Along with all of the other goodness found in this weekend’s leak of the iOS 11 golden master, it appears that the iPod touch may finally get an update. Leak source Benjamin Geskin found reference to a device labeled as “iPod8,1” in the code, which may point to an all new iPod touch.
In a way, this makes perfect sense for people who might be buying the LTE Apple Watch — if I could make phone calls on a Watch, I’d still want a device on which I could view media, play games, and work with apps.
Within the setup.app that runs upon first startup to provide the device with the necessary initial settings and logins, there’s even code that has the line “Unlock your iPod with your Face”. This indicates that a future iPod touch could include Face ID, the new face recognition-based authentication method that is expected to debut tomorrow.
Does this mean that Apple will release the new iPod touch tomorrow? I seriously doubt it, although it has been two years since the iPod touch received an update. But I’m not sure if Apple would throw this into what looks like it may be an already crowded keynote schedule. On the other hand, the timing is perfect for getting the device into the hands of 2017 holiday shoppers.
