Unconfirmed case illustrations show upcoming iPod touch

Posted:
in iPod + iTunes + AppleTV edited January 2014
Photo illustrations supposedly obtained from iPod case manufacturers show a new version of the iPod touch with a camera and flash.



HardMac, the English language version of France's Macbidouille, posted an illustration of the next generation iPod touch in a clear case. The website claims the source of the image is "very reliable." The image appears to show a rounded back with a rear-facing camera and flash.



A rounded back would be a clear departure from the design of the iPhone 4, which has a flat glass back.



According to HardMac, the source has been reliable in the past, correctly confirming the inclusion of a camera on last year's iPod nano. Technical issues have been cited as the reason for the lack of a camera on last year's iPod touch model.



Although rumors of a camera-enabled iPod touch have persisted for several years, the June unveiling of Apple's FaceTime video call feature for the iPhone 4 served to strengthen the rumors. At that time, CEO Steve Jobs expressed plans to make the feature an "open industry standard" that works between different devices. When speculating which devices are likely to adopt the FaceTime standard, many analysts have kept the iPod touch at the top of their lists.







Reports from "supplier" sources corroborate the iPod touch camera rumor, although the details don't always match. In July, U.K. retailer John Lewis claimed the next iPod touch will have a 5 megapixel camera, while the Taiwanese publication Digitimes cited sources predicting a 3 megapixel camera.
«134

Comments

  • Reply 1 of 62
    paxmanpaxman Posts: 4,729member
    Makes sense to differentiate the iPod Touch form the iPhone. The iPod Touch is a thing of beauty and a unibody design makes sense due to its robustness. The camera will make many many users upgrade even if they don't technically need to do so. For just about all kids under the age of 20 (25?) the lack of a camera is a BIG bummer.
  • Reply 2 of 62
    One thing to take note is the lack of the iTunes icon...
  • Reply 3 of 62
    shadashshadash Posts: 470member
    I am wondering about the screen. Will they go Retina or leave it as is?
  • Reply 4 of 62
    sheffsheff Posts: 1,407member
    Apple - add a camera, increase RAM to 512MB and give us something like 800Mhz processor and make it 16GB min. iOS will add a crapton of new users.
  • Reply 5 of 62
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by shadash View Post


    I am wondering about the screen. Will they go Retina or leave it as is?



    Would be nice but I find it doubtful. How much money do they want to dump into just the Touch? And how could they keep up demand for the iTouch's that are identical to the iPhone 4 when they can't even keep up with the iPhone 4 itself? Only about a month away till we find out!
  • Reply 6 of 62
    mdriftmeyermdriftmeyer Posts: 7,503member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by shadash View Post


    I am wondering about the screen. Will they go Retina or leave it as is?



    They'll go Retinal with their push with OpenGL ES 2.0 Games.
  • Reply 7 of 62
    mdriftmeyermdriftmeyer Posts: 7,503member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by iPad999 View Post


    Would be nice but I find it doubtful. How much money do they want to dump into just the Touch? And how could they keep up demand for the iTouch's that are identical to the iPhone 4 when they can't even keep up with the iPhone 4 itself? Only about a month away till we find out!



    LG is not the only panel manufacturer in the world.
  • Reply 8 of 62
    paxmanpaxman Posts: 4,729member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by shadash View Post


    I am wondering about the screen. Will they go Retina or leave it as is?



    I can't see them not going with a retina display. By ramping up the volume prices will come down. My guess is that the next iPad will likewise be fitted with a retina display.
  • Reply 9 of 62
    deletedelete Posts: 48member
    One thing that's weird about that photo is that the iPod shows the dock from 3.1.3. You would think it would be running iOS4 (hopefully better than the old ones).
  • Reply 10 of 62
    mennomenno Posts: 854member
    I'd much rather see the camera be on the front of the device for facetime over having one on the back. (both wouldn't be bad)



    But seriously... why not have a front facing camera for facetime with this. It would be another way to push that standard.
  • Reply 11 of 62
    philboogiephilboogie Posts: 7,675member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by AppleInsider View Post


    Photo illustrations supposedly obtained from iPod case manufacturers show a new version of the iPod touch with a camera and flash.



    (...)Although rumors of a camera-enabled iPod touch have persisted for several years, the June unveiling of Apple's FaceTime video call feature for the iPhone 4 served to strengthen the rumors. At that time, CEO Steve Jobs expressed plans to make the feature an "open industry standard" that works between different devices. When speculating which devices are likely to adopt the FaceTime standard, many analysts have kept the iPod touch at the top of their lists.







    I don't see a front facing camera, so how / why are there speculating that FaceTime will come to the iPod touch? And if so, it will become a WiFi phone, making a jump to the iPhone less needed. (especially if people jailbreak them and use FaceTime over 3G)



    Or is my eyesight not 20/20?



    Cheers,

    Philippe
  • Reply 12 of 62
    cvaldes1831cvaldes1831 Posts: 1,832member
    Nah, this is a mockup/fake from last year.



    The iPod touch has always had the same display, CPU, graphics chip and overall style based on the iPhone.



    This rumor is B.S.
  • Reply 13 of 62
    sheffsheff Posts: 1,407member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by PhilBoogie View Post


    I don't see a front facing camera, so how / why are there speculating that FaceTime will come to the iPod touch? And if so, it will become a WiFi phone, making a jump to the iPhone less needed. (especially if people jailbreak them and use FaceTime over 3G)



    Or is my eyesight not 20/20?



    Cheers,

    Philippe



    I thought facetime for touch was to be baked into the next point iOS release. If official it could mean you could use a rear camera to do chat. It would be awkward but possible.



    I doubt we will see retina cause personally I don't see much of a difference. Please don't hate me too much Retina fans.
  • Reply 14 of 62
    solipsismsolipsism Posts: 25,726member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by paxman View Post


    I can't see them not going with a retina display. By ramping up the volume prices will come down.



    The only reason I can see them foregoing the Retina Display is if there was a lack of supply to fill the iPhone demand that won?t be met with the expected Holiday Season ramp up.



    Quote:

    My guess is that the next iPad will likewise be fitted with a retina display



    As great as that would be I think we are years away from that reality. If they go with 2x the resolution (4x the pixels) like they did with the iPhone, it will still be under what could be called a Retina Display but would still be the best display on the market for a ~10 display? and by a very wide margin. I?m not even sure it?s feasible to go with 2x the resolution in the next iPad based on the known display tech and costs for that size display.
  • Reply 15 of 62
    This is a fake. Period.



    If there is only one camera on the iPod Touch, I guarantee you it will be a front-facing Facetime camera. And we will not see the "old" rounded back iPhone design. Ridiculous.
  • Reply 16 of 62
    wigginwiggin Posts: 2,265member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by sheff View Post


    I doubt we will see retina cause personally I don't see much of a difference. Please don't hate me too much Retina fans.



    Except then developers will have to choose...create a low rez screen that will look poor scaled up on an iPhone or create a high-res screen that won't scale down well, or at all, to the touch. Sure, Apple could tell developers to create screens/graphics for both resolutions, but that makes it that much more work.



    Apple wants to encourage as much iOS development as possible. A Retina display on the touch would mean a single set of graphics would display well on iPhone, iPad, and the touch.
  • Reply 17 of 62
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by sheff View Post


    I thought facetime for touch was to be baked into the next point iOS release. If official it could mean you could use a rear camera to do chat. It would be awkward but possible.



    I doubt we will see retina cause personally I don't see much of a difference. Please don't hate me too much Retina fans.



    I can easily see the difference, even without my glasses. EASILY.



    Your argument is like someone saying "I doubt we'll see lossless playback in iTunes because 128MP3 sounds just fine to me".
  • Reply 18 of 62
    nagrommenagromme Posts: 2,834member
    Without the plastic case, that design could be just like the iPad. Makes sense to me!



    (And I predict a retina display—but not on the bottom model.)



    As for future iPads: I predict a res-doubling, either in the next model or the one after that. The resulting DPI would be about 264, vs. 286 as the alleged threshold for perceiving pixels at 1 foot with 20/20 vision. So, not quite a “retina display”... except that’s only a marketing term anyway. Change the name or justify the old name... either way, it’s just marketing, and wouldn’t stop the device being built. (And being worth the wait! I hope it comes within 6 months because I’m dying to get an iPad.)
  • Reply 19 of 62
    daharderdaharder Posts: 1,580member
    Possible... but Doubtful



    We'll See Soon Enough...
  • Reply 20 of 62
    It looks 'shopped to me.



    And how is it a "clear departure from the iPhone 4"? It looks like last year's iPod Touch, with a camera 'shopped in. The iPod can't "depart" from something it didn't look like.
Sign In or Register to comment.