees so you can plan your purchase before arriving.
The WWDC Store is as famous for its exclusive merch as it is for long checkout lineups and wait times. To solve the problem, it appears Apple is borrowing a feature from its brick and mortar retail stores that allows customers to purchase items from their iPhones without ever needing to find an employee to check out. The technology has been in use since 2011 when it was introduced as EasyPay in Apple stores, but developers say WWDC’s store has accepted only traditional forms of payment and Apple Pay until now.
The new functionality should dramatically speed up the checkout process and ease congestion at the WWDC Store. If you haven’t skipped the line at an Apple Store before, it’s pretty simple. When you’re in the store’s vicinity, the Apple Store app will automatically detect your presence and offer a barcode scanner on the main Discover tab. Apple has created a custom store listing just for WWDC. From here, you’ll be able to scan your item, buy with Apple Pay, and go.
