It seems that reports of the pending death of Apple’s iPod touch may be greatly exaggerated. Japanese site Mac Otakara says several suppliers at CES 2019 indicated that a 7th-generation iPod touch “might” be in development.
The site did not provide details on when an updated iPod touch might launch, nor what features it might include.
Apple last updated the hardware in the iPod touch in July 2015, introducing an A8 chip, an 8-megapixel rear camera, and six color options.
The iPod touch lineup was last modified in July 2017, when Apple narrowed the device’s storage capacity down to only 32GB and 128GB, and modified the pricing tiers. Currently, Apple’s pricing for the iPod touch is $199 for the 32GB version and $299 for the 128GB version.
Apple discontinued the rest of the iPod lineup (the iPod shuffle and iPod nano), in 2017. Since then, the iPod touch has been somewhat in limbo.
While Apple has neglected the touch in recent years, instead concentrating its efforts on the iPhone and iPad lineups. While it doesn’t seem likely to this reported that Apple would spend time and effort updating a device like the iPod touch, which has steadily dwindling sales numbers, it could happen.
The Mac Otakara‘s report also suggests that the 2019 iPhone lineup could boast USB-C ports. However, the report says that according to “those who are working on it,” the feature hasn’t yet reached a design reference step, meaning the feature could be dropped before the next-generation iPhones debut in September.
As usual, we highly suggest taking reports like these with a grain of your favorite seasoning. (We are currently infatuated with Lawrys Garlic Salt.) These are rumors, and should be treated as such. Things can, and probably will change before we see any official announcements.
