APPLE STORE PLANNING OVERNIGHT SHIFT FOR JULY 13; MACBOOK AIR REFRESH AND OS X LION POSSIBLY LAUNCHING

Apple has started to ask Apple Store employees to prepare for an “overnight” shift on July 13th — a sign that the company is prepping a new release of some sort on the next day, 9to5 Mac said. Apple has already confirmed that Mac OS X Lion 10.7 will land in July, and we’re placing bets that’s what we’ll see on the 14th.

However, we’re also expecting refreshed MacBook Air notebooks in the imminent future and, since the new MacBook Air will no doubt run OS X Lion, we wouldn’t be surprised to see it launch at the same time. Other specs for the refresh likely include Intel’s new SandyBridge processors and Thunderbolt I/O in place of the DisplayPort. There have even been rumors of a black anodized aluminum high-end MacBook Air, although we’re not so sure that will ever see the light of day.

APPLE'S OS X LION GOES GOLD

Apple on Friday seeded the Gold Master build of its OS X 10.7 Lion operating system to developers. The build number is 11A511, and the download is available immediately on Apple’s developer site. Barring the discovery of any major issues, the Gold Master code is likely to be unchanged in the release version of Lion, which will launch to the public later this month. Apple announced recently that OS X Lion will be distributed via the Mac App Store rather than using physical media discs, and it will cost just $29.

APPLE TO UNVEIL iOS 5, OS X LION AND iCLOUD MONDAY JUNE 6

Apple has confirmed that it will be announcing iCloud on June 6th, what it's calling an "upcoming cloud services offering." That will be part of the keynote for this year's Worldwide Developers Conference, known to the cool kids as WWDC. This is, of course, where everyone has come to expect new iPhones to come to light, but this year we're thinking the focus will be more on software, and indeed Apple's event notice indicates that the big highlights will be Mac OS X Lion and the next version of its mobile operating system, iOS 5.

This is a decidedly non-Apple way to announce something big like iCloud, making us wonder what other surprises Steve Jobs will have for us at the event.

RUMOR: NO iPHONE, iPAD OR MAC HARDWARE ANNOUNCEMENTS AT WWDC 2011

Apple released the invitation for WWDC 2011 this morning and it only mentions software, specifically OS X Lion and iOS 5 previews. Nowhere on the invitation does it mention any hardware. Rumors are running rampant that this confirms earlier rumors that the iPhone 5 would be delayed into the fall or even until 2012.

Apple’s apparent focus on software in its WWDC announcement backs up what "sources" are saying about the annual conference. That is, expect a software show in 2011, not a hardware event.

At past WWDCs, Apple might show off a new piece of hardware, but Gartner analyst Michael Gartenberg warns about getting too caught up in the past.

“You get caught up in patterns, and it holds true, until it doesn’t,” Gartenberg stated. “There is no reason for Apple to follow a predictable yearly pattern, and it keeps their competition off guard a little bit.”