As it plots the release date for the iPhone 6S, Apple encounters a quandary regarding the iPod touch 6th generation. The latter has been allowed to lapse due to the fact that inventory of would-be shared components was needed to meet unprecedented iPhone 6 demand; Apple was content to send every A8 chip and 4.7 inch screen it could get its hands on toward the more profitable iPhone side of the fence. With that smoke now clearing, Apple must decide how to roll out the iPod 6 and the iPhone 6S without creating the same problem with the A9.
Now that iPhone 6 demand has been met, the iPod touch 6th generation can be put into production at any time. The biggest challenge at this point is in figuring out how to roll it out. It's not prominent enough to get its own media event, but it's too notable to be launched with a mere press release. The next event on the calendar is for the Watch, but with all signs pointing toward the iPod touch not being compatible with the Watch, they would make for strange bedfellows to be unveiled on the same stage. That in turn points to the iPod 6 debuting alongside the iPhone 6S, as the two will share design components. But that creates its own hangups.
If Apple waits until the fall to roll out the iPod touch 6th generation, fans will be upset if it comes with anything less than the same A9 microprocessor which will headline the iPhone 6S. But that in turn could cause shortages for the 6S if it proves to be as popular as the 6. That means the company is better off rolling out the iPod touch 6 well ahead of the iPhone 6S release date – even if that does mean launching it with little fanfare. In that regard, our prediction is that it shows up in either March or May, just before or just after the Watch.
Phil Moore
Phil covers tech for Stabley Times.
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