The iPod is dead, long live the iPod.
Apple, scant months ago, decided to kill off the iPod Nano and iPod Shuffle—two of the three remaining products in the iconic line, which kickstarted the entire company back in the early 2000s. This seemed to indicate Apple would soon shut down production of iPods entirely and focus more on its other offerings, like iPhones, iMacs, and MacBooks. That’s not necessarily the case, though. Per a well-known code-digger in the Apple-product rumors community, the company may be announcing a new iPod Touch at its hotly anticipated launch event today (Sept. 12), which is predicted to bring us the high-end iPhone 8 and more.
There’s a chance the new iPod Touch will even have the same Face ID feature—technology that allows users to unlock their phone by merely looking at its front-facing camera—that’s expected from the iPhone 8.
What does this mean exactly? For one, iPod Touch enthusiasts will have something to look forward to: The Touch hasn’t been refreshed since 2015. More broadly, a new iPod would both signal Apple’s commitment to its original core products and the continued vigor of the company’s investment in Apple Music, its streaming subscription service. As the music industry booms anew, Apple is putting everything it’s got into streaming—which includes keeping listeners happy with updated hardware as well as flashy new digital features. Though it may be small, there is still a population of consumers out there who prefer to get their music through a music-centric device, rather than a smartphone or computer. And iPods are of course also significantly cheaper than iPhones.
Lovers of iTunes, though, should probably just give up hope already.