Apple’s Next Gen iPod nano to have a 1.3MP camera?

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Last year in April according to the rumor mill Apple was planning to release a new iPod Nano with a 1.3 MP camera, however, this rumor failed to come to fruition after Apple released the same 6th generation design in September 2011, updating the software and lowering the pricing on the 8 GB and 16 GB models.

On Wednesday, new reports surfaced that indicate Apple is indeed planning an iPod Nano refresh, with the addition of a 1.3 MP camera attached behind the clip. Rumors of the new iPod Nano revived in November following a May 2010 patent application on speaker designs that appeared to show a hole in the iPod nano’s clip in the same location as the leaked pictures.

Apple.pro now reports [Google translation] that a series of new photos have surfaced, revealing further details on the proposed 8th gen iPod Nano, with images of the casing as well as an almost identical housing and clip-on design. The new iPod Nano appears to be housing a camera outside of the body of the device, as opposed to inside where the battery is located.

The camera module would be placed directly underneath the clip, allowing it to stay within the overall envelope. Apple’s plans to add a camera isn’t surprising, as they removed a video-only camera on the fifth generation iPod Nano in order to accommodate the 1.57” multi touch screen, hard volume buttons, and the new clip, adopted from the iPod Shuffle.

An Apple patent application in 2009 suggested that Apple was looking to add a camera to the current iPod Nano form factor and it is very likely that these photos may be of a prototype that Apple developed in-house to test out the different camera capabilities and limitations.

Whether this model of the iPod Nano will see the daylight is unclear, however, there is no doubt that this product is attempting to make up for the reduction in features from the 5th generation to the 6th. It does seem very Apple like to do something like this, and appears almost identical to the previous model, ruling out any possible fakes.

{via Mac Rumors}

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