iPod Touch 6 release rumors: Portable media player launching July 14?

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Speculations abound regarding iPod Touch 6's release date and features. Recently, however, an image of an iPod Touch 6 displaying July 14 on its calendar has surfaced. Will this be the release date for the portable media player?

The image first came out with an iTunes 12.2 update in Mark Gurman's article on 9to5mac.com. The image contained a pink iPod shuffle, a gold iPod Nano and a dark blue iPod Touch.

In the Touch's display, the calendar displays Tuesday and 14. A simple query on timeanddate.com shows that a 14 falls on a Tuesday in 2015 in only two instances: April 14 and next week, July 14. 

Gurman himself questioned the image's validity in the post and said: "It is possible that the image is simply a Photoshop error, which is not unprecedented. But our look into the previous version of iTunes, version 12.1.2, indicates that the image is actually new, which means that it was intentionally designed."

Further inspection of the image shows that the iPod Touch 6 is no different in design and physical appearance from the fifth generation version, aside from the missing hole for the camera loop on the Touch 6. Apple has a recent history of retaining the designs of their devices, merely increasing the size and focusing more on stuff under the hood. This is evident in the upcoming iPhone 6S, which, according to leaked schematics, looks identical to the iPhone 6.

According to Arash Fekri of Master Herald, the iPod Touch 6 will run on the latest iOS version powered by an A9 microprocessor and 1GB of RAM. The 5.5-inch retina display will be larger than that of the previous generation. The device will support up to 128GB of external storage through a microSD card. And just like the rest of Apple's mobile device lineup, the Touch 6 will feature a finger sensor, Apple's Force Touch technology, 8MP camera and Apple Pay.

While most Apple followers are thrilled by the news, some question the company's continued release of the iPod roster, citing the Touch's practicality in this age of smartphones and the Nano and Shuffle's limited real-world applications.