Apple has filed a new trademark application for the iPod, covering the use of the trademark on items which make use of sensors for medical and wellness reporting (writes Jack Purcher on Patently Apple). This would allow the iPod range to expand into the health and fitness tracking market, increasing the reach of Apple's suite of Health apps.
The classification areas potentially cover wellness and medical sensors, home automation, Apple's CarPlay system, and integration with the Apple Watch.
I wonder which iPods Apple will be targeting? The obvious answer is the iPod Touch. The sixth generation of Apple' portable multimedia device echoed the iPhone 6 and the iPhone 6 Plus with the use of the A8 CPU, but had a number of omissions. It lacks a vibration motor, TouchID, GPS, and does not support connection to the Apple Watch.
It's unlikely that the iPod Touch was a massive success, but it may have found a solid baseline as an entry-level device for younger members of the family (where Apple Music's family sharing and the iCloud family account would allow content and apps to be loaded from a parental account). It may also have proven to be popular as a secondary device for those with an active lifestyle - with all your data, music, and information synced to the cloud why risk a $700 smartphone in the gym or on a run when there's a $200 alternative that (rightly or wrongly) can be regarded as the more disposable unit.
I'm not forgetting the highly portable nature of the iPod Nano (which already carries some sync software for the Nike+ fitness suite) and the iPod Shuffle. The addition of more fitness tracking to these two players seems an obvious step, and the integration with Apple's Health will drive users of these devices further into Apple's cloud services.
But it's the expansion of the iPod Touch that has me exited. Apple's current strategy does feel like trying to cover every single part of the price range with a device without diluting the status of the Apple brand. The iPod Touch sits above the Nano and below the iPhone SE as a standalone product, and stands on its own as a rather overpowered accessory.
Assuming that the unit has sold in sufficient numbers to keep it relevant to Apple, expanding the functionality of the next iPod Touch into Apple's growth areas makes sense. And with that, the speculation over the seventh generation iPod Touch can begin.
Now watch what Apple has planned for the iPhone 7.
