Filed under: Analysis / Opinion, iPod Family, Rumors, Apple, Leopard
Rumor: OS X on the iPod in September
The latest rumor to hit the iPod trail, besides the obviously faked nanos, is that the iPod is headed for an OS X-based system, and that Apple is planning to unify all of their products. This one's actually be floating around for a bit, and at this point, it's almost more of an educated inference than a rumor at all-- Apple has already shown that they're looking to start making connections across product lines. CoverFlow moved from iTunes to the iPhone, and we've already seen evidence that the iPhone interface may find a place in OS X proper.So it's only natural that the iPod would join the crowd. What will that entail? More CoverFlow, more album art, a better iPhoto '08 interface. So far, the same old click wheel seems to be involved (so no phone-less iPhone yet), but in general, a flashier interface than the old scrolling text screens we're used to.
While we've heard (and speculated) on all of this before, this is the first time we've heard a solid date: AppleInsider is saying that by the end of September (before the holiday season), we'll be looking at an iPod with OS X on it. I don't disagree-- if Apple is planning to update the iPod in this way, they'd want to do it before the holidays. If we don't see anything by October, my guess is we'll have to wait until early 2008 to see any updates at all. Of course, by that point, we'll be too ga-ga over Leopard to worry about it.
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Aaron said 2:08PM on 8-23-2007
TUAW quoting AI without a giant "GRAINT OF SALT" disclaimer? Have you guys pulled a Dvork and just TRIED to gin up attention, no matter how negative or ridiculing it may be?
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m said 2:13PM on 8-23-2007
oh no! another thing for erica to hack and blog about!
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Mike Schramm said 2:29PM on 8-23-2007
Here at TUAW, anything labeled "rumor" means "take it with a grain of salt." The September date is likely just a big guess, but isn't an OS X-based iPod more or less a foregone conclusion?
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Andrew Clark said 2:38PM on 8-23-2007
the "obviously faked nanos" were ordered to be taken down from gizmodo by apple legal on the ground that its their intellectual property, which is a good sign that the were at one point at least a prototype. same thing happened a month ago with this wierd looking aluminum keyboard. . .
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wade said 2:36PM on 8-23-2007
Umm, your "obviously faked" Nano shots just got a take down notice from Apple legal over at Gizmodo. They said to remove the pics because they were Apple property.
http://gizmodo.com/gadgets/awnoes/ipod-nano-spy-shots-confirmed-as-real-by-apple-legal-292524.php
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Scott said 2:41PM on 8-23-2007
If those 3G nanos are real, they've buried Jonathan Ive in a trunk in the basement in Cupertino.
As far as OSX on the iPods, if they want to put it on the big white ones, I'm fine with it. But is this really necessary for the nanos? I'd rather they use their limited memory and processing power on the music library. Putting OSX on everything seems a little too much like Microsoft deciding that "Windows CE" was a great mobile platform because it was Windows. And what about the shuffles? Do those become the orphans of the line, the only ones left running old software?
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Finalboss said 2:43PM on 8-23-2007
http://www.applesfera.com/images/2007/08/nano_applesfera.jpg
http://www.applesfera.com/images/2007/08/07nano_beatles2.jpg
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Joe said 2:55PM on 8-23-2007
Yeah, I'm hesitant to call those nano images "obviously fake." It was taken by pointing a camera at a monitor showing the photoshop document, but the nature of the shot seemed to be that someone was working on a piece of marketing material when the "spy shot" was taken.
9to5 has a short but accurate track record, and they were asked to take down the image - plus, they just reported on some more specific rumors about what is coming soon, and when it's coming. A takedown notice doesn't mean it's genuine, but I wouldn't say that it's "obviously fake."
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Mo said 2:58PM on 8-23-2007
Um, didn't Gruber blog around the 29th June that at the internal Apple event where His Steveness announced all the Apple employees would be getting free iPhones, he also told everybody that the next generation of iPods would be built on the same (software, at the very least) technology—i.e., OS X?
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Staticoranges said 3:55PM on 8-23-2007
Mo is exactly correct. I was going to bring up the same thing. El Jobso himself already said that the new iPods will have OS X
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Zach said 4:10PM on 8-23-2007
For the love of God please up the maximum HD from 80GB!
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Cody Austin said 6:35PM on 8-23-2007
Don't they call an iPod with OSX an iPhone.
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michelle21 said 8:39PM on 8-23-2007
I'll only be interested in this if it has lots of disk space, above 40 gb and wifi. What can I say I'm spoiled streaming video to my iphone. The question I'm toying with is how safe legalwise will it be for me if I allow other people to stream video from there home servers over wifi to your iphone at your local starbucks.
But to get back to the original, I think now thats you have the iphone, and as bad as it is the zune has wifi, wifi is going to have to be a prerequisite for future ipods.
mooncatventures.blogspot.com
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Ondroo said 5:47AM on 8-25-2007
I can attest to the fact that apple is bringing out new ipods... soon. I'm guessing its to replace the 30/80gb video ipods. All around my town (here in Australia) there is hardly anyone stocking them and they can't order any more in - a definate sign of a replacement soon.
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JP said 4:56PM on 8-31-2007
I went to 4 different best buys today to get an iPod because I don't have one yet. All of them told me they aren't stocking the current generation anymore, same with walmart. Everyone is sold out and are awaiting the new replacements by Sept. 5th.
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