It has been 4 years since the 2015 announcement of the previous iPod touch, but rumours suggest that this iconic music device might come back to life.

There's little to go on at the moment, other than Apple leak site Macotakara, which reports talking to several suppliers at CES 2019 about the new iPod 7th-gen. 

The iPod has a special place in digital music history. While there were a range of MP3 players available, Apple undoubtedly cornered the market in portable digital music, until the rise of the smartphone usurped that function and the iPod became redundant in many cases.

That is hasn't been updated for a number of years suggests that Apple no longer sees the demand. It's worth noting that the current 6th-gen iPod uses the Apple A8 processor (from the iPhone 6), essentially making it the oldest iOS hardware that Apple currently sells.

That might suggest that as software support for older platforms and devices falters, Apple needs to update the iPod or end the line completely. With a continued push towards services like Apple Music and a slowdown in global smartphone sales, a new iPod might be seen as a device to appeal to those outside of the current iPhone bubble. 

The big problem, however, is that the current £199 asking price for an iPod touch would get you a handset from more affordable Android manufacturers, like Xiaomi or Honor, which would quite happily run the Apple Music app. While there's always an argument for the quality and attraction of iOS, we suspect that most would choose to take a phone over a music player.

There's been little said around the iPod touch beyond this new report, so don't get your hopes up.