Facebook to host its F8 developer conference on June 2

Facebook on Tuesday announced that it would host its annual developers’ conference, F8, on June 2. This year F8 will be called F8 Refresh and it will be hosted virtually owing to the pandemic. This follows the heels of the company’s decision last year to cancel the physical event for F8 and host presentations online.

“Over the last year, our community of developers enabled growth for businesses of all sizes to adapt to a changed world and accelerate their digital transformation...In recognition of this, we want to bring F8 back to its roots: a place to celebrate, inspire and help developers grow,” VP of Platform Partnerships at Facebook App, Konstantinos Papamiltiadis wrote in a blog post.

“We’re excited to introduce a new event format, F8 Refresh. Our virtual stage will be open to developers across the world and live-streamed on our Facebook for Developers page on June 2nd,” he added.

At the event, the social media giant will showcase its latest products, which not only includes developments across its family of apps including Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp, and Messenger but also its hardware products that includes Oculus VR headset and Portal smart displays.

Over the years, Facebook has used its developers’ conference to major changes to its apps and introduce a dating platform. The company has also used the event to renew its focus on privacy. However, its plans got derailed last year owing to the Covid-19 outbreak.