Oct 28, 2010 13:47 GMT  ·  By

Sources close to Business Insider claim to have learned that Apple is hosting an event for iOS developers in California next week. The event is described as a spinoff of the iPhone Tech Talks that Apple hosted around the world last year, albeit a more intimate version.

Citing an “industry source”, SAI reports that Apple is kicking off the event next week, and that it will run for three days.

The source speculates that application publishers may get some extra attention from Apple engineers, and even some hands-on development help, although none of this has been confirmed.

The move seems to be an effort to enhance the quality of applications being distributed through the App Store, as a response to the growing Android app store which has been receiving more and more attention lately.

SAI speculates that the timing is right, with Apple preparing to ship iOS 4.2, which aims to unify the iOS experience across its entire range of iDevices.

However, there is no indication that the upcoming iOS 4.2 release will actually be the focus of discussions at this rumored event, and there is practically no reason for this to be the case, Softpedia believes.

iOS 4.2 is known to be a simple software update which focuses on porting many existing iOS features to the iPad. Upcoming major additions are likely to be part of a bigger, iOS 5.0 release.

However, if Apple has more in store for its customers (as far as the iOS 4.2 release is concerned), then SAI’s prediction may hold water. The company could, in fact, tie the event to the public release of the software update, in one form or another.

Apple has had a busy second half of 2010 packed full of events and announcements, including hardware and software refreshes, as well as a preview of the company’s upcoming desktop operating system, Mac OS X Lion.

If confirmed, the iOS event believed to go live next week may be Apple’s last for 2010.