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Steve Jobs to launch iCloud, iOS 5 and more at WWDC 2011 tonight

It's official. Steve Jobs will take to the stage today to kick off this year's Worldwide Developers' Conference. But what goodies can we expect from Apple?

Andy Merrett
Andy Merrett has been using mobile phones since the days when they only made voice calls. Since then he has worked his way through a huge number of Nokia, Motorola and Sony Ericsson models. Andy is a freelance writer and is not an employee of CNET.
Andy Merrett
2 min read

Apple's annual Worldwide Developers' Conference will kick off later today. With fanboys and fangirls everywhere eagerly waiting to see what goodies are announced, here's a run-down of what we expect to see.

Steve Jobs

Steve Jobs is back. Yay! Apple's PR machine has confirmed that Jobs, flanked by 'a team of Apple executives', will be delivering the keynote address, despite having taken medical leave earlier in the year.

It's good to have him back. Apple without Steve Jobs is like Saturday night without reality TV shows. 

iOS 5

We're fairly certain that some developers have already got their hands on a pre-release version of the next generation of Apple's mobile operating system. A keynote presentation wouldn't be the same without a parade of software houses smugly demonstrating iOS' new features.

There are plenty of features we'd like to see. We've heard rumours of deep Twitter integration, advanced voice recognition and a better notification system. There's even been talk of Flash support, although, as long as Steve Jobs is in charge, we won't hold our breath.

iCloud

Apple's iCloud service is all but ready, despite a few teething problems.

iCloud is a cloud-based music-streaming service. It's expected that it will enable you to stream all the iTunes songs you already own to your various devices. Whether iCloud will only work with songs you've bought directly from Apple remains to be seen.

Mac OS X Lion

It's time for the Snow Leopard to be replaced by a mighty Lion -- Mac OS X Lion to be precise. Apple's latest operating system for desktops and laptops is expected to draw on iPad features, including multi-touch gestures, full-screen apps, an app launch pad, better file-version control and an improved Mail app.

Apple has already announced a summer launch date, so we won't be surprised if Lion is ready to buy either today or before the end of the month.

iPhone 5

We're pretty much resigned to not seeing the iPhone 5 this side of summer, but we can still dream that Jobs' "one more thing" announcement will be a sleek new iPhone. With a new crop of Android smart phones, such as the Samsung Galaxy S 2 and Motorola Atrix, trying to steal the iPhone's thunder, a new handset would neatly round out today's announcements.

Want to know what really happens? Stay tuned to Crave and our Facebook wall, and we'll give you the lowdown from 6pm today.