People have been asking me two things all week—What did you think of Apple’s keynote announcements? And What did you think of WWDC in San Jose instead of having it in San Francisco? I largely covered my thoughts on the product announcements, including listening to HomePod, so I thought I’d give you some additional thoughts on WWDC in San Jose.

I’ve been trying to pinpoint all week how to properly explain my feelings on how I felt about WWDC in San Jose, especially for developers that previously attended the conference in San Francisco, but didn’t make it here this year.

The best way to explain it is that when you left the Moscone building in San Francisco, you effectively left WWDC. In San Jose, it feels like Apple set up a little city for developers—even a few blocks away, you felt like you were still at the conference.

There was a wonderful plaza setup out front of the convention center where people would sit and chat, eat, and do some work. The days of people sitting in every nook and crevice at Moscone has been replaced by comfortable chairs and tables that allowed for conversation and collaboration among attendees.

The only thing I would like to see is that the restaurants and bars nearby would stay open a bit longer each night to accommodate the crowd. They all closed pretty early.

WWDC in San Francisco felt like a tech conference. WWDC in San Jose feels more like a get together of friends. I really hope Apple decides to bring the conference back here again next year.