The ability to natively render up to 24-bit/48 kHz (which constitutes the top end of Apple Lossless and the cut-off point for tracks considered Apple High Resolution Lossless) was enabled (from a hardware standpoint) across the product line by 2016.
This was the result of Apple acquiring Cirrus Logic in 2014. The Cirrus Logic DAC chips have always had the potential to be Lossless compatible, some of the older Wolfson DAC chips did not. I do not know much about the Wolfson products.
The actual ability to natively play up to 24-bit/48 kHz audio files on all current Apple devices was unlocked in a recent update, along with Dolby Atmos and Apple Spatial… the latter being available only in devices which can communicate with Apple Spatial enabled head/earphones- which the iPod does not, although this has nothing to do with the DAC or playing audio files.
Let’s try and figure this out. So we are looking at two possible answers as to why the iPod 7th Gen was not mentioned in the above article:
One could be that due to the fact that the iPod is a tiny product line, it was merely overlooked, or perhaps cut for simplicity’s sake. Indeed, it is so insignificant that it is the only standalone device without it’s own tab in the online store header. You find it under Music.
A second could be that it is because the iPod 7th Gen must utilize a completely different DAC chip than every other iOS/iPadOS device currently made. Which, to be clear, would cost Apple far more to build or source than merely throwing in one of the DAC chips they use for every other iOS device. And that by extension, Apple chooses to bear this added expense for an inferior obsolete DAC that cannot play 24-bit/48 kHz Apple Lossless.
Some other evidence…
Since posting my original question, I have actually bought and set up an iPod 7th Gen. In Settings/Music/Audio Quality/Lossless Audio, you can turn Lossless Audio on. This will cause two other options to appear, WiFi Streaming and Downloads. Clicking on those will allow you to select High Quality (AAC 256 kbps), Lossless (ALAC up to 24-bit/48kHz), or High-Resolution Lossless (ALAC up to 24-bit/192 kHz).
Selecting High-Resolution Lossless will bring up a message that reads “External Hardware Suggested. To play content in Hi-Res Lossless at full resolution, you will need an external digital-to-analog-converter” (otherwise known as a DAC).
However, selecting either of the first two options brings up no messages at all, strongly suggesting that the internal DAC handles audio files up to 24-bit/48 kHz natively.
Worth mentioning, these are exactly the same setting options and messages which pop up in every other iOS and iPadOS device Apple makes.
Additionally, there are options for Dolby Atmos, but none for Apple Spatial… Since we know the iPod 7th Gen is the only current Apple device that does not support Spatial in any capacity, this strongly suggests that the Music settings on the iPod are unique to it, and not just copied across the iOS line… Which in turn, again strongly suggests that the Lossless (ALAC up to 24-bit/48 kHz) option under music means what it says, and the iPod is able to natively render audio files up to that resolution.
Anyway, to wrap this up, if we apply a little Occam’s Razor to the known facts, I think we can safely assume that like every other Apple device produced since 2016 (and running the recent update), the iPod 7th Generation will handle audio files up to 24-bit/48 kHz. In other words, the vast majority of the Apple Lossless music library… but not Apple High-Resolution Lossless.
