Last updated on September 22, 2012
The dead-on accuracy of the iPhone 5 rumors were in contrast to the lack of them pertaining to the new iPods, at least one of which underwent a far more dramatic form factor change from its predecessor. One of the few rumors that turned out to be false was that Apple might rename the iPod touch to the iTouch, making what is often a nickname for the device its official moniker. Part of the rationale was that the iPod touch, which is an iOS device, has relatively little in common with other iPods more focused on music playback. Also, since the advent of the touchscreen iPod nano, it hasn’t even been the only iPod nano with a touchscreen.
Still, the iPod touch’s “non-iPodness” has been true since the debut of the product and the name change wasn’t likely. While the iPod touch has always lived in the iPhone’s shadow, it’s been a a successful product in its own right, and the iPod brand has been built over a decade. It seems more likely that Apple will continue to gradually shift perceptions of what the iPod brand stands for rather than abandon that brand.