6G iPod UI video: Apple's new interface?

According to this MacRumors video -- which has since been pulled per request of Apple's legal department -- the new iPod interface will look a lot like the iPhone. Go figure. Of course, there's always the chance that this video might be a fake, but if that's the case, why is Apple so worried about it? See for yourself after the break.

[Via DAPReview]

[humpty @ Jul 22nd 2007 10:15AM]

Meh, I'll take REAL buttons, thanks.

[siriusfox @ Jul 22nd 2007 11:32AM]

As for buttons, this type of UI would be designed around the click-wheel. Look at the add/delete button. It is a slider, if it was a touch screen they'd make it two buttons.

As for the guy below with the problems about the clock. I've spotted them too. The clock times are mismatched. Seconds are a constant, but on the two clocks side by side they are different, and on the main clock they don't even move. Not only that, but on the clock selector they use a partial transparency. You'll see the world man faintly moving behind the clocks. This shows that not only do they have transparency, they have full 8bit transparency (like in PNG), as compared to the 1bit used in GIF. Yet on the main page with album art on the right 25% of the screen they couldn't use any transparency to give you a bigger view of the album artwork? I like much of what I see here, but I have a hard time trusting that this is what we'll see.

[Fatima @ Jul 22nd 2007 12:14PM]

ignorant fool

[Zombie Dog @ Jul 22nd 2007 2:07PM]

the real problem with the clocks is that the second hands move at different rates. The top clock is about to overtake the bottom clock just the bottom clock is deleted. That, and the interaction with the GUI is non intuitive- why does the world clock country setting slide across from any ol' direction instead of being consistent? It's a poorly done fake.

[little willy @ Jul 22nd 2007 4:52PM]

Chances are - Apple released this themselves and requested it be taken down themselvesto throw people off the scent or they saw this was released and played the 'let's get an Apple Legal take down request so everyone thinks it's something we've got'.

Makes sense no?

[Tino @ Jul 22nd 2007 10:15AM]

Its fake, the eyecandy is wrong in some place. aka, clock?

[Ellianth @ Jul 22nd 2007 11:11AM]

how is it wrong? i don't understand.

[Tino @ Jul 22nd 2007 11:36AM]

look carefully. Pause the video and look at the seconds. The seconds should be 100% the same. Programming is math, If another another country has the sametime, it has the same seconds... look athe seconds on that timeframe...

[Robert Hawley @ Jul 22nd 2007 10:16AM]

I did see a comment on another site that the text are not apples usual ones used.

[John @ Jul 22nd 2007 12:44PM]

The iPhone used Helvetica, too. This idea isn't too far-fetched.

Frankly, I'd be more than pleased to see Apple stop using Myriad. The designers use it wisely, but it has opened the floodgates for billions of knockoff designs (along with that damned reflection treatment).

[StreetStealth @ Jul 22nd 2007 4:49PM]

Apple doesn't use Myriad in any apps, though -- they only use that on branding-related stuff (ads, packaging, signs, in-store POP, etc.). OSX uses Lucida Grande, and I thought it was kind of strange that the iPhone uses Helvetica instead of that.

Complicating things further, the iPod has used this weird custom one called "Podium Sans" ever since it went color. But it would make sense to bring it over to the iPhone's Helvetica.

[Paul Ford @ Jul 22nd 2007 10:21AM]

Everyone keeps speculating on a new iPhone this fall. Wouldn't it make more sense that they would trend the new iPods toward the iPhone design? all the small touch panel orders could just be for the new iPods. Still think this ones a fake though.

[Ant @ Jul 22nd 2007 7:10PM]

I think your right about the small touch panels, I didn't realise there were details of a small panel shipment. Why the hell would Apple bring out the iPhone and then just after (or is it before) global release bring out another less expensive, smaller version. No way, they’d be mad. My money is defiantly on the 6gen iPod before Christmas now. I'd bet also that most of the multi-touch stuff on the iPhone has been brought across from the 6gen iPod not the other way around. As for this video, it looks like a 5gen test to me from way back that got scraped cus of the battery drain. I read on one the Engadget comments of a rumoured micro thumbwheel being developed for the 6gen, so I guess it might have touch-screen and click wheel to maintain its in-the-pocket value. But the screen on this video has no height. Fake.

[Tino @ Jul 22nd 2007 10:21AM]

The Seconds are wrong, look at the 0:14seconds.
Look at clocks, look how the seconds are apart by 1 Second but they are the same time?

[Chuckles McGee @ Jul 22nd 2007 10:28AM]

Good observation. It seems that when the person flips over to add the second clock, the second hand displayed stops as they scroll down to select the country. For the second they spend doing this, the second clock doesn't sync with the first. Whether this is a bug in the early firmware or it's just a fake remains to be seen.

[mentalsticks @ Jul 22nd 2007 12:33PM]

also, the movement of the second hand would never be smooth; it'd jump from second to second.

[Vinay @ Jul 22nd 2007 1:04PM]

I have a Timex watch that can set times for more than one zone upto the second. Maybe it's the same here...

[Karan @ Jul 22nd 2007 6:19PM]

second hands on expensive watches don't jump from second to second, they have a constant sweep.

[Zadillo @ Jul 22nd 2007 10:27AM]

To answer the question Engadget posted; sometimes a company wants something pulled not because it is real, but because perhaps it might set false expectations (positive or negative) for a product. A fake interface can have that impact as well.

[Josh H. @ Jul 22nd 2007 10:33AM]

ya... thats what i was thinking... i applaud them for taking time to do this, but its actually pretty ugly at best... i definatly would not but an ipod like this

[Zadillo @ Jul 22nd 2007 10:36AM]

Indeed. Other people have mentioned that it might be real, but an early design mockup (which would make sense, since it does look like a sort of earlier rough UI concept, as opposed to a finish product).

[Phil Perman @ Jul 22nd 2007 10:34AM]

The real question is, who really has any need for a world clock? A lot of time in the video dedicated to a feature that 99% of the people will have no use for

[Sneakz @ Jul 22nd 2007 10:48AM]

Nice mockup but I agree with others. That isn't real. As Zadillo said, it is probably an early design, probably many of the release candidates.

[Nate @ Jul 22nd 2007 10:53AM]

Personally, I'd just like my media player to do just that: play media. All of this eyecandy is getting obnoxious.

Not to mention draining precious battery life.

[SteveMB @ Jul 22nd 2007 10:59AM]

That video was a complete waste of time.

[Furyan @ Jul 22nd 2007 11:08AM]

I'm more interested in the Beatles music being available than the interface change.

[Mike Morris @ Jul 22nd 2007 12:54PM]

More interested in the Beatles music being available? *cough* Ever heard of Brick and Mortar?

[Dman @ Jul 22nd 2007 11:09AM]

I'm not completely against what is shown here, I could see taking a few in directions similar to this making the iPod more attractive in presentation, though with the lack of CoverFlow I can't really buy it. Apple is pushing CoverFlow through 10.5 and iPhone, it's something I think we'll see here too.

The next un-Apple-like feature is the battery life icon and menubar inconsistently shrinking and extending (just to show only part of an album cover?), its not something a company familiar with great UI would have a user searching for with their eyes every screen.

[Mike @ Jul 22nd 2007 11:11AM]

I'm really looking forward to a 6G iPod (an ipod with the look of the iphone) but if this turned out to be it, I'd stick with my 5G.

The "split screens" looks a bit ugly and almost every screen showed noticeable slowdown. I don't see why they would go out of their way to create a new ipod interface when the iPhone is the "best ipod ever".

It also seems as if the interface in the video is the same size as the existing ipod - you'd think they would move to a widescreen/touchscreen one.

[Leonard Nimrod @ Jul 22nd 2007 11:53AM]

And it lists only a few African cities. With Mac OS X and iPhone OS X both with a well-worn clock app there is no need for these other cities to not be included unless the developer of the fake was lazy.

The most likely scenario is that uses the same aspect ratio as the iPhone (if not the same size) and has the same basic functionality and look. This fake has neither.

We should all see the home screen have seperate buttons for Video, Music, and Podcats since its main purpose is as an iPod.

[Mike @ Jul 22nd 2007 11:11AM]

FFFFFAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKEEEEEEEEEEEEE

Whoever created this mock up clearly didn't research very well or did it on purpose. Look at the album list.

[Duh @ Jul 22nd 2007 11:14AM]

Apple pulled this video for the reasons proven by the comments above. People become skeptical of the new iPod and ruins the new iPod's image.

[Paul @ Jul 22nd 2007 11:17AM]

More importantly this video would state that the "new" Ipod is NOT touch screen as you don't see any fingers in the video.

[Andy Grey @ Jul 22nd 2007 11:23AM]

Haha this cracks me up you guys debating so many things in this video to determine if it's real when there is one shining thing that proves there is no way Apple had anything to do with this. There is no track on the album Love by the beatles titled Across the Universe. I have the album, I've listened to it so many times and if you need further examination, here's the wiki article with all the tracks listed. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Love_%28The_Beatles_album%29

Could not be more fake. Apple had nothing to do with this one.

[Jason @ Jul 22nd 2007 11:29AM]

If you look at the way the interface is set up, it seems fairly obvious that it's for the regular ipod click wheel. For example, the add/delete slider for the world clock app only makes sense if you scroll to either option and click a hardware button to choose. Slightly prettier looking than the regular ipod menus, but probably not much more practical. This is not a comment on the validity of their claims, just that either apple's new ipod won't have touch screens, or that some speculative faker thinks they won't.

[Homeboy @ Jul 22nd 2007 11:33AM]

It's FAKE!!!
There are a millions flaws and faults in the video.

[Alex @ Jul 22nd 2007 11:36AM]

I don't think Apple pulled the video because its the real interface. They probably had it pulled because it shows a Beatles album, which they don't have a license to use.

[Wwhat @ Jul 22nd 2007 11:50AM]

Perhaps engadget should spin off a sistersite 'applegadget.com', assuming appletoadies.com is taken already :x

[Bad Beaver @ Jul 22nd 2007 12:05PM]

I'm sure if you and all your contacts live happily in some swamp nobody ever leaves, you will have no need for a world clock. Most other people like to know what time it is elsewhere every now and then.

As for the video - naaah, does not look like something Apple would let out of the door.

[mark @ Jul 22nd 2007 12:11PM]

everyones doubts about the Seconds and the clock are only partly correct...
if you are in Mac osx Dashboard and drop 3 or 4 of those world clocks onto it, nearly every clock ticks different... of course they should all be perfectly the same... and perhaps it's the same "error" on this iPod.
imo the "bigger" error is that they both state 5:55 am and some of the beatles songs are completly wrong... and every recent fake had at least a beatles cover or song playing to tease everyone and let them go "omg the beatles are finally coming to the itms!! - oh and look at the new iphone mini-3G-supernano, kewl!"


i don't know but MacRumors either had to remove the videos because they got a C&D order or because they trapped into a hoax...
It's obviously rather easy to fake such a video if you have mediocre photoshop/aftereffects/motion/whatever skills...
let's sit and wait... we'll see :)

[Bogdan @ Jul 22nd 2007 1:03PM]

Still no drag-and-drop support for iPod , Apple? Thanks, I'll pass.

[Bill @ Jul 22nd 2007 1:36PM]

haha, the infamous b3atle love bug

[constantnormal @ Jul 22nd 2007 1:36PM]

This is not news.

It would be news if the 6G iPod did NOT strongly resemble the iPhone.

[Esquare @ Jul 22nd 2007 1:44PM]

Does this really mean that Paul McCartney is dead?

[Geoffrey Sperl @ Jul 22nd 2007 9:39PM]

You are the Eggman.
I am the Walrus.

[Mikko @ Jul 22nd 2007 2:38PM]

I think it is not fake.
- The UI has kind of feel what Apple would make without been copied straight from iPhone.
- The Beatles iTunes deal would make great addition to new 6G iPod launch.
- Internet is full of different iPod mock-ups. Apple has never paid attention to rumours or mockups if there's not something to it.

[ravuya @ Jul 22nd 2007 2:44PM]

The battery meter is inconsistent between the various 'screens', which is strange.

[Future Josh @ Jul 22nd 2007 3:19PM]

Personally...It wouldn't make sense that Apple would deviate from their current UI for the iPod, Clock, etc. applications on the iPhone, which in my opinion are beautiful. I will guarantee that this video is a fake and Apple more than likely removed it because they didn't want to let customers down. I know these sentiments are echoed above, so sorry for the repeat. One thing I would like to see... is that with the launch of these new iPods, the release of The Beatles work. I think this would make for a nice marketing move for my generation (28) as well as older. The iPhone is so easy to use that my grandmother and parents were easily able to make calls and listen to music. I think this could be the BEST iPod yet. I can't wait!

Tangent: I do want to figure out why Apple has left the drag and drop function in favor of sync. This does not make me a happy camper.

[Billy @ Jul 22nd 2007 3:46PM]

I like how the video spends the most time on the world clock, as if anyone gives a crap about that feature. What a truly worthless video.

[scott @ Jul 22nd 2007 3:47PM]

i can not believe that these so called computer geeks can't tell that this was cartoon for advertising. anyway the ablum is a fake. it is just a commerical to show what the stupid product can do.
god, you people a stupid!!!!!!
no wonder you spend so much time on the web. because in real life you wouldn't make a hill of shit!