While many of the predictions for Wednesday's Apple Media event were spot on, one of the most prevalent rumors didn't come true. The new iPod touch did not get a camera. David Pogue interviewed Steve Jobs and asked him why they omitted a camera from the refresh:
Mr. Jobs reiterated what Phil Schiller, the marketing vice president, had said earlier in the onstage presentation: that Apple is really pitching the iPod Touch as a game machine these days. And to do that, you have to make it as inexpensive as possible.
Jobs explained that since marketing the iPod touch as a gaming machine, it's really taken off. Not adding new features such as a camera was seen as a way to drive the price down even further.
In further questioning, Jobs continued to downplay the importance of dedicated ebook readers and reported to Pogue that there shouldn't be any delays in new products due to Jobs' absence.
"There are some things that I'm focusing a lot of attention on right now -- to polish," he said. "No, I don't think we're going to miss a beat. We have some really good stuff coming up."
The interview concludes with Jobs reporting that he "feels great" and acknowledging that he needs to gain some weight and he'd been eating a lot of ice cream to accomplish that.
Apple has yet to reveal when the iPhone 18 Pro and iPhone Ultra will be announced and released, but the dates usually follow a familiar pattern.
As usual, the event is expected to take place in the first half of September.
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Friday August 14, 2026 12:15 pm PDT by Juli Clover
For the first time since Apple started selling standard and "Pro" iPhones, we're not going to get an entry-level iPhone model this fall. Apple doesn't plan to release an iPhone 18 in September, and will only launch the iPhone 18 Pro, iPhone 18 Pro Max, and foldable iPhone Ultra. The lower-cost iPhone 18 won't come out until spring 2027.
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Monday August 17, 2026 11:09 am PDT by Joe Rossignol
"iPhone Ultra" supply will be very limited when the foldable device is first released later this year, according to Fixed Focus Digital, a known leaker on the Chinese social media platform Weibo.
The account also claimed that the iPhone 18 Pro's A20 Pro chip will be up to 18% faster and up to 30% more power efficient compared to the iPhone 17 Pro's A19 Pro chip. The A20 Pro chip will be the...
Apple's first foldable iPhone, with a book-style design featuring a ~5.5-inch outer display and a ~7.8-inch inner display with a minimal crease down the middle.
