Unverified photo suggests Apple to add camera to 7th-gen iPod nano - rumor

Posted:
in iPod + iTunes + AppleTV edited January 2014
A recently leaked photo purportedly shows Apple's seventh-generation iPod nano with a camera hole, though the report remains unverified.



Taiwanese Apple-related blog Apple.pro (via Google Translate), which has a history of leaking Apple hardware, posted the photo of the alleged next-generation iPod nano on Saturday. However, the author of the report was quick to note that he was unable to verify the authenticity of the image.



The author also hedged the report by asserting that the image was posted mainly for the fun of speculation, especially given that the time difference meant it was still April Fools' Day in America. As such, AppleInsider is unable to vouch for the veracity of the rumor and is including it here for discussion purposes only.



The report does, however, remind readers that the website has correctly leaked each of the previous six generations of the iPod nano in past years. The author speculates that Apple could follow the same pattern as with the last design of the iPod nano, where a camera was added during the update from the fourth-generation iPod nano to the fifth-generation without major changes to the form factor.







The addition of a camera to the next iPod nano could be an attempt by Apple to appease critics. Some initial reviews of the sixth-generation iPod nano were disappointed by the lack of a camera, noting that Apple had "given and taken away."



Last year, Apple.pro leaked photos of a 3cm-by-3cm touchscreen that were later confirmed to be of the multi-touch display for the unreleased sixth-generation iPod nano. Also in 2010, the site obtained pre-release photos of white and black front panels for the iPhone 4.



However, the site has also posted several MacBook related rumors which proved to be false, such as a report that Apple was working on a 15-inch MacBook Air and an photos of an alleged 13-inch MacBook casing.
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Comments

  • Reply 1 of 22
    charlitunacharlituna Posts: 7,217member
    Given that this was posted on April 1st, I really can't help wondering if it was a prank. That they have been correct in the past just makes the prank work because who would doubt them
  • Reply 2 of 22
    dave k.dave k. Posts: 1,306member
    Regardless, they have to do something with the iPod nano. The current nano is a great shuffle, but a lousy nano. They need to rethink the nano again...
  • Reply 3 of 22
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Dave K. View Post


    Regardless, they have to do something with the iPod nano. The current nano is a great shuffle, but a lousy nano. They need to rethink the nano again...



    Couldn't agree more. I thought it was a bad idea when they announced it, but bought one anyway. I returned it the next day, and vowed to hold on to my current nano for dear life.



    The touch UI doesn't work at that size imo.
  • Reply 4 of 22
    smiles77smiles77 Posts: 668member
    2 points.



    1) It doesn't make sense. On a lot of levels.

    2) I can't take it into work anymore.
  • Reply 5 of 22
    moewmoew Posts: 41member
    It doesn't matter.



    5M 8M 32M, we have all seen teens in point and shoots that lack high iso performance, current ip4 included.



    Give me better low iso performance up to 3200 iso like my current dslrs. Proper exposure requires very little noise reduction.



    Did you not get that? Then surf some pro imaging websites before you post.
  • Reply 6 of 22
    jragostajragosta Posts: 10,473member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by MOEW View Post


    Give me better low iso performance up to 3200 iso like my current dslrs. Proper exposure requires very little noise reduction.



    Did you not get that? Then surf some pro imaging websites before you post.



    Sorry, but you must not have learned much from your 'pro imaging websites' if you think that there's any way for something the size of the Nano to come close to a DLSR in imaging performance. It's just plain physically impossible with current technology.



    Now, some day, you may be able to get a quality 12 MP image from something the size of the nano- but by then DLSRs will have improved by an order of magnitude or more.
  • Reply 7 of 22
    wigginwiggin Posts: 2,265member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Dave K. View Post


    Regardless, they have to do something with the iPod nano. The current nano is a great shuffle, but a lousy nano. They need to rethink the nano again...



    The don't really need to rethink it...they need to unthink it. As in go back to the old design. Like they did with the buttonless shuffle fiasco. Twice now they've tried to depart from the original nano's basic design, and I predict they are going to go back to it again.



    There's really no point in having a touch screen on a device with such limited functionality and such a tiny screen. It's as if they made it a touch screen purely for the sake of making it a touch screen. And the only way to make it at the right price point was to make the screen tiny. Pointless! If they really want to make it a touch screen, it needs to be at least the size of the previous nano's screen. So take the previous design, lop off the scroll wheel, put the camera back into it along with the video playback capabilities. Anything less than that will continue to be nothing more than a super shuffle.
  • Reply 8 of 22
    aeolianaeolian Posts: 189member
    The current Nano is a joke!



    I love Apple, and hate to say it, but I have quite a few friends that bought 'something else' because of it. Their reason was because it was too small.



    I'm a passive Apple fan who will always play up a great product, and I think I'm one of their good real life saleswomen, but I think they went too far with this one. I couldn't believe it when I watched the Keynote. I hope they learn that small may mean TOO SMALL sometimes...



    I hope that 'nano' mentality doesn't move over to the phone aspect, because I love the iPhone 4.



    When it's lost in the wash, it's a lost product. IMHO.



    I'll hang on to my current Nano, pre-this-one, as stated by a previous post!
  • Reply 9 of 22
    frugalityfrugality Posts: 410member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Aeolian View Post


    I hope they learn that small may mean TOO SMALL sometimes...



    That's the last thing I remember my ex-girlfriend saying....





    hehehe





  • Reply 10 of 22
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by charlituna View Post


    Given that this was posted on April 1st, I really can't help wondering if it was a prank.



    Was thinking the same thing here as well.



    This is barely above putting a camera in a Shuffle...
  • Reply 11 of 22
    SpamSandwichSpamSandwich Posts: 33,407member
    A tiny camera on the shuffly might be kind of cool, but really wouldn't it just be adding stuff for the sake of adding stuff...? I'd rather they had good quality AM/FM radios on all the iPod products.
  • Reply 12 of 22
    sol77sol77 Posts: 203member
    Yeah, I'd say this is a prank...though last year I hiked Half Dome in Yosemite, and I remember wishing I had a clip on camera for the last 900 insane feet of that hike to take video. Seeing as how I rarely do anything worthy of a clip-on camera, I'd have little or no use for this.



    I admit I'm probably in a minority, here, given the complaints about the touch screen nano, but I really love it. I bought the tik-tok watch kit and have used it as a watch since Christmas. The batter lasts all week, and it charges insanely fast. Having been wearing it now for a few months I can tell you that it would be so, so, so nice to be able to receive push notifications from my phone. When? Text messages, phone call display, and emails. As I said, I know I'm probably in the minority, but I would buy a nano with these capabilities in a heart beat. If the nano had a vibrate function and pushed emails and texts and caller ID information every time I received one, I wouldn't have to go digging through my pockets only to find out it's a message I don't have to respond to (the vast majority), but still wanted to read. Does this make me a geek? No, it just makes me much more of a geek. But it a nice looking watch. Two other functions I'd like: a weather app akin to the weather app included on the ipod/iphone, and blu-tooth functionality so that I can use cordless ear buds or a headset. I work out three to four times a week, and this is what I use. Clip the earbud cable to my shoulder and it is kept nicely out the way, running up my arm. The second thing is a low power, "always on" watch display. I think it would be uncomfortable to use as a phone...and that idea is more the product of 1980's Dick Tracey/ Go Go Gadget watch fantasy over utility. It'd be nice if Apple opened the nano to developers for things like weather apps, converter calculators, watch faces, etc.



    I'm sure what I want here is niche, but as I said, I've worn this thing for several months now and can tell you - I'd love to receive text, email, and caller contact pushes. It would also allow me to get rid of phone ringing/alarms and use vibrate. On trips, I could use the vibrate function to wake from sleep, as well.



    I definitely respect the experience other people have had...a nano with a physical button set IS easier to use WHILE jogging...but the wake button can be set to skip to the next track or pause. Moreover, the reason I never have used an ipod without a visual display is because when I jog I like to pick and choose what I'm listening to...and it's simply easier to do on a touchscreen when you can easily look up by artist, and holding an ipod in my hand or a gigantor wrist band isn't for me. Not when I've got a watch that does the same thing.



    Using it as a phone? No. But a watch that receives push notifications/text/email/caller ID...each of which would save me shuffling through my pants? I love it. Or how about a text message feature that allows me to hit a large "reply" button, speak a few words like, "yep, be there at 7:30," and then hit send? That is incredibly useful to me. Will it happen? I kind of doubt it. But I'd be that one customer in line.
  • Reply 13 of 22
    hattighattig Posts: 860member
    The current design would be great if it was priced at the high end of the shuffle line.



    But it's just too small in my opinion for a fully fledged portable media player - although the clip is nice. It doesn't need a camera unless the design changes to make it holdable for taking video. The touch screen is fine, but maybe the nano should have remained a bit more rectangular, maybe with a 320x240 display, or even 480x240.



    I'm sure Apple will be aware of the sales figures though, and the next nano design will reflect how well the current design is selling.



    Or maybe they just want to force everyone into the iPod Touch upsell.
  • Reply 14 of 22
    moewmoew Posts: 41member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by jragosta View Post


    Sorry, but you must not have learned much from your 'pro imaging websites' if you think that there's any way for something the size of the Nano to come close to a DLSR in imaging performance. It's just plain physically impossible with current technology.



    Now, some day, you may be able to get a quality 12 MP image from something the size of the nano- but by then DLSRs will have improved by an order of magnitude or more.



    **this** is exactly the point!



    I own many DSLR's. Bring the features and capability to something "magical".



    Else, the iphone is just another watered down droid, or a simon. The magic has left apple and I'll bet they go on another loss bender... what was that.... 1997 or so?
  • Reply 15 of 22
    dagamer34dagamer34 Posts: 494member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by jragosta View Post


    Sorry, but you must not have learned much from your 'pro imaging websites' if you think that there's any way for something the size of the Nano to come close to a DLSR in imaging performance. It's just plain physically impossible with without cheating physics



    Now, some day, you may be able to get a quality 12 MP image from something the size of the nano- but by then DLSRs will have improved by an order of magnitude or more.



    Changed to be more accurate. It has nothing to do with technology. You cannot cheat physics.
  • Reply 16 of 22
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Dave K. View Post


    Regardless, they have to do something with the iPod nano. The current nano is a great shuffle, but a lousy nano. They need to rethink the nano again...



    Agreed, the current nano is a pitiful shadow of the original nano. I really wish they would bring back the ability to view video because that was one of my favorite features of the earlier nanos.
  • Reply 17 of 22
    eswinsoneswinson Posts: 99member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Smiles77 View Post


    2 points.



    1) It doesn't make sense. On a lot of levels.

    2) I can't take it into work anymore.





    Unless apple magically makes a camera appear on your nano over night you will still be able to take yours to work.
  • Reply 18 of 22
    eswinsoneswinson Posts: 99member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by SpamSandwich View Post


    A tiny camera on the shuffly might be kind of cool, but really wouldn't it just be adding stuff for the sake of adding stuff...? I'd rather they had good quality AM/FM radios on all the iPod products.





    Would be cool if it had a front facing cam and network connectivity.. could make for a nice video phone wrist watch ala 21st century Dick Tracy.
  • Reply 19 of 22
    dunksdunks Posts: 1,254member
    Skeptical, but if true the clip on the back would need a large cutout for the camera to see through without blocking the lens.



    I figure the current nano is designed purely as an upsell mechanism. I imagine the screen would appeal to many people in the market for a shuffle, while the iPod touch is a natural upgrade for those accustomed to the roomier screen dimensions of the previous nano.



    It's in Apple's interest to stimulate people to consider moving along the path towards purchasing devices like the iPhone, rather than purchasing the same model every year.
  • Reply 20 of 22
    tipootipoo Posts: 1,141member
    Remove camera and many other features. Call it a new generation. Add camera, another new generation. Great, just great.



    I guess this also would mean a return to video playback capability. Knowing Apple, the sixth gen won't get an update to add that support despite probably having a capable processor. Look at the Classics, the old ones never got the new functionality despite having nearly identical hardware.



    The Nano has gone far too long without a capacity doubling IMO, I'd be happy forgoing the camera if it came in 32GB.
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