Apple's iPod Media Event Rumored for Mid-September Date

[MacRumors]

All Things D reports that Apple's traditional iPod-focused media event may be scheduled for a mid-September date this year, slightly later than in recent years. Apple's iPod media events are traditionally held on either Tuesday or Wednesday, suggesting September 14th or 15th as possible dates.

According to several sources and as has been widely expected, Apple will once again be holding its annual special event, possibly closer to mid-September this time.

Apple (AAPL), which has had a fall hello-there confab every year since 2005, waited until August 31 last year to announce its "Let's Rock" event on September 9 at the Yerba Buena Center for the Arts Theater in San Francisco.

Just last week, a rumor surfaced that Apple might be holding its iPod event in mid-August this year, several weeks earlier than usual. With less than six days to go before the end of that rumored timeframe and no invitations yet issued by Apple, it is appearing unlikely that the rumor is correct.

As for Apple's product release plans for the media event, whenever it might take place, there is strong evidence for a refreshed iPod touch, with claims of a high-resolution Retina display and both front- and rear- facing cameras. A refreshed iPod nano is also expected, with some sources wondering if an tiny Apple-branded touch screen that surfaced last month might make its way into an iPod product of some sort.

Apple may also be offer some music-related announcements such as a cloud-based streaming iTunes, although recent rumors suggest that the company is scaling back on its plans in that area and may still not be ready to make any announcements.

Article Link: Apple's iPod Media Event Rumored for Mid-September Date

 

[3583582]

Seems to me a lot of people is simply guessing to get some traffic..

 

[ouimetnick]

So maybe iLife 2011 and iWork 2011 will be announced the 17th as rumored?

 

[Hellhammer]

Back To School promo ends September 7th, that's the earliest for an iPod event. A week after that sounds reasonable as well, the mid Aug rumor was baseless

 

[troller]

Seems to me a lot of people is simply guessing to get some traffic..

SIGNED!!!

 

[Superdrive]

Time to bring FaceTime to the iPod Touch. Also, since a lot of us just bought iPads, leave those alone.

 

[itsmeok]

I believe the touch screen has found optimized size in iphone/itouch. Any smaller, especially on a nano, would be difficult to maneuver.

Frankly, it is kinda difficult to foresee apple doing something like this.

 

[aughsum]

Time to bring FaceTime to the iPod Touch. Also, since a lot of us just bought iPads, leave those alone.

iPads will be refreshed in january.

Wonder if they'll include AppleTV in this event... is it still listed on the site under ipod accessories?

Also - prediction for the small LCD is still some kind of iWatch.

 

[SwiftLives]

I'm willing to bet they're going to take the iPod Classic on a peaceful little boat ride early that morning with Fredo...

I wouldn't be surprised to see the media event on September 8th - the day after the back-to-school promo expires.

 

[gatearray]

iPads will be refreshed in january.

Hmmm, refresh iPads in January? Right after Christmas when everybody is broke and worrying about paying off their massive credit card bills? Wouldn't be a very smart business decision.

And before anyone here says that they will be "announced" in January, nope, Apple doesn't do that either, because then nobody would buy the current models while they wait for the refresh. The only reason it was announced in 1/10 and sold in 4/10 is because it was a brand new product and not available anywhere anyway.

The iPad refresh will be a surprise, technically like every other refresh they do. One day it's the old Macbook, the next day it's the new one, with only a hopeful rumor a day or two before to give us nerds the head's up.

The only reason we all suspect new iPods in a couple weeks is because we have recognized the iPod pattern. There is no iPad pattern as of yet, just educated guesses as to how it will go down. My educated guess is April 2011.

 

[cvaldes]

Seems to me a lot of people is simply guessing to get some traffic..

The mid-August iPod announcement date made little sense, particularly for the fourth generation iPod touch which one would guess would be made of similar components as the recent iPhone (they have always shared the same CPU, GPU, and display).

A mid-August launch of the next iPod touch would have left very limited time for a manufacturing ramp after a difficult and supply-constrained iPhone launch (which still continues to expand to other international markets).

My guess is that these supply difficulties are forcing Apple to postpone slightly. Apple does not have a staggered worldwide release of the iPod touch, so they must stockpile sufficient inventory for an effective launch. This manufacturing ramp is probably affecting the availability of iPhones in existing markets.

 

[Nokorola]

I'm willing to bet they're going to take the iPod Classic on a peaceful little boat ride early that morning with Fredo...

Is that a round-trip boat ride?, because Apple will keep the iPod classic around forever, its buyers that you seem to marginalize still like to have large storage space for a reasonable price.

 

[longball11]

Hmmm, refresh iPads in January? Right after Christmas when everybody is broke and worrying about paying off their massive credit card bills? Wouldn't be a very smart business decision.

And before anyone here says that they will be "announced" in January, nope, Apple doesn't do that either, because then nobody would buy the current models while they wait for the refresh. The only reason it was announced in 1/10 and sold in 4/10 is because it was a brand new product and not available anywhere anyway.

The iPad refresh will be a surprise, technically like every other refresh they do. One day it's the old Macbook, the next day it's the new one, with only a hopeful rumor a day or two before to give us nerds the head's up.

The only reason we all suspect new iPods in a couple weeks is because we have recognized the iPod pattern. There is no iPad pattern as of yet, just educated guesses as to how it will go down. My educated guess is April 2011.

This is about IPODS. Where does iPad come in? Shoulda put this somewhere else. You do realize people get gift cards and money for Christmas right? So yeah, not that bad of a business decision. Unless you work the financial business of Apple, you don't know the difference between good and bad decisions of the ever growing popularity of brand Apple. Hook, Line, Sinkeeerrrr

 

[WildCowboy]

Back To School promo ends September 7th, that's the earliest for an iPod event. A week after that sounds reasonable as well, the mid Aug rumor was baseless

In previous years, Apple has introduced new iPods before the Back to School promo expired. The new models just weren't eligible for the offer.

And note that the current promo is only in the U.S. and Canada. Apple usually starts its promo in Europe in August or September. And other countries like Japan see it in the spring.

 

[nemaslov]

A 360GB iPod Classic. One last HD version for us lossless music freaks. And shut up just because you ask "who has or listens to that much music?"

 

[SwiftLives]

Hmmm, refresh iPads in January? Right after Christmas when everybody is broke and worrying about paying off their massive credit card bills? Wouldn't be a very smart business decision.

And before anyone here says that they will be "announced" in January, nope, Apple doesn't do that either, because then nobody would buy the current models while they wait for the refresh. The only reason it was announced in 1/10 and sold in 4/10 is because it was a brand new product and not available anywhere anyway.

The iPad refresh will be a surprise, technically like every other refresh they do. One day it's the old Macbook, the next day it's the new one, with only a hopeful rumor a day or two before to give us nerds the head's up.

The only reason we all suspect new iPods in a couple weeks is because we have recognized the iPod pattern. There is no iPad pattern as of yet, just educated guesses as to how it will go down. My educated guess is April 2011.

Apple traditionally does release new products and product upgrades at the January media event. That's sort of the entire point of it.

And so far, people being broke right after Christmas hasn't really done much to soften their sales.

Of course, the typical product cycle for Apple products is one year. With that in mind, April does seem a bit more likely for an iPad refresh. And with its popularity, I wouldn't be surprised to see a media event for that rather than a silent update.

As for new iPads at the fall event - I doubt it. Apple has no reason or incentive to upgrade the iPad as it currently stands. It has no viable competition, and is showing absolutely no slump in sales. Plus, as the product ages, their product margins increase. So I think the only thing we'll see in terms of iPad news is iOS 4.

The fall event has always been media focused - specifically music. The iPad - while similar to the iPod and iPhone - isn't really in the same category.

 

[aidensocal]

Seems to me a lot of people is simply guessing to get some traffic..

Yeah it is pretty lame, they never release the new ones until the end of the back to school promo anyways... all of these "rumor" sites have become traffic whores

 

[nemaslov]

I'm willing to bet they're going to take the iPod Classic on a peaceful little boat ride early that morning with Fredo...

I wouldn't be surprised to see the media event on September 8th - the day after the back-to-school promo expires.

Even though I love the classic and hate your death nod to the classic. I laughed so hard that my Doctor Pepper came out through my nose. Touche'

 

[Hellhammer]

And note that the current promo is only in the U.S. and Canada. Apple usually starts its promo in Europe in August or September. And other countries like Japan see it in the spring.

BTS promo has been going on in here since May 26th and it will end on September 7th, just like in US.

 

[RawBert]

I'm hoping for an awesome iPod Touch with most of the iPhone's features. *fingers crossed*

 

[LoganT]

I wonder if single 64 GB chips are cheap enough. We could see a 128 GB iPod Touch.

 

[skeep5]

plz combine iTouch and Classic to make a 180 GB iTouch for $79 I can dream can't i

 

[SwiftLives]

Is that a round-trip boat ride?, because Apple will keep the iPod classic around forever, its buyers that you seem to marginalize still like to have large storage space for a reasonable price.

A vast majority of consumers are not people with a 360GB music library. And it's not profitable for Apple to keep a legacy product around for such a small niche.

Apple traditionally maintains specific price points. This adds to the perceived value of the brand. The cost of the iPod Classic versus the functionality makes it overpriced even in its current incarnation. Unless they can add some functionality beyond just a capacity bump, I think it will be going away.

And I fully expect the iPod Touch to get bumped to over 120GB. Apple will use that as a replacement for the "high capacity" music players. Even though that's not a lot of consolation...

 

[Daveoc64]

A vast majority of consumers are not people with a 360GB music library.

Indeed.

I'm pretty sure that a few years ago, Apple stated the average number of songs on an iPod was just 60.

 

[nemaslov]

Well I'm one minority who would buy a 360 classic tomorrow and i know six others who would too.