Rumor: Next iPod Touch To Have MacBook Pro Like Back

John Brownlee ()

Rumor: Next iPod Touch To Have MacBook Pro Like Back

A FaceTime-capable iPod Touch with a Retina Display is pretty much a lock in at this point, but what about the Touches distinctive case design: will it be going the way of the iPhone 4, or will it continue to have the smooth, curved metal back that we love (and hate to scratch) so well?

According to a source speaking to iLounge, expect a new back, but not the iPhone 4’s. Instead…

Familiar. Think of the top of a MacBook Pro, only smaller, which is to say flat rather than curved at the center—closer to the look of the first-generation iPod touch’s back, only with modifications. The rear camera is there, but there is still some question as to whether what’s next to it will be a LED flash like the one in the iPhone 4, or a microphone like the one next to the video camera of the iPod nano. We’ve been told to expect a microphone rather than a flash, with a continuation of the bottom-mounted headphone port and Dock Connector port.

DON'T MISS
Leaked iPad 3 Components Reveal New Internals, But No New Design [Exclusive]

In other words, it sounds like brushed aluminum, similar to the iPad’s back. The advantages here are something that isn’t quite as unsightly when scratched, and while the level of excitement this rumor garners has a lot to do with whether you plan on going bareback with your fourth-generation Touch, the picture I have in my mind certainly seems like a move in the right aesthetic direction.

7 comments »

About the author

John BrownleeJohn Brownlee is news editor here at Cult of Mac, and has also written about a lot of things for a lot of different places, including Wired, Playboy, Boing Boing, Popular Mechanics, Gizmodo, Kotaku, Lifehacker, AMC, Geek and the Consumerist. He lives in Cambridge with his charming inamorata and a tiny budgerigar punningly christened after Nabokov's most famous pervert. You can follow him here on Twitter.

(sorry, you need Javascript to see this e-mail address)| Read more posts by .

Posted in iPod Touch, News |

  • Leh Wesley

    Could this be an application of the Liquidmetal technology?

    LQMT seems like it would be a good fit here.

  • Tom

    @Leh Wesley Given that Apple only acquired LiquidMetal quite recently, and Apple will have been designing this year’s iPod Touch for at least the last 9 months, LiquidMetal won’t make it into any products this year.

  • John

    I would just want to know if it has a metal frame like th eiPhonen4, and if so, has the gap that would be between the 3G antenae and the Wifi, bluetooth antennae have moved to some other un touchable spot.
    I always thought the iPod touch was easily made becasue it used so many of the parts fom the iPhone, it just does not have the 3G radio, or all the cell technology licening involved. I realy dont know why Apple would keep changing the case just to make it different.

  • http://www.themacuniverse.com kelly

    I am pretty certain it’ll have a unibody construction. I don’t think they will throw a retina in it though. I think if anything it’ll be higher resolution but I think retina will add too much to the cost. I could be wrong however.

  • Tom

    @kelly I’ll put money on the new iPod Touch having a retina display. They wouldn’t leave the iPhone having a better display than the iPod Touch for 15 months. They may well do what they did last year and keep the previous generation model as the cheapest option, and give the rest of the range a retina display.

    Apple can only use a display that’s 480 x 320 or 960 x 640 for the iPod Touch. Any resolution in between would cause massive problems for the 200,000+ AppStore apps.

    So it’s either a display that’s several years old, or the technology they announced a few months back. Definitely retina for the iPod Touch.

  • Poppa

    If there is a new ipod touch with iphone4 bells and whistles,how much do you estimate it will cost compared to the current models ?
    Samsung are bringing out a 7″ tablet called the Galaxy,Apple might bring out a new ipod touch that fits between the ipad and the ipod touch size aimed more at gaming..

  • Blake

    So the rumors (however spot on or not) look like (correct me if I’m wrong)
    - camera/mic OR Camera/flash
    - retina display
    - 128GB model
    - updated body design (less easily marred and scratched is always nice)

    Right now a 32GB sits at $300, the 64GB, $400.

    If we’re looking down the pike at a 5-600 32GB model, and it’s screen is just higher res, and it’s got a so-so camera? I don’t really know if that would make me want to upgrade my current 3rd gen touch, when, let’s face it. Although it’s nice to be able to check things needing a wifi connection here and there….it’s still a music player/mobile gaming piece of tech (in my mind).

    If they can hold close to current prices, I’d see upgrading for those features. Otherwise, I think picking up an iPad would be a better option, even for the lack of camera/retina, I’d be getting quite a bit more screen and arguably a more “useful” device that can be used over a wider application of circumstances.

    I think it will be an interesting thing to see how it all unfolds once the announcements hit.