Apple giving next-gen iPod Touch the OS X, um, touch?

You know the drill: open wide for a healthy dose of NaCl before reading on. Swell, now that your skeptic sensors are functioning, here are the latest whispers surrounding the up and coming iPod(s). According to 9to5Mac -- you know, the same folks who brought us this gem -- the next "flagship iPod" will be dubbed the iPod Touch, and while we're sure HTC fanboys are already getting riled up, you should know by now that Apple ain't scared of stealin' someone's name. Regardless of the title, it's the details here that are intriguing, namely the suggestion that a scaled-down version of OS X could be running the show. Interestingly enough, a report on AppleInsider nearly mirrors the idea, and mentions that a flavor of OS X could indeed be injected in the next round of iPods and nanos. Of course, all of these tidbits should still be regarded as speculation for the time being, but considering that Apple has been taking its sweet time in delivering the next iPod, it's not beyond the realm of belief.

[Thanks, Kiwi616]
Read - iPod Touch - the New Flagship iPod
Read - Apple to usher in era of Mac OS X-based iPods

[Bumpman @ Aug 23rd 2007 1:55PM]

As long as the next Nano can run Bioshock I'll be happy.

[mac snooper @ Aug 23rd 2007 2:17PM]

i stick to the sept 4th date on release of this and it will look very similar to the iphone...

thank you for your time.

[Ravi @ Aug 23rd 2007 1:55PM]

Hope these details are true! Here's a mockup I made:

http://flickr.com/photos/8402955@N06/1215831098/

[sir.keekles @ Aug 23rd 2007 1:59PM]

Kickass mockup.. i was really impressed.

[Constable Odo @ Aug 24th 2007 2:16PM]

What's that a mockup of? An iPod nano? The top-of-the-line iPod would never look like that thing. The killer 6G iPod MT will look like the iPhone less the cell capabilities and will have a 120 GB hard drive.

[yazata @ Sep 5th 2007 4:24AM]

The iPod it's cool, but WHY THE HELL BON JOVI?????? arghhhhhhhhhh

[Jonathan Allen @ Aug 23rd 2007 1:55PM]

I doubt the name change. Apple changed the name of the video iPod to simply iPod. Why would they add the "Touch" name to it?

[John Doe @ Aug 23rd 2007 2:27PM]

Because its not a video iPod. Its primary function first and foremost is to play audio. Video is an addon feature. Now if they redesign the iPod with a widescreen display. Obviously its primary design was will be for video.

[Bobster @ Aug 23rd 2007 1:56PM]

Now Apple, give it DivX support and then you have my sole attention.

[John Doe @ Aug 23rd 2007 2:28PM]

It won't have DIVX support. You can count on that. H.264 yes. DIVX...no.

[macona @ Aug 30th 2007 3:03PM]

Divx would never happen. No way is apple going to pay a license fee to DIVX for that. Now they could use open source Xvid... Still not gonna happen...

[JaggerM @ Aug 23rd 2007 1:58PM]

There is some evidence that this is true...

Hear me out. Right before the iPhone came out, LG (the iPhone screen maker and longtime Apple partner) came out with the Prada Touch Screen Phone. This phone is and was very close to the iPhone (read: Reference design). LG has recently come out in Asia with a touch screen media player that could be a shoe in for a new iPod.

Given apples history of using of the shelf components and no using LGs refernce design for the iPhone. A touch iPod based on the LG medua player is a possibilty.

OH..... by the way for the fan boys, yes Apple does a signficant amount of in huse design, but they rely significantly on some close partners for reference designs.

[Vizion @ Aug 23rd 2007 2:14PM]

Creative announces the Zen Nano
Apple announces the iPod Nano
Creative announces the Zen Touch
Apple announces the iPod Touch

Yeah, the name sounds right up their alley :)

[tom hellier @ Aug 24th 2007 12:51PM]

Creative ;)...


*slaps head*


Thats where apples "innovation" comes from. :P

Lmao, i'm not a creative fanboy :s I have a Zen vision:M and I broke the screen, lmao, I suck with mp3 players, I always break them :/ What I want is a big ol' fashioned jukebox to carry around on my back.

[carl @ Aug 24th 2007 3:34PM]

Well, innovation or not, Creative is were the UI came from....

[zip22 @ Aug 23rd 2007 2:28PM]

yeah, apple would totally steal creative's thunder by using a generic name creative used 3 years ago.

[thejode @ Aug 29th 2007 3:06AM]

Creative has thunder?

[Jason Stewart @ Aug 23rd 2007 2:37PM]

Frankly, I hope they don't use a "scaled down" OS X...unless they REALLY scale it down. Correct me if I'm mistaken, but doesn't the "scaled down" OS X on the iphone take up a huge amount of hard drive space?

[Alexander @ Aug 23rd 2007 2:54PM]

You are completely correct...

Except there is no HD in the iPhone.

Dumbass.

[Jason Stewart @ Aug 23rd 2007 4:55PM]

Oh, excuse me! Flash Drive! I guess speaking generically is too much for you to handle.

Jeez, get over yourself!

[Homeboy @ Aug 23rd 2007 2:39PM]

It's on the way folks and here is a preview of what the interface will be like, a bit different from the iPhone:

http://hrmpf.com/wordpress/90/apple-describes-new-interface-for-ipod

[roc ingersol @ Aug 23rd 2007 2:49PM]

judging by the iphone, even if they do add wifi it won't do anything interesting.
so, ya know, -whatever-.

I'm thinking it's going to wind up as a straightforward refresh with more storage and better battery life across the board, maybe a slightly shorter/thinner nano and a slightly taller ipod screen to accommodate widescreen video and the display changes based on orientation.

at this point i'd actually be surprised if they had the foresight to deliver a phone-less iphone + HDD as a standalone device - let alone as a replacement for the HDD ipod.

[Dave95 @ Aug 23rd 2007 3:48PM]

So you're saying the iPhone don't do anything interesting? Your in the minority here bud.
If this new iPod is based on the iPhone, (sans the Phone part), then it will sell very very well. It's due for a major refresh!

[roc ingersol @ Aug 23rd 2007 4:13PM]

not with its wifi it doesn't.

it browses the web, it does email. whoopity doo.
it doesn't do anything peer to peer, or wireless purchase or wireless sync'ing, etc.
damn thing doesn't even do chat yet. and when you have a closed platform, that's actually a problem.

[Dave95 @ Aug 23rd 2007 6:12PM]

Again you're in the minority here

Yes even I would love to see all of that in the iPhone and the new iPod, but given a choice of buying or waiting and waiting forever for them to implement these, I would choose to buy. And judging by the success of the iPhone so far, many feel the same way.

[thetransporter @ Aug 23rd 2007 2:53PM]

YAY, I can't wait for the next iGAY to arrive!

[MrGam3r @ Aug 23rd 2007 4:31PM]

you said "iGAY"

yes i agree..you probably are gay......

[wtf @ Aug 23rd 2007 5:22PM]

i'm so sick of all you homophobes throwing that word around. what would a "gay" ipod be, anyway? well-dressed and found of kylie minogue? grow up and stop being so stupid and offensive!

[thetransporter @ Aug 23rd 2007 5:17PM]

Actually, you being a Mac-fanboy means that YOU own an iGAY meaning YOU are gay. I don't own one because I don't want to announce to the world that I like crappy, conformist, and overpriced products. While you are forking over $500 for a phone with a touch screen that lasts 6 months and a battery 1 year, check this out http://appledefects.com/. Macfanatics blind faith in Jobs is the ONLY reason people buy their products--much akin to extremist religions. I suggest you seek the truth...

[thetransporter @ Aug 23rd 2007 5:28PM]

@ wtf

sorry about the misconstrued meanings. that was never my intention. peace all.

[MrGam3r @ Aug 23rd 2007 8:52PM]

so you're assuming im a mac fanboy? i do not and have never owned a imac or a macbook or any kind of apple computer....so yeah...im THE ULTIMATE mac fanboy..

[MrGam3r @ Aug 23rd 2007 8:59PM]

just joking around anyways.....nothing personal...if you don't like something....don't bash it because other people do like it...

[Frank @ Aug 23rd 2007 3:01PM]

It will act like the iphone but with wifi... so ofcourse it will need a scaled down version of OSX.

[DR PEPPER @ Aug 23rd 2007 3:14PM]

Sounds very cool. Apple's always putting out some nice kit.

[Vwartenbenschnuggen @ Sep 9th 2007 11:59PM]

I highly honor your name good sir! You recognize the greatest drink to ever exist!

[Oozer @ Aug 23rd 2007 3:18PM]

Apple already confirmed this themselves. Heck, it came from Jobs himself. It was in his internal "Jobsnote" done the day the iPhone launched. Here's the link to your own post about it:

http://www.engadget.com/2007/06/28/internal-jobsnote-reveals-new-ipods-macs/

And here's the quote straight from that article:

"mentioned new OS X-based iPods that the company was working on"

[Derwin @ Aug 23rd 2007 3:20PM]

Okay, I admit it, the "NaCl" reference was clever.

[RoCKSTaH226 @ Aug 23rd 2007 3:34PM]

This would be awesome especially if they FINALLY added the ability to shop and download music from the iTunes Music Store! Come out with an iPod that can do what the Zune uses to differentiate itself, and watch the Zune sales PLUMMET! hahaha

[kcar @ Aug 23rd 2007 3:53PM]

Gosh, this couldn't be better than a Zune! I love my Zune! It's so heavy and brown and retro! I squirt my friends all the time! Microsoft rawks!

[Constable Odo @ Aug 23rd 2007 4:07PM]

What do you mean when you say you squirt your friends all the time? You mean you squirt on them? With what? A water-gun Zune?

[Kevin @ Aug 25th 2007 6:19AM]

no, his diarrhea-brown zune. i shudder to think he squirts people with such a zune. i shudder to think of zunes in general, come to think of it.

[Mindfield @ Aug 23rd 2007 7:15PM]

Nice mockup. Something tells me it won't bear that much of a resemblance to the iPhone though.

I'm not particularly surprised at this rumour. That it will more or less be based around the iPhone just makes sense, given that most of the gruntwork on that front was already done in the form of the iPhone's own iPod-esque component. All they need to do is beef that up with familiar iPod video features (virtual scrollwheel or similar) and they'll be pretty much set. I'm curious what they'll do with the iPod games though. They'll need to be ported for iPodOSX in order to remain functional, or the iPodOSX will have to have some level of compatibility with the old iPod OS.

[MrGam3r @ Aug 23rd 2007 8:58PM]

just joking around anyways.....nothing personal...if you don't like something....don't bash it because other people do like it...

[Daniel Spiegelman @ Aug 24th 2007 12:49AM]

There was a Creative Zen Nano, then an Ipod Nano. There was a Cisco Iphone, not the Apple iPhone. Apple stole creatives PMP os. And has noone heard of the Creative Zen Touch?

[William @ Aug 24th 2007 11:59AM]

I really hope Apple just calls it the iPod, like the old days. Naming it the iPod Video or Touch departed away from Apple's emphasis for simplicity.

Apple will most likely incorporate some form of a touch-screen capability. If the iPhone has better music navigation than the true music player called the iPod, Apple is high. They will most likely introduce a more superior or the same music interface as the iPhone because the iPhone is meant to be a hand-held everything, not a genuine music player.

Ravi, the mock-up you created is impressive. I wouldn't be surprised if it was real, but I would sure be disappointed. One of the reasons I liked Apple was their color coordination. Glossy white or black really caught my attention. I lauded Apple for figuring out that a beautiful design isn't elaborate, especially in the modern days. I own a black MacBook, a 80GB iPod Video black, and an Airport Extreme which is stunning for a router. Now that Apple is taking the aluminum and black look, it seems they've wandered off what they were masters at. The black and aluminum finish just don't match. The new iMac isn't what it stood for anymore. I just hope the new approach doesn't continue on. I want the glossy white and piano black back. Those two colors are the trademarks of Apple.

[Kevin @ Aug 24th 2007 6:51PM]

kylie minogue...isn't she like anna kournikova-hot? i would think that would mean straight people would be more fond of her than gay people...yet you accuse a gay ipod of being well dressed and fond of kylie minogue. i'm confused.

[Ian @ Aug 28th 2007 9:51PM]

Question: If I wait until September 6th to buy a MacBook with my education discount and get the free iPod, will I be able to get one of the new iPods, or will I be stuck with the old ones still?

[edwinrogers @ Aug 28th 2007 10:16PM]

You should get a new iPod, not an ex-new-iPod.

[Casper42 @ Aug 28th 2007 9:56PM]

120GB? When will Apple learn.

1) 200/250GB version. There are plenty of 4200 and 5400 rpm laptop drives on the market in this size now, wake up and smell the storage.

2) XVid / DIVX Support is a must. If they were smart, they would also look into DIVX Ultra compatibility.

3) Other new formats can be added via firmware/download. Things like WMV9 and some of the other new HD formats would be ideal.

4) Lastly, if they really want to make a truly awesome device, slap a HDMI port on that sucker. Its small and combines your Video and Audio into a single cable. No more crappy custom docking solutions, just a miniUSB port(Control / Synch) and HDMI port (Watch/Listen) and be done with it.

[Zeke @ Aug 29th 2007 9:25PM]

When will *you* learn?
iPods use 1.8" drives. Laptops use 2.5" drives. If you want to carry around a huge-ass iPod, more power to you, but the current limit ( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hard_Drive#Capacity_and_access_speed ) is 120GB for a 1.8", and the 80GB iPod is pretty much the biggest thing on the market. Just a few weeks ago Hitachi announced their 160GB drives, and do you think that they just MIGHT be coincidentally putting this in a new iPod?

H.264 can kick Xvid's ass any day. And the screen will probably be 480x320, which isn't even enough for the HD stuff you're talking about.
Might want to learn some definitions and basic specs, dude.