iPod Touch Price Cut $100, Hinting iWatch Release Date Coming Soon?

Apple has cut the price of three of its iPod Touch models, with one model getting chopped down as much as $100, The Wall Street Journal reports.

The Cupertino-based company also announced that it would be adding a five-megapixel rear-facing camera to the entry-level 16 gigabyte iPod Touch - which will has acquired new color options of pink, yellow, blue, silver and space gray. The iPod 16GB iPod Touch is now being offered for $199 (down from $229).

The 32GB iPod Touch, meanwhile, is available for $249 (down from $299) and the 64GB model has been cut down to $299 (down from $399).

The highly-anticipated release of the Apple smartwatch, dubbed the iWatch, could signal the end of days for the iPod, MacRumors reports.

Christopher Caso, an analyst with Susquehanna Financial Group, recently expressed in a research note that the iWatch will finally touch down on consumers' wrists in Q4 of 2014 with two screen sizes. Caso estimates 5-6 million iWatch units will be produced, but that it will "essentially replace the iPod in the consumer portion of AAPL's product lineup" and force lowered iPod sales.

Caso, who said that the iPod is not expected to be updated in 2014, is not alone in his sentiment.

Apple CEO Tim Cook also admitted earlier this year that the iPod "is a declining business," as sales dropped to under $5 billion in 2013 after peaking at more than $8 billion in 2008.

The iWatch will release in various shapes and sizes, sources "familiar with the matter" previously told WSJ.

The publication reports that the Apple smartwatch will come with 10 sensors - including ones for health and fitness - with the intention to offer an experience that will differ from the iPhone by providing functions users won't be able to get in any old or new smartphones designed by the tech giant. The various designs, meanwhile, would help Apple better compete with the smartphone offerings from rivals such as Samsung and Google.

The report follows an update from Reuters, which claimed the iWatch will enter mass production with Taiwan's Quanta Computer Inc this July.

According to the publication, the iWatch will feature a 2.5-inch display with a design that will be "slightly rectangular." The Reuters source added that the device's face will "protrude slightly from the band," with wireless charging and a touch screen among the anticipated features.

The report adds that Apple is planning on shipping 50 million units in the iWatch's first year of release, with Quanta already doing production runs in anticipation of the manufacturing of at least 70 percent of the smartwatch's final assembly.

A third source told Reuters that LG was the exclusive provider of the device's screen for initial production.

With July targeted as the mass production start, an October release date seems likely. As Mashable notes, Apple has traditionally launched accessories including the iPod and iPad during that time.