There are plenty of things an iPod nano could use, but a rear-facing camera just isn’t one of them, despite claims to the contrary from a number of notable rumor blogs. According to Apple.pro (english), and other sites passing it around like MacRumors and 9to5 Mac, an iPod nano shell with a camera hole could be an actual leaked image from an upcoming nano. Stop us if you’ve heard this one before, like last year, when the exact same thing was leaked on the Internet, but never actually happened.
The iPod nano is a fantastic device — I own one. But a camera it will never need, unless it’s front-facing, and the OS provides FaceTime support for all of us iWatch aficionados, which is pretty unlikely at this point. Apple’s put a camera in the iPod nano before, like the 5th generation device, but it’s important to note that it didn’t make it into the 6th generation device. Why? Our money is on the fact that no one actually used it. But that’s just a hunch, with no real basis, or confirmation from Apple. According to Engadget’s first-look at the fifth generation nano when it was released, it was really hard to tell how good a video was while reviewing it directly on the nano. Since then, the iPod nano has lost half of its screen real-estate, so it’s unlikely that video playback of any kind on the nano will yield any decent results. We guess the nano could theoretically get a “Retina” display, but even then, a camera seems pointless. The current nano does have a photos app however, so multimedia creation on the nano may not be completely out of the question for Apple.
There are a number of things we would like to see in an iPod nano, like bluetooth support for my headphones, FaceTime support with a front-facing camera (a pipe dream), and the ability to get iOS notifications directly to my nano. Most of these wish list items have everything to do with the nano being used as a watch, and little to do with the needs of the majority of nano users, which is why they remain pipe dreams at this point. If anything, Bluetooth support is the one thing we can see the next nano getting over anything else.
Have a nano? Ask yourself this: would you take the nano out of your pocket to snap a picture or record some video? Have an answer? Good, check out the poll below. Inquiring minds want to know what you think about a camera in the nano.
[polldaddy poll=5899085]
