WWDC 2010: After offering more details about iOS 4 in his , Steve Jobs unveils the iPhone 4.

WWDC 2009: A --it was called iPhone 3.0 in those days--is punctuated by the .

WWDC 2008: Another followed by another iPhone hardware unveiling--it's the this time around.

That's three iPhone announcements in as many WWDCs. It doesn't require too much of a leap in logic to see how Apple could make it four straight.

Then again, attentive readers and those with a keen interest in Apple history will immediately spot the difference between the last three WWDC keynotes and this year's installment. The 2008, 2009, and 2010 editions featured recaps of the planned iOS update--in all three cases, Apple had already previewed the new version of the operating system at a separate press event held months earlier. This time around, it's the first we're hearing about iOS 5, and if we're sticking to our past-is-prologue theme, that would mean a new iPhone later this summer at the earliest. By this way of thinking, Apple could even unite the iPhone and iPod touch hardware upgrades--after all, they use the same operating system--and introduce both at the company's traditional fall music event.