Steve Jobs will return to work at Apple at the end of this month, it was confirmed today after a week in which analysts said that the company had proved it could manage very well without him.

The charismatic chief executive has been on sick leave for six months after losing weight dramatically due to a hormone imbalance last year.

"We look forward to Steve returning to Apple at the end of June," an Apple spokesman said.

Mr Jobs did not fulfill rumours that he would put in a surprise appearance at Apple's Worldwide Developers Conference in San Francisco on Monday, leaving it to Phil Schiller, senior vice president of worldwide product marketing, to lead the keynote speech.

Mr Schiller set out the roadmap for rest of the year, launching a new faster iPhone with updated iPhone software, updating Apple's line-up of MacBook Pro laptop computers and showcasing Apple's new operating system.

While Apple stressed that Mr Jobs had been involved in the company's strategic decisions behind the scenes, analysts predicted a successful future for the company, until now characterised by many as the "Steve Jobs Show", even if he steps away from day-to-day decisions.

Carolina Milanesi, research director for mobile devices for Gartner, said: "I would not for a moment think that the innovation and drive that Apple has would be lost without him."

There is rising speculation that Mr Jobs may return to the post of chairman, continuing to act in a more strategic role. The job of chief executive has been carried out by Tim Cook, the company's chief operating officer over the last six months, and many expect him to retain that role when Mr Jobs returns.

In a research note, Shaw Wu of Kaufman Bros. said that a "deep bench" of senior executives at Apple was in place to take his place, when that time eventually comes: “We applaud Steve for passing on the baton and creating a culture of success. To us, the management transition is complete and there should be minimal concerns.”

Robert Cihra, an analyst at Caris & Co., said: “The reality of course is that Steve Jobs is so hands-on that he would likely be ‘running’ the company whatever his official title is."

Some analysts raised their earnings estimates after Apple said it was cutting the price of its entry-level 8-gigabyte iPhone 3G to $99 from $199 in the US. Apple also presented faster and lower-priced MacBook Pro laptops in a move designed to make its high-end products more accessible in the economic downturn.

The new iPhone 3G S goes on sale in the UK on June 19. Customers will have to sign up to a minimum 18-month contract with O2, the exclusive network partner in the UK. A 16GB version of the iPhone 3GS will cost as much as £184.98, while the 32GB model will cost as much as £274.23.

Apple has sought to give the iPhone a huge lead in the smartphone market by giving consumers a huge range of applications to choose from the App Store. By introducing a payments system in the latest software for the iPhone, Apple has introduced another money-making stream for the company and developers to exploit. For instance games developers will be able to allow users to buy more features for their games using the iPhone, giving Apple a cut.

Overlooked in the raft of announcements at WWDC was also the release of Apple's new browser for computers and mobile phones. Safari 4 has already been downloaded by 11 million users, more than half of them for Windows machines, the company announced yesterday.

Meanwhile former Apple executives are marking their mark in rival companies. Palm, which has just launched the widely acclaimed Pre smartphone in the US, has just appointed former Apple heavyweight Jon Rubinstein as chairman and CEO.

Mr Rubinstein joined Palm as executive chairman in 2007, and assumes the role of CEO on June 12. He played a central role in turning Apple’s fortunes around in the late 90s, and was also behind the original iPod.

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