14 DAY TRIAL // Apple’s iPod is expected to receive a facelift sometime soon, possibly in 2019, but details on how exactly the Cupertino-based tech giant sees the future of this device aren’t available right now.
But a recently discovered trademark update could provide us with a hint as to how the iPod could evolve when a new generation comes out.
Apple has quietly updated the iPod touch trademark coverage to include what are being called “handheld units for playing electronic games [and] handheld game consoles.”
In other words, these are the categories the iPod touch would fit in, so Apple’s focus appears to be switching towards playing games. Therefore, some are already dreaming about a small gaming console from Apple, a thing that would technically reinvent the iPod from the ground up.
Previously, the trademark description of the iPod touch was the following and included no reference to gaming:
“Portable and handheld digital electronic devices for recording, organizing, transmitting, manipulating, and reviewing text, data, audio and video files; computer software for use in organizing, transmitting, manipulating, and reviewing text, data, audio and video files on portable and handheld digital electronic devices.”
Don’t hold your breath for a new iPod
Obviously, there’s always a chance that Apple doesn’t look for anything else than trademark protection, so in this case Cupertino might try to make sure that other companies won’t launch a gaming device similar to the iPod.
However, given all the speculation that an iPod makeover is on its way, there’s a good chance this is exactly what is happening under the closed doors in Cupertino. A gaming focus for the iPod would make sense at some level, especially as Apple has touted the gaming capabilities of the iPhone on several occasions, but it remains to be seen if this is the approach that the company wants to embrace.
As for the ETA for the new iPod touch, there’s a chance it could see daylight at an Apple event in the spring, as the fall unveiling is typically exclusive to the iPhone.