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Apple revealed a new iPod, first update since 2012

Written by Matti Robinson @ 17 Jul 2015 11:11 User comments (6)

Apple revealed a new iPod, first update since 2012 Apple has announced a new iPod Touch earlier this week. The company hasn't been updating the iPod portfolio since 2012 but now, after the release of Apple Music, the time was right.
The new iPod Touch features the same A8 processor from latest generation iPhones but the display is only four inches diagonally. The resolution is 1136 x 640.

There are two cameras aboard: 8 megapixel snapper in the back and a 1.2 megapixel FaceTime camera in the front. Fifth generation Wi-Fi (802.11a/b/g/n/ac) and Bluetooth 4.1 are supported. However, no GPS or NFC support.

You can choose between 16, 32, 64, or 128 gigabytes of storage and the prices are $199, $249, $299, and $399 respectively. Apple also refreshed iPod shuffle and iPod nano with new color options.

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6 user comments

117.7.2015 11:27

They need to revamp the nano line back to the 6th generation look. The square, touch screen, with the clip that the shuffle has. This was the best one by far. The problem with the shuffle is the lack of screen to see what you are listening to and no way to properly navigate. The 6th gen nano had it all... Who needs video and cameras on a small music player.... That's the change I'm hoping they realize they have to make.

218.7.2015 06:12

I'm afraid I don't understand why this exists. It is about the size of an iPhone, it looks like an old iPhone, and it has no more storage than an iPhone...plus it isn't a phone. I guess maybe they figure people will carry both an iPhone and an iPod for a total of 256GB storage, kinda like some android users carry a 128GB phone with a 128GB microSD card for a total of 256GB storage in a single device??? Is this just for kids who's parents don't want them to have phones but don't mind media players? If so, isn't a touchscreen, non-water-resistant model the worst choice? Maybe it is a second device to leave in your car? It isn't a status symbol like most Apple products; it is a neutered, reduced-cost iPhone...so the iWatch effect doesn't exist here. Honestly...I'd like to know...why does this exist? Why would anyone pay $400 for a media player with the capacity of a sub-$80 microSD card, that is easily mistaken for an outdated phone...or if you don't think people will, why would Apple think they would?

318.7.2015 09:29

My kids each have a iPod touch 5... Yes it is a iPhone without the phone. They got used to playing games on my iPhone and I got sick of my battery always being drained so I got each of them one so that they can put their music and apps and games on it. It works good for the car when traveling and let's them listen to their own music when they don't like what I'm playing. I even put a movie on each for longer trips. They worked well for a while until they got older and wanted iPads instead... So now they are just a backup device in case their iPads run out of juice. I was never worried about it being waterproof or not because my kids are a little older, 11 and 12. Of course the whole need for wifi limits what you can do with these and are only good for basic functions like email, texting and maybe streaming music if you have a strong enough signal.

418.7.2015 12:13

Originally posted by mightyzog:
My kids each have a iPod touch 5... Yes it is a iPhone without the phone. They got used to playing games on my iPhone and I got sick of my battery always being drained so I got each of them one so that they can put their music and apps and games on it. It works good for the car when traveling and let's them listen to their own music when they don't like what I'm playing. I even put a movie on each for longer trips. They worked well for a while until they got older and wanted iPads instead... So now they are just a backup device in case their iPads run out of juice. I was never worried about it being waterproof or not because my kids are a little older, 11 and 12. Of course the whole need for wifi limits what you can do with these and are only good for basic functions like email, texting and maybe streaming music if you have a strong enough signal.
That makes some sense...but you dumped the iPods in favor of iPads, and your main reason for keeping the old iPods could be replaced by portable charge bricks. iPods made sense once...in 2007 flip phones didn't have much capacity and the iPod had more capacity than the top-end version of this new one. Tablets were rather expensive and heavy back then too (and they ran Vista). These days an old phone can beat a new iPod for less money (or nothing...since most people have one in a drawer). An iPod doesn't have the "look at me" appeal of something like an iWatch either; it just looks like an old iPhone. About ten years ago I bought a CCD "camera only device" and a media player similar to an iPod touch except with a SD card slot...both have been sitting dormant with long dead batteries for years for lack of use, and I can't imagine buying updated versions of either...nor can I understand why Apple would spend time making a new version.

518.7.2015 13:05

I'm with Killerbug here, I just don't get why many would drop this kind of money on a digital music/video player, especially one so limited.
A cheap tablet for kids or a dirt cheap mp3 player I can understand but these?
Unless you're an adult into the whole Apple environment thing (which, I've read, isn't as easy & straight-forward as claimed) I just don't see how these get rated as cost effective solutions.

620.7.2015 14:04

Originally posted by Interestx:
I'm with Killerbug here, I just don't get why many would drop this kind of money on a digital music/video player, especially one so limited.
A cheap tablet for kids or a dirt cheap mp3 player I can understand but these?
Unless you're an adult into the whole Apple environment thing (which, I've read, isn't as easy & straight-forward as claimed) I just don't see how these get rated as cost effective solutions.
Because phones are heavily subsidized in price and actually cost twice as much. Plus with an iPhone, you will need a phone and data plan, whereas an iPod does not.

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