Apple has announced that its annual Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC) will take place June 6-10 in San Francisco. A quote from a senior Apple executive accompanying the announcement hints that the company might use WWDC to announce iOS 5, the latest version of the Apple OS. The company’s SVP of worldwide product marketing Phil Schiller said: “At this year’s conference we are going to unveil the future of iOS and Mac OS.” Developers who work with either OS “do not want to miss” the event, he says.

Elsewhere in the same announcement Apple talks about developers being able “to explore the latest innovations and capabilities of iOS,” as well as learn how to enhance the functionality, performance and design of their apps.

Some have taken Schiller’s comment as a reference to iOS 5, but not everyone. There has also been recent speculation that the new version of the OS could come as soon as next month (April) after Apple did not unveil it at the launch of the iPad 2 on March 2. It was thought the company would stage another event soon after for iOS 5. Now Techcrunch says iOS 5 is not coming until the autumn: “….this would break the pattern of Apple unveiling the latest iOS iteration in the early Spring, leading up to a summer launch alongside new iPhone hardware.” The new iOS 5 would be previewed at WWDC but not actually released then, Techcrunch says.