Wesley Hilliard
Listings for new Apple Watch bands, a new Apple TV set top box, and an updated iPod Touch are appearing in Target inventory scanners.
In an update to our earlier story on "AirPods (X Generation)" it appears that Target already had listings in its system for multiple other products as well. In response to a query from 9to5Mac more images were sent from Target employees showing listings for a new Apple TV, iPod Touch, and Apple Watch Bands.
Rumors of a new Apple TV update have been scarce, and if updated this March, may just be a chipset bump to bring it in line with modern products. With Apple Arcade becoming more popular, a new set top box would allow more uniform experiences across modern devices and give developers more power to play with on the platform.
Apple tends to release seasonal colors for their Apple Watch bands, so seeing them listed here is no surprise. The three entries are priced at $49 which suggest three new colors for the sports band.
The iPod Touch is the wild card. Apple does not update the iPod Touch often, and it was recently updated last year. The single listing shown is priced the same as the high end iPod Touch at $399, and there does not appear to be a lower-cost model in the system.
The images were first supplied to 9to5 Mac on Saturday morning.
These listings are not direct indicators of new products or even a launch date. As stated in our previous article, AppleInsider spoke with multiple Target staffers on Saturday morning regarding the original screenshot. While they could not provide us any information about the legitimacy of the original image, they did say that placeholders for new products are common, with pricing information — but not accurate product names — often provided by the manufacturer in advance of release.
As a general rule, we were told that products with an inventory placeholder ship within a month, and sometimes as soon as a week following initial appearance in the system.
An event is expected to occur in March where new products will be announced. Rumored so far is the Tile like "AirTags," the "iPhone SE 2," and the new "AirPods Pro Lite" and "over-the-ear AirPods."
AppleInsider Staff
Andrew Orr
Amber Neely
William Gallagher
Christine McKee
16 Comments
Sad that there are no new iMacs rumored for March.
I think Apple is feverishly trying to bolster whatever devices contribute to its subscription based services just as quickly as it can to build market share and build services revenue. A new ATV and iPod Touch that provide a premier user experience for subscription services like gaming is very important in the short term.
The $399.99 price for the iPod Touch X Generation is an interesting coincidence with the rumored price of the forthcoming 64G iPhone 9/SE2. On the other hand it is definitely too high for an iPod Touch to be sold along a new A13-based 64G iPhone 9/SE2 expected with the same price. Is X Generation a potential new label/naming syntax across the forthcoming 2020 Apple iOS hardware?
if they make the new ipod into the size of any of the 11 series iphones i’ll be getting one.