A lot of people were looking forward to the new iPod Touch, but the expected September release didn’t happen in the end. Apple seemed to be having some issues with the final production stages of the device, and it was pushed several months back. Now, it seems that the company is preparing to release the new iPod Touch sometime in the spring of 2015. A few months later, they’re going to release the iWatch as well, if rumors are true.
Apple haven’t said much about the iPod Touch 6 recently, and they haven’t explained the delay. Rumors allegedly coming from within the company claim that they have decided to wait a little longer and see how their new iPhones are going to perform before releasing the new iPod Touch. It makes sense, as the iPod Touch is basically a clone of the iPhone minus the phone features; if the new larger iPhone design turns out to be more successful than the original one, the company could decide to also redesign the iPod Touch or release an additional version similar to the larger iPhone 6.
Some of the rumors go as far as to claim that Apple haven’t even started manufacturing the device yet, as a lot could change in the last minute as they’re evaluating the market performance of the iPhone 6. If this is true, the speculation about a possible release in 2015 might be a bit premature. However, Apple do have some serious resources in the manufacturing department, so it wouldn’t be that surprising if they managed to pull off a short-term release like that.
It’s also possible that the iPod Touch 6G will also feature Apple Pay, Apple’s NFC-based mobile payment system. This could be another possible explanation for the device’s delay, although some skeptics have been claiming that implementing payment in this device wouldn’t make too much sense. NFC payment systems are traditionally tied to mobile phones, not other types of mobile gadgets (at least not ones without cellular connectivity), so it might be a bit unusual to see the platform in the new iPod Touch.
In any case, Apple have been quite successful in ensuring that the iPod stays relevant, in an age when more and more people are switching to using their smartphones for music exclusively. The iPod Touch is still a popular device and there seem to be plenty of interested potential buyers for the new model, but some have been claiming that Apple should try to innovate a bit more, and give music fans a true reason to have a dedicated music player device nowadays, such as extra storage or advanced software.