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WWDC 2012 will kick off tonight at 8 pm (Beirut Time) in San Francisco. The yearly event which brings together developers and Apple engineers will include a keynote by Apple CEO Tim Cook, his first at a WWDC event since Steve Jobs passes away, in which he will highlight Apple’s plans for the coming year, in addition to unveiling the latest software and hardware from the Cupertino giant.

What should you expect?

iOS 6: Unveiling new software for the Apple’s mobile lineup, iPhone, iPad and iPod Touch, has been confirmed by banners that that read iOS 6 at the Moscone conference center. The latest iteration of mobile OS should include new features and a release date, the latter of which could hint at the coming 4 inch screen iPhone release date, as Apple has made a habit of releasing their latest mobile software in concurrence with their latest iPhone.

Proprietary Maps: An in-house maps application with an Apple backend has been in the works according to 9to5Mac. According to the rumors website, Apple had purchased companies such as Placebase, C3 Technologies, and Poly9 for this purpose. This could spell out big trouble for Google, considering that almost half (45%) of Google Maps users in the US come from iOS.

More information on the next Mac OS: Additional details on OS X Mountain Lion are expected to include Retina Display support for its upcoming line of laptops. TheNextWeb had recently reported that Retina-ready apps have begun to appear in the Mac App Store.

Apple TV SDK: It was revealed by his biographer that Steve Jobs had plans to go introduce a full blown television set that would seamlessly sync with the rest of Apple's products and services. An SDK then seems a likely first step to get developers on board and help shape its ecosystem before its launch.

Be sure not to miss our live coverage tonight at 8 pm (Beirut Time) on Twitter. See you then!