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Mac Generation (French, Google translation) claims that Apple plans to deliver Safari 5 and Mac OS X 10.6.4 at this year’s WWDC. Further, MacRumors adds that we can also expect a major Xcode update. To the first matter, our French cousins say that the next-gen version of Apple’s WebKit-based browser will include some major under the hood improvements.

What’s new n’ nifty:

• Safari Reader: View articles on a single, clutter-free page
• Improved performance — 25% faster Javascript, improved caching and DNS pre-fetching
• Bing as a search option
• Improved HTML 5 support
• Safari Developer Tools
• Smart address field
• Tab settings
• Hardware acceleration for Windows

OS X 10.6.4 is a known quantity, with a half-dozen seeds already pushed out to developers. That said, recent builds have arrived with “no known issues,” which is Applespeak for it’s just about ready.

Whereas the next whole-number release of Safari and OS X maintenance update will likely ship during WWDC, Xcode 4 will be demo’d at the event with details essentially non-existant right now. It’s also being whispered that OS X 10.7 will make a muted appearance at the WWDC.

Thereupon, the timing and content of these rumors would seem indicate that Apple wants Mac developers to stay interested in this year’s WWDC, which is light on Mac and heavy on iPhone OS code and devices.

Have they succeeded?