New iPod Touch: Apple to launch new music player alongside new colours for iPod Nano and Shuffle

Many had worried that Apple was killing off the iPod line — but it looks like it was just waiting to refresh it

An image of three new iPod models appeared on iTunes 12.2 (iTunes)

Apple is about to launch new versions of its iPod Touch, Shuffle and Nano, kitting them out in new colours and with new bumped-up specs.

Many had worried that Apple was about to kill off its famous iPod line — as part of a new focus on streaming in the wake of Apple Music — but it looks like the company was just waiting to refresh it. The new devices will include a new iPod Touch with upgraded specifications, and new colours for all three of its iPod devices, according to 9to5mac.

The new Nano and Shuffles will just get cosmetic changes, as Apple will add new dark blue, pink and gold colours. Those changes had been accidentally revealed by a new version of iTunes — when a user plugged their iPod into sync, and the computer showed a picture featuring iPods in colours that hadn’t been released yet.

But the new iPod Touch will also see its insides upgraded to bring it more in line with the iPhone 6. It will have a camera that will match the phone’s resolution, a new and faster 64-bit chip, the “M” chip that lets the iPhone track its owners’ activity without using up too much battery, and a new and bigger 128GB model.

The new iPod will come with the current version of iOS, 8.4, already installed. That will mean that it’s ready to use Apple Music, the company’s internet streaming service, which was launched at the end of last month.