I love the iPod and was hoping a new, powerful iteration was coming: 1TB storage, better DAC, better battery life, etc.
Quite frankly the only way Apple will ever bring it back is if they go hard into the music space and release a wired headphone meant to compete with the likes of Sennheiser, Beyerdynamic, Hifiman, etc. There are many android based digital audio players out there but they're all severely lacking in some area (I still can't figure out which one to buy given they all seem to have at least one dealbreaker), and even never-Apple folks in the audiophile realm would, I think, buy up a premium Apple DAP that's fast, powerful, reliable, durable, and so on. But I don't know if the profit margin is ever going to be large enough for Apple to spend the time needed to do all that. There would probably also need to be a nostalgia run at the iPod the same way there's been one toward vinyl and vintage console gaming that's caused prices on those things to enter the realm of fantasyland. I mean **** I also see people with walkmans, fanny packs, dad shoes, etc every day. Nostlagia is a helluva drug. Old iPods are selling more now on ebay than they did 5+ years ago, and people are modding them to better suit current needs. Shows that there is some demand. If this accelerates maybe Apple takes notice and decides they want a piece of the pie; a collector's edition clickwheel ipod with a ton of storage for $400 could be a solid seller and I don't think it would be particularly expensive to produce. They wouldn't even need to put a decent screen in it!