An update next month to Apple's flagship digital media player may outfit the device in an additional color but may otherwise represent a rather modest refresh when compared to years past, AppleInsider has been told.

The iPod, which struck a resurgence that helped place Apple back on the map in 2001, may for the first time take a back seat to the company's more lucrative and influential devices -- such as the iPhone and iPad -- when the electronics maker unveils its holiday lineup of iOS devices sometime between mid-August and mid-September.

For years the iPod lifted Apple as its bread-and-butter product but now accounts for a paltry 5% of the company's revenue, according data released as part of its fiscal third quarter earnings report this week. And the majority of that revenue comes from the higher-ASP iPod touch, which accounted for more than half of the 7.54 million iPods shipped during the quarter.

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