This could be the real reason why Apple is offering a new iPod touch

Earlier this week, Apple unveiled the seventh generation iPod touch. By promoting its upcoming Apple Arcade subscription service on the device, the company sees this as hardware for gamers although the 4-inch display might be a deal breaker to some. It does feature a 3.5mm earphone jack and support for AirPods, but there is no Face ID or Touch ID. In fact, Apple hasn't really hasn't changed the design at all. While swapping out the A8 SoC for the A10 Fusion chipset found inside the iPhone 7 will make this newer unit faster than its predecessor, the cameras remain the same; there is an 8MP rear-facing camera and a front-facing 1.2MP Face Time camera.

The Apple iPod touch sixth generation, released nearly three months before the Apple Watch, doesn't support the timepiece and neither does the new model. Go to the App Store on either unit and the Apple Watch app will not be found. So if you were looking for a cheaper way to setup and/or drive an Apple Watch model, this is not it. Remember, the iPod touch requires a Wi-Fi connection, and even with a large number of Wi-Fi hotspots available, this is not a phone. It is called an iPod for a reason; it streams music and adds a touchscreen for video and gaming.

The iPod touch seventh generation will help Apple in its efforts to meet its goal of garnering $50 billion in revenue for its Services unit by next year. This is Apple's second largest revenue generator and its most profitable division. If Apple achieves its goal, it will have doubled the Services unit's top line from the $25 billion it grossed in 2016. The businesses under this umbrella include Apple Music, AppleCare, Apple Pay, Apple TV+, Apple News+, the upcoming Apple Arcade, iTunes and the App Store. The company is on track to hit its goal. For the fiscal second quarter of 2019, Apple generated $11.45 billion in Services revenue. With the device priced to sell starting at $199 for the 32GB version, Apple is hoping to add more device owners that it can sell monthly subscriptions to.

In addition, there is a good chance that the iPod touch sixth generation will lose its iOS support this year along with the iPhone 6, iPhone 6 Plus, iPhone SE, the original iPad Air and the iPad mini 2. The introduction of a system-wide dark mode might not be a good reason to spend the money to upgrade an iPod Touch, but those who use the device to connect to the Apple ecosystem might not think twice about doing so. And the new iPod touch will offer features not offered on older models including Animojis, Screen Time and Group FaceTime.

The iPod touch has been the ugly stepchild of Apple's product line. It was first launched in September 2007, nearly three months after the iPhone was offered for sale. The OG iPod touch did not come with a camera on the back or in front but did share the 3.5-inch 320 x 480 resolution LCD display used on the original iPhone. The second generation model was launched almost a year later. The first model to feature a camera was the fourth generation device, which included a redesign similar to what Apple did with the iPhone 4; it was released in September 2010. That unit featured a .7MP camera on the back and a .3MP FaceTime camera in front. There was then a two-year hiatus before the fifth generation iPod touch was released in September 2012. This model carried a larger 4-inch display and a 5MP rear camera. The FaceTime camera was bumped to 1.2MP. The iPod Touch sixth generation broke with the tradition of having the device released in September (it was launched in July 2015) and raised the specs of the rear camera to 8MP.

While many out there might be better off by buying a Pixel 3a (priced at $399, the same price as the 256GB iPod Touch seventh generation model), there will be kids out there who prefer iOS and would rather consume streaming content and play games than make phone calls.