Apple confirms iOS 5, Lion, and iCloud to arrive next week

Apple Inc. (AAPL) announced today that it will reveal a sneak peek of the next generation of mobile device and Mac operating systems, including the buzz concerning the iCloud service.
In a press release, Apple said that CEO Steve Jobs, who sent stocks in a period of tumult due to his extended medical leave, will be present with other executives for the unveiling of the services during the company’s World Wide Developers Conference (WWDC) at 10 a.m. June 6 in San Francisco. The iOS 5 will be shown alongside iCloud and the eighth major release of the Mac OS, also known as 10.7 Lion.
It was rumored and reported by several agencies that the new Mac operating systems will be available through Apple’s App Store. While Apple keeps things historically quiet, licensing agreements with major music companies has piqued interest in what iCloud services will be offered.
Bloomberg Businessweek reported that iCloud will allow a user’s entire iTunes library for play on multiple devices, both in wired and wireless form and that the service has the ability to automatically replace low-quality songs with improved versions. No specific details on which devices will be available for update wirelessly are able to be confirmed at this point but the services may also be packaged with Apple’s MobileMe offering. The iOS 5 is also rumored to contain over-the-air updates and new mapping capabilities. Apple will only confirm that the iOS 5 will power iPad, iPhone and iPod touch devices.
Since Apple’s version of the cloud service is paired with license deals from record labels, insiders expect it to cost more than competing “digital locker” services for storing music introduced by Amazon (AMZN) or Google Inc. (GOOG).
While reports indicate that the iOS 5 and the Lion OS have great opportunities to allow deep connectivity to the iCloud service, the new mobile OS is not expected to be paired with any further news about when the next generation of iPhone will launch.