Apple just officially confirmed that Steve Jobs will introduce the iCloud service and iOS 5 during the WWDC keynote on June 6. Yes, it's extremely strange for the company to pre-announce anything, especially just a week before an event, but there it is -- the press release also confirms that Jobs and other Apple execs will further detail OS X Lion, which we've already played with. (The original WWDC invite promised "the future of iOS," but this is the first time Apple's confirmed the iOS 5 name.)

So what's iCloud, and why is Apple letting it slip a few days early?  Those are the big questions. Apple refers to iCloud as a "cloud services offering" in the press release, so it definitely seems like a comprehensive revamp of MobileMe is possible -- and it may or may not include Apple's long-rumored cloud music service, which has been an increasingly hot subject of discussion for weeks now. As for the unexpected reveal, we've got two theories: one, the company wants to keep the hype level for WWDC high even though there's no new iPhone on the agenda, and two, announcing just a tidbit today is great way to steal attention from Eric Schmidt's appearance at the D9 conference tonight. Clever, clever.

Of course, we'll be at WWDC live on June 6 (and at D9 tonight!) to bring you the best liveblog in the game, so mark your calendars -- this should get interesting. PR after the break.

Apple to Unveil Next Generation Software at Keynote Address on Monday, June 6

CUPERTINO, California—May 31, 2011—Apple® CEO Steve Jobs and a team of Apple executives will kick off the company’s annual Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC) with a keynote address on Monday, June 6 at 10:00 a.m. At the keynote, Apple will unveil its next generation software - Lion, the eighth major release of Mac OS® X; iOS 5, the next version of Apple’s advanced mobile operating system which powers the iPad®, iPhone® and iPod touch®; and iCloud®, Apple’s upcoming cloud services offering.

WWDC will feature more than 100 technical sessions presented by Apple engineers. Mac® developers will see and learn how to develop world-class Mac OS X Lion applications using its latest technologies and capabilities. Mobile developers will be able to explore the latest innovations and capabilities of iOS and learn how to greatly enhance the functionality, performance and design of their apps. All developers can bring their code to the labs and work with Apple engineers.