Apple to usher in era of Mac OS X-based iPods

[AppleInsider]

Apple Inc. will use a media event next month to unveil a new breed of iPod digital music players that have been injected with the company's most vital asset -- the Mac OS.

The move will culminate a multi-year effort on the part of the Cupertino-based electronics giant to form a new platform of digital devices around the common core of its legendary operating system software and expertise in industrial design.

Three of Apple's four business segments -- the Mac, iPhone and Apple TV -- already rely on derivatives of the Mac OS. In surgically replacing the iPod's Pixo-influenced OS with a modern-day variant of its homebred software, the company will have effectively scaled the Mac OS across its entire product matrix.

Internally, Apple is much further along, according to sources, who say the company will again tap an embedded version of the Mac OS to form the foundation of yet another business segment and digital device family in 2008. In the meantime, however, the company's efforts will reportedly focus on maturing its already established product families.

People familiar with this year's plans say Apple's iPod roadmap for the fall now calls for as many as four new models -- most, if not all, will employ NAND flash -- including major evolutions of both the flagship video iPod and iPod nano lines. It's these two iPod product families which are expected to receive the Mac OS treatment, though to varying degrees.

Sources in the Far East -- where Apple manufacturers its digital music players -- have recently vouched for sightings of a "full screen" iPod, which they believe will finally make its debut ahead of this year's holiday shopping season. The players are said to run a derivative of the Mac OS-based iPod software introduced as part of the company's iPhone handset back in June.

What's interesting, however, is that the Apple has also been working on Mac OS-based iPod software for models that will retain their click-wheels -- such as third-generation iPod nanos. Interface concept videos recently published and then pulled from MacRumors consisted of genuine Apple material to this effect, AppleInsider can confirm.

The videos illustrated intentions on the part of the gadget maker to carry over software design aspects from the iPhone, in addition to tying in features of its just-released iLife '08 digital lifestyle suite. In particular, they demonstrated widespread use of vibrant album art, Leopard-style interface overlays, a world clock widget similar to the iPhone's, and a new photo feature that would allow iPod nano users to browse their iLife '08 photo "Events" via a CoverFlow interface controlled by a physical click-wheel.

Exactly what may be in store for the remaining iPod models is admittedly unclear. However, one could simply represent modest improvements to the entry-level iPod shuffle, while the other could be one-in-the-same with much-rumored second iteration of iPhone.

Those people familiar with Apple's digital media player plans say an official unveiling of this year's offerings is on tap for mid-to-late September.

[ View this article at AppleInsider.com ]

[MattRebs]

Now that's what I'm talkin' about.

This talk of yet another product family is intriguing. I know apple has done it in the past but, a digital camera or video camera would be awesome. I'm pathetic, well looks like the hype train has left the station, way to put on a show apple.

[Aries 1B]

From the Days of Kormac77:

"...i****v2 use Intel chip because Intel has chips which it have CPU + Graphic + Wifi capability"

i****v1 was foretold and came unto us iPhone.

All hail the impending i****v2! Whatever it is!

DNA was the operating system.

Needum sleep bad...ly

V/S,

Aries1B

[gugy]

man, I hope so.
it's about time for the new iPod.
Bring it on. I want to end my debate of either waiting for the iPod 6g or getting the iPhone.

[melgross]

I hope this is true.

It would be cool if it also had a camera. Perhaps a better one than currently on the iPhone, thought tat would probably be untenable. Video would be good though. It's been assumed that video on the iPhone is possible electronically, but not implemented in software.

[dh87]

Why would OS X be useful on an iPod, especially a nano? iPods don't do that much, and the things that they do are already written in the current iPod OS.

[mdriftmeyer]

Originally Posted by dh87

Why would OS X be useful on an iPod, especially a nano? iPods don't do that much, and the things that they do are already written in the current iPod OS.

Who said the Nano would even exist with these upcoming versions?

It sure took them long enough to consolidate their OS plan.

[dh87]

Originally Posted by mdriftmeyer

Who said the Nano would even exist with these upcoming versions?

Paragraph 5 of the article.

[deanbar]

[QUOTE=AppleInsider;1131135]Apple Inc. will use a media event next month to unveil a new breed of iPod digital music players that have been injected with the company's most vital asset -- the Mac OS.

Yaaay, go Apple, hurry up and give us the 6G iPod, I want one, Way to go........

[GamoGuy]

Originally Posted by dh87

Why would OS X be useful on an iPod, especially a nano? iPods don't do that much, and the things that they do are already written in the current iPod OS.

Doesn't this give you a clue that the next iPods might do a whole lot more?

[dh87]

Originally Posted by GamoGuy

Doesn't this give you a clue that the next iPods might do a whole lot more?

Like what, without becoming an iPhone? Personally, I want my iPod to play music, and that's it. Other people may want a few videos and photos, a calendar, and contacts, all of which exist, but I think that the next level up from this is an iPhone. With OS X, the interface could be similar to the iPhone's.

[NoahJ]

Originally Posted by dh87

Why would OS X be useful on an iPod, especially a nano? iPods don't do that much, and the things that they do are already written in the current iPod OS.

I am not sure, but if Apple has to pay a licensing cost for its Current OS on the iPod this would eliminate that and increase their profit on the new iPods.

[Quillz]

Adding OS X to the iPod, for one thing, will make it much more stable. I'm sure I'm not the only one who's had an iPod freeze on them, especially when they intend to put it to sleep. Let's also keep in mind that sometimes after syncing an iPod with iTunes, the iPod actually loses all album art, or displays incorrect info. OS X is very matured and secure, and having, say, the iMac and iPod use the same OS is certainly the way forward.

[donlphi]

I have to say I'm pretty pumped up about a smaller video iPOD. I think the click wheel is here to stay, at least for a little while longer. I can't see them just shutting down the games that currently exist (granted only about 12). Perhaps this stubby iPOD with the click wheel (that keeps resurfacing) will be the last of the click wheel iPODs - sort of consolidating the current video iPOD and iPOD nano.

I still see them offering a touch screen option for people that want larger screens.

The capacity issue is slightly overrated. I have the 60gb Video iPOD and it holds more music and movies than you could watch or listen to in a month.

The iPhone with it's wifi has made my listening and watching options limitless because I can stream from my home computer if I run out of things to listen to. Listening to music on the Edge network is even doable.

I'd like to see a full/touch screen video iPOD with wi-fi capability. Possibly a phoneless iPhone.

[melgross]

Originally Posted by Quillz

Adding OS X to the iPod, for one thing, will make it much more stable. I'm sure I'm not the only one who's had an iPod freeze on them, especially when they intend to put it to sleep. Let's also keep in mind that sometimes after syncing an iPod with iTunes, the iPod actually loses all album art, or displays incorrect info. OS X is very matured and secure, and having, say, the iMac and iPod use the same OS is certainly the way forward.

Likely less stable.

The current OS is pretty simple, with few API's or other touches OS X has, even in a cut down state.

[MacTel]

Well, I'm hopeful that Apple will flip the lid on the watch industry. We already have armbands for our iPods and the iPods can display time. Why not a watch that can play music, display photos, and play video but with bluetooth headsets?

[palegolas]

I think the revolution with OSX on pocket gadgets is SOFTWARE. Soon I expect Apple to start selling software through iTunes, and eventually, in the end, let certain 3d party developers make software or widgets for OS X.

[FrenchMac]

The leaked interface concept videos clearly shows more animations and transition that the current video iPod. It certainly an hint that OS X could be into these things.

And for the remaining fourth iPod model, I hope that they will split the line of full screen iPod in two models: one with a smaller storage capacity (be it flash or hard drive based) and one with a bigger storage capacity (thicker due to the bigger hard drive), a bigger battery and wifi.

It would be so cool!

[kenaustus]

My ideal iPod would basically be the iPhone with the phone part taken out and a HD installed. Wireless would be the final feature to get em reaching for my wallet. Otherwise I might go with the iPhone after MWSF - justin case a 2nd iPhone is announced.

The HD would be great for me as I would use it as a backup for data and files, making business travel a bit safer. The iPhone on the larger screen would motivate me to clean up my 6,000+ pics in iPhoto - I've been thinking about that for about a year now.

But it is the large screen that will blow iPod sales out of the water.

[madeincupertino]

the OS that apple currently has on the ipods has a ton of capabilities that apple doesn't use... just look at linux for ipod...

i agree that the new os for ipod will be a lot of eye candy

i agree that apple will eventually sells software digitally via itunes... something it already does as far as ipod games are concerned. the problem is that the infastructure requirements for a full-fledged digital software purchase and transfer system are pretty severe... there are a ton of startup costs

microsoft recently hired digital river to deliver software for them... it was just cheaper than if they tried to do it themselves. so maybe look for apple to partner with digital river... or do it themselves.

i think this is why apple wants to keep a closed system on the iPhone (like the iPod) -- everyone has to play by their rules and they get to squeeze more profit from software sales etc...

[zunx]

Apple, please, BRING BACK FIREWIRE to the iPods.

Thanks.

[donlphi]

Originally Posted by MacTel

Well, I'm hopeful that Apple will flip the lid on the watch industry. We already have armbands for our iPods and the iPods can display time. Why not a watch that can play music, display photos, and play video but with bluetooth headsets?

A watch? Nobody is going to buy a dick tracy watch? it's stuck to your wrist.

Apple will never - and I usually avoid the word never - but they will never make a watch.

Please say you were joking.

[markb]

Internally, Apple is much further along, according to sources, who say the company will again tap an embedded version of the Mac OS to form the foundation of yet another business segment and digital device family in 2008.

What is that supposed to mean? iBlenders? MacToothBrush Pro? Whats left to conquer? They got TV, computers, cell phones, music players. Beyond those items I am trying to figure out what devices are complicated enough to need an actual OS. Any ideas?

Those people familiar with Apple's digital media player plans say an official unveiling of this year's offerings is on tap for mid-to-late September

So we will hopefully know something by late Sept, and I imagin shippin would have to start by late October to not miss the crucial holiday buying season.

[carlito2]

has the move to OS X got something to do with the Ipod Home or what ever it was called patent grained a few months ago ????

and thats a good call about the licensing on the current user interface wasn't it creative that they have to pay ????

oh and finally does this not indicate that there my be a touch screen Ipod coming as there ganna need OS X to run that..........

theres only so much you can do as a company changing the colours and capacity before consumers don't buy the products because its nearly the same as the last £$200/400 kit you brought.

[SpinDrift]

I think the new product line mentioned will be in car integration. This has already been touched on in the past. I think by this time next year we will be hearing about an Apple branded and OS X based in car system similar to Audi's MMI and the BMW I-Drive including navigation, audio, video and telephony.

[lfmorrison]

Originally Posted by madeincupertino

the OS that apple currently has on the ipods has a ton of capabilities that apple doesn't use... just look at linux for ipod...

Whaaa?

Linux for iPod is a 3rd-party replacement of the OS that Apple currently has on the iPods, not an application running on top of it. You cannot make any judgements about the capabilities of the current iPod OS based on what you see the iPod doing while is Linux running on it. That'd be equivalent to making judgements about the capabilities of Windows Vista based on what you see while Ubuntu is running on a PC.

Now, it is perfectly legitimate to say that the current iPod hardware is capable of doing more than Apple's current iPod user interface belies. (In fact, to varying extents, I think this has been true of every generation of iPod to date with the possible exception of the Shuffles. I don't know if enough is known about the Shuffle's internals to make such a call.)

[Marvin]

I think it would suck if it wasn't touch screen and had a solid glass screen. In the end, the click wheel is touch-based but it uses up so much space for what it does. I was using someone's video ipod recently and I just wished I could scroll up and down, I don't find the circular motion that intuitive at all and it wasn't very accurate.

OS X would be absolutely awesome to have on an ipod - I'm sure that there will be way more people hacking that than the iphone as it will be much more affordable.

[Parrothead Phan]

Unfortunately, this news doesn't excite me. I have a HUGE music collection that I want with me at ALL times (please - for the 13-18 year old crowd on this forum: don't tell me that I can't possibly ever listen to all that music. It's not for you to decide how I use MY iPod. I'm a business traveler & don't have time to decide what 8GBs of music I'm going to take with me from trip to trip. Nor do I want to.) Therefore, the thought of Apple going to NAND flash for all their iPods only means 1 thing: smaller capacity iPods. That's not an option for me. Nor is it negotiable. If they go this route, they will lose a segment of their customer base that IS willing to pay premium prices for a high capacity player.

I also have the iPhone. Steve Jobs once said that it's the "best iPod" they've ever designed. I have to disagree. While I like what they've done with the iPod interface on the iPhone, for some reason they decided to eliminate the "Shuffle-->Albums" feature that is on the 5G iPod. I specifically switched to the iPod for that very feature. I listen to mostly full albums, in a random order. On the iPhone there is no way to do this. Why eliminate a feature? Doesn't make sense to me.

[Go Banana]

Wait... I don't get it. Everyone's mentioning new product line. Apple has stated they're new business model will stand on "four legs". Mac, iPod, iPhone, AppleTV. I count four, how many do you count?

Granted AppleTV won't catch on fully until it's able to stream/save 1080p from Mac and iTunes.

[gloss]

Originally Posted by donlphi

Apple will never - and I usually avoid the word never - but they will never make a watch.

Please say you were joking.

I owned one of these.

[vinney57]

Originally Posted by madeincupertino

i think this is why apple wants to keep a closed system on the iPhone (like the iPod) -- everyone has to play by their rules and they get to squeeze more profit from software sales etc...

Again you are simply projecting your own cynicism.

[backtomac]

What are the advantages of adding OSX to the iPod? I don't understand what additional functionality could or should be gained by this maneuver.

I fear the iPod could suffer from feature bloat much like windows devices. What am I missing?

[mgkwho]

September 11th September 11th September 11th

-=|Mgkwho

[fuzzhoven]

Originally Posted by AppleInsider

Internally, Apple is much further along, according to sources, who say the company will again tap an embedded version of the Mac OS to form the foundation of yet another business segment and digital device family in 2008.

I could see them making an AppleTV that's actually built into a TV. I could see Apple coming up with some slick thin LCD TVs with AppleTV built in, with iPhone/OSX style iTunes, maybe a camera and iPhoto & Photo Booth so you can get photos from families and friends into your digital album thats built into your TV and chat live with iChat - i guess they'd add some media slots like some TVs already have for adding photos from your cameras, thou they'd have bluetooth and wi-fi also. They could probably add the ability to tape TV shows into your iTunes to replace the PVR recorders that replaced VCRs, they could be synched with your new iPods/iPhones so you can watch the show you missed last night on the train to work. It's all stuff they can do already more or less and the TV industry is a solid market that they haven't really taken a bite at yet besides offering a wi-fi hard drive with iTunes on it and calling it AppleTV - which is just another plug you need space for on your wall and more cables to deal with.

I've personally got a mac mini plugged into my LCD TV which does more than the current AppleTV can do so it seems pointless to continue with the Mini range as a small PC and not integrate AppleTV into a LCD screen to actually make it an Apple TV. I don't think this would cut into laptop sales at all but probably add another level of synching and sharing between products that could be usefull.

I'd buy one anyway.

[shamino]

If Apple wants to swap the OS, I don't really care. It's not like I run anything other than the default iPod software anyway.

The "full-screen" iPhone-like concept, however, bothers me. I like the click-wheel. I think the click-wheel is one of the key features that makes iPods better than third-party players. If they get rid of it and replace it with a virtual interface, that has no tactile feedback, it will make the device far less usable. I can operate my iPod nano with one hand, and without looking at it. You can't do that with an iPhone, and you won't be able to to do it with any other device that has a virtual-UI.

Originally Posted by Quillz

Adding OS X to the iPod, for one thing, will make it much more stable. I'm sure I'm not the only one who's had an iPod freeze on them, especially when they intend to put it to sleep. Let's also keep in mind that sometimes after syncing an iPod with iTunes, the iPod actually loses all album art, or displays incorrect info. OS X is very matured and secure, and having, say, the iMac and iPod use the same OS is certainly the way forward.

What makes you think these bugs are due to the iPod's operating system? Why can't it be a problem with the application software?

What makes you think a version 1.0 release of OS X-for-iPod will be more stable than the current iPod system software? Remember, we're talking about a completely different processor and system architecture.

What makes you think a version 1.0 release of the iPod software-for-OS X will be more stable than what's running now?

[studiomusic]

Originally Posted by markb

What is that supposed to mean? iBlenders? MacToothBrush Pro? Whats left to conquer? They got TV, computers, cell phones, music players. Beyond those items I am trying to figure out what devices are complicated enough to need an actual OS. Any ideas?

How about a digital video camera a la RED? Or a true integrated home entertainment system with 7.1 surround , Bluray, satelite radio/tv, BIG lcd screens, cable modem, wifi... and 1000 watts per channel
Looks like they are going the way of Sony to me!

[Suge]

Maybe they'll release a mini notebook with touchscreen

[NOFEER]

what size is the typical video for an ipod?? do people really need 80gb drives?? is that a must have for the video ipod to be a success??


what about using a hybrid hd for the video ipod to improve battery life. perhaps 8-16 nand plus 60 gb platters many more posts about improving battery life than for increasing hd space.

[jouster]

Originally Posted by MacTel

Well, I'm hopeful that Apple will flip the lid on the watch industry. We already have armbands for our iPods and the iPods can display time. Why not a watch that can play music, display photos, and play video but with bluetooth headsets?

Try looking at your watch for 5 minutes straight.

[donebylee]

Originally Posted by dh87

Like what, without becoming an iPhone? Personally, I want my iPod to play music, and that's it. Other people may want a few videos and photos, a calendar, and contacts, all of which exist, but I think that the next level up from this is an iPhone. With OS X, the interface could be similar to the iPhone's.

I am wondering much the same thing. I have a Nano that I use extensively around the house and when I run (with the Nike+ kit). I absolutely love it.

I don't think the designs posted offer a new Nano as I understand it. It looks large and clunky...and I have to say: ugly. If I wanted a full-sized video playing iPod I would buy one. The current Nano does what I want it to and doesn't charge me for a lot of stuff I don't want.

Of course, I can just not buy the new one when it comes out, but eventually my battery will die and that will require a new iPod. So, if these videos/photos are actually the new Nano, maybe I should buy one or two of the current Nanos (and shelve them until needed) as insurance.

Oh boy, can't wait to try to justify this one to the wife.