Yet again, new Apple products have been leaked thanks to third-party case-makers. Thanks to them, we now know what the new iPods will look like. Post the announcement of the 2 September event, there has been a flurry of online coverage about two new leaks regarding the 4th generation iPod Touch and the 6th Generation iPod Nano.
We already know that the iPod Touch will have features of the iPhone 4 and that it will look more or less the same as now (again thanks to the case makers). So it is the Nano 6 that has all the limelight there is to be had. It seems like Apple has gone ahead and designed the Nano into something that looks like the older Shuffle. Only, it has a touchscreen now as the full front face and has room for a 30 pin connector. And it gets better from there.
From one of the renders, it is pretty clear that the Nano 6 is running on some derivative of the iOS because it has Mobile Safari onboard for surfing. That also means that the Nano 6 is connecting to the Internet somehow. Now I am pretty sure that this little thing won’t be connecting to a 3G network. Not that it is technologically difficult. Apple surely won’t be cannibalizing their own product sales. Plus AT&T would basically cry at the thought of more pressure on their teetering-on-the-edge network.
The images of this case with the iPod Nano 6 renders were taken from a listing in the trading site Alibaba. They were listings for screen protectors and privacy screens for the new and yet to be announced iPods. Of course, these manufacturers only know about the dimensions and the placements of the controls, so they cannot leak anything about the specs. So other than the Nano 6′s render with the Safari icon and the earlier rumors about the iPod Touch, we know next to nothing about the models that will be released this 2nd September.
The iPod Touch might have the retina display, rumors have been suggesting and some have been of the opinion that it might also have the A4 chip. The A4 chip would actually be a good thing to have in it because Apple is projecting and developing the iPod Touch as a handheld gaming device that has access to the wealth of iOS App titles at the iTunes App Store.
The Nano 6 gaining a touchscreen when there is already the iPod Touch in the line up shows that Apple is now full steam ahead on turning everything into touch. This after the touchscreen iMac is definitely a sign of the days to come.
The iPod Touch already has everything that it can possibly inherit from the iPhone without the phone part of it. The only thing that remains is the camera and since Apple gave it a miss last time (due to technical problems, rumor has it), it is almost a certainty this time. Especially because now the iPhone is sufficiently different and advanced to separate it from the iPod Touch. Plus the iPhone now looks a lot different too.
But that is where the A4 issue comes in. Apple would probably withhold the A4 from the iPod Touch till the next evolution of the iPhone. If only to get people to buy the iPhone when they want sheer power. What Apple might add to the new iPod Touch is the Gyroscope to give it the six-axis motion sensing that the iPhone 4. The gaming and 3D-related entertainment potential that this has is quite good.
Looks like this thursday is going to be quite interesting.
[via]
