iPod touch The Future of the iPod touch

Yebubbleman · Feb 3, 2014

Apple's plans regarding the iPod product lines is unclear. Where that is most apparent is in the iPod touch line; the current iPod touch being sold is two generations of internal hardware behind, a disparity never seen before with that line.

With iOS 8 likely either (a) not being supported on the current generation of iPod touch at all or (b) being supported but at insanely slow performance, it is unclear what Apple is planning for this product's future.

I suppose it is possible that next generation they'll release a model that has the A7 processor, maintaining the one-behind-current status it held in October 2012.

Then again, it is also possible that they'll keep it at parity with the iPhone 6 and give it an A8 processor, albeit a potentially slower-running one.

Alternatively, they could just phase the product line out given that the iPhones and iPads all run on all four of the major carriers (though I know a big argument against this is the often quoted statement that the iPod touch is the leading handheld gaming system [though it'll be hard to code for such a device going forward without updated hardware])

What do you guys think will happen to the iPod touch product line?

chekz0414 · Feb 3, 2014

People who think the iPod touch is getting the axe aren't thinking carefully about what Apple said. Apple said the iPod was taken down by their OWN iPhone and iPad products. The iPod touch serves as the entry to iOS, and isn't marketed as a simple iPod, On all of the iOS pages speaking of features etc, they show the iPad, iPhone and iPod touch. Obviously if the classic isn't dead yet, the iPod touch will still have life. iOS 8 is said to be centered around the iWatch, and this touch will get it. There will be a newer touch THIS YEAR, optimized for 64-bit, iOS 8, possibly sporting a new design involving plastic, and possibly TouchID. Also the iPod touch HAS been two hardware revisions behind in the past. The iPod touch 4th generation showed us that. Until we got this iPod in 2012.

raccoonboy · Feb 4, 2014

Im not interested to buy another ipod touch.

But thats just me, entry level idevice at USD 299 is nonsense. I dont care they gave you 32GB because i can't even used up my 16gb Ipad.

I want a 16GB (with rear camera) at 199 not the 229 front cam only version. Ipod touch 5 also seem too delicate compare to the old 4th gen.

richeyty · Feb 4, 2014

honestly, I see a fingerprint sensor going in and a new chip, but, besides that there really isn't much to see coming from it. I don't believe it will be phased out though...

Yebubbleman · Feb 12, 2014

chekz0414 said:
People who think the iPod touch is getting the axe aren't thinking carefully about what Apple said. Apple said the iPod was taken down by their OWN iPhone and iPad products.

The iPod was rendered obsolete by the iPhone and iPad. They pretty much admitted that at the last earnings call.

chekz0414 said:
The iPod touch serves as the entry to iOS

Right, but given that there's an iPhone just as powerful as the current generation of iPod touch costing only a 2-year contract and sales tax on the hardware (which is still a cheaper up-front cost than even the cheapest iPod touch model), does Apple really need to sell an "entry to iOS"?

chekz0414 said:
and isn't marketed as a simple iPod, On all of the iOS pages speaking of features etc, they show the iPad, iPhone and iPod touch.

It's not hard for Apple to remove those references on their webpages as they typically do when discontinuing a product.

chekz0414 said:
Obviously if the classic isn't dead yet, the iPod touch will still have life.

Little stops them from discontinuing both products. If you put out an iPod touch of similar capacity, that kills any need for the iPod classic. If you put out an iPod nano of similar capacity, that kills any need for either the touch or the classic as the iPhone serves those needs.

chekz0414 said:
iOS 8 is said to be centered around the iWatch, and this touch will get it.

If it gets it, it will run slowly as hell. iOS 7 already runs quite a bit slower on it than iOS 6 did.

chekz0414 said:
There will be a newer touch THIS YEAR, optimized for 64-bit, iOS 8, possibly sporting a new design involving plastic, and possibly TouchID.

I'm hoping against hope that you are right on this one.

chekz0414 said:
Also the iPod touch HAS been two hardware revisions behind in the past. The iPod touch 4th generation showed us that. Until we got this iPod in 2012.

The fourth gen iPod touch was only ever ONE gen of Apple Ax Processor; the fourth generation iPod touch only became two behind when the fifth generation iPod touch came out and was sold alongside the fourth and I don't count that as there was a newer piece of hardware one behind. Now, the fifth generation iPod touch is STILL the newest in the family and it is two behind, which hasn't ever happened before.

richeyty said:
honestly, I see a fingerprint sensor going in and a new chip, but, besides that there really isn't much to see coming from it. I don't believe it will be phased out though...

The lack of an internal update and it being two generations of processor behind is the only thing making me think they're in the process of phasing it out; that's a new record. Obviously, your iPod business as a whole is on the decline and won't hit the 30th Anniversary milestone the way the Mac just did. I don't believe the whole iPod line will disappear overnight, but I do see the iPod touch and classic both making an exit sooner than later, sadly.

chekz0414 · Feb 13, 2014

Yebubbleman said:
The iPod was rendered obsolete by the iPhone and iPad. They pretty much admitted that at the last earnings call.

Right, but given that there's an iPhone just as powerful as the current generation of iPod touch costing only a 2-year contract and sales tax on the hardware (which is still a cheaper up-front cost than even the cheapest iPod touch model), does Apple really need to sell an "entry to iOS"?

It's not hard for Apple to remove those references on their webpages as they typically do when discontinuing a product.

Little stops them from discontinuing both products. If you put out an iPod touch of similar capacity, that kills any need for the iPod classic. If you put out an iPod nano of similar capacity, that kills any need for either the touch or the classic as the iPhone serves those needs.

If it gets it, it will run slowly as hell. iOS 7 already runs quite a bit slower on it than iOS 6 did.

I'm hoping against hope that you are right on this one.

The fourth gen iPod touch was only ever ONE gen of Apple Ax Processor; the fourth generation iPod touch only became two behind when the fifth generation iPod touch came out and was sold alongside the fourth and I don't count that as there was a newer piece of hardware one behind. Now, the fifth generation iPod touch is STILL the newest in the family and it is two behind, which hasn't ever happened before.

The lack of an internal update and it being two generations of processor behind is the only thing making me think they're in the process of phasing it out; that's a new record. Obviously, your iPod business as a whole is on the decline and won't hit the 30th Anniversary milestone the way the Mac just did. I don't believe the whole iPod line will disappear overnight, but I do see the iPod touch and classic both making an exit sooner than later, sadly.

There are job listings stating plastic engineer for iPod. And iOS 7.1 runs terrifically on the iPod touch. iOS 8 won't be slow as its not a redesign again

Espeonia · Feb 13, 2014

I think it'll get an A8 and it'll stick around. Historically it's gotten the same chip as the phone introduced with it (i.e. A4 with the iPhone 4/touch 4g), but has less ram and is built to lower its price, while keeping it as much on par with the current phone as possible.

Yebubbleman · Feb 15, 2014

chekz0414 said:
There are job listings stating plastic engineer for iPod. And iOS 7.1 runs terrifically on the iPod touch. iOS 8 won't be slow as its not a redesign again

Redesign or not sort of doesn't matter. iOS 6 ran slower on devices than iOS 5 did and iOS 5 ran slower on devices than iOS 4 did, and iOS 4 slower on things than iOS 3 was and so forth. That has been the trend pretty much since iOS 1 and the first gen iPhone and iPod touch. iOS 7 runs slower on my 5th gen iPod touch than all versions of iOS 6 did; while I expect 7.1 to be a bit more polished than 7.0.x was, I'm not expecting it to be much faster, nor am I expecting 8 to run faster or even as fast as 7 did on my fifth gen iPod touch. Unless they pull a Snow Leopard, I'm not expecting a speed bump anytime soon.

Espeonia said:
I think it'll get an A8 and it'll stick around. Historically it's gotten the same chip as the phone introduced with it (i.e. A4 with the iPhone 4/touch 4g), but has less ram and is built to lower its price, while keeping it as much on par with the current phone as possible.

The fifth Gen iPod touch got the A5 during the same keynote where the iPhone got the A6. I think the days of parity matching between the two are sadly over. I'd certainly be livid if they updated it with the A6 at the time that the iPhone got the A8.

faldane · Feb 15, 2014

With the iPhone's getting thinner and thinner, I always wondered how the Touch would still be relevant.

Lesser Evets · Feb 19, 2014

I couldn't vote.

I believe it will get an A6 this September. They'll do to it whatever happens to the iPhone--bigger screen, etc. However, they will only use an old A6 to cut costs.

Is there a real need for an A7? No. It would be nice if they used one in the next iPod Touch, but we have to deal in reality. This is not an Apple flagship product, and it never was, so it isn't going to get current tech that costs a good amount; it will be an iPad Nano at best.

Bruce1967 · Feb 19, 2014

Well I hope they keep the iPod touch around for a few more years even if it only gets the A6 processor. I use it mostly for music and I currently have the 64gb 5th generation model. I read something about Apple looking into possibly using plastic on the next generation iPod touch which would be fine with me especially if it looked and was built similar to the iPhone 5c. They seem like very durable phones and to use a similar shell on the touch would make sense to me but of course add a black or grey option.

talmy · Feb 19, 2014

I've got the current gen iPod Touch. I don't own an iPhone (or any smart phone) as I don't feel I need one. I'd miss the iPod Touch (which replaced the Palm Pilot for me as my portable organizer) and wouldn't look forward to paying $750 for an iPhone with the same capacity as the $300 iPod Touch. (And I don't consider paying $2000+ over two years for an iPhone contract to make the iPhone "free" since I'm paying $10/year for my very limited use cellphone service.)

Bruce1967 · Feb 19, 2014

I don't have an iPhone either. They are just too expensive to buy unlocked and too expensive to buy on contract with $80-$90 a month bills, just ridiculous! All I want is for Apple to keep making the touch with maybe some improvements. I don't even care if they don't give it a capacity bump. I find 64gb to be fine with plenty of space left over.

colodane · Feb 19, 2014

Amen Bruce & Talmy. Love my 32 GB Touch. Smaller and lighter than an iPhone with all the functionality I need 90% of the time. Don't miss having a smart phone.

chleuasme · Feb 20, 2014

The iPod Touch will only disappear in name, but the concept of a micro-tablet could still make sense today, concurently to smartphones.

. The iPhone 5C line aiming at being cheaper iPhone models will continue to exist and evolve, with drop in entry price this year, to finally enter the $4xx range. The screen size will remain the same 4" at 1136x640 (326 ppi).

. The high-end line of iPhone will see a moderate screen size growth, 4.5" at 1280x720 (326 ppi) for example could be a good candidate. With thinner bezels, its footprint shouldn't be much enlarged while the screen would offer over 25% more available surface for content, and apps will have to be capable to adapt to the new resolution to not be run letterboxed.

. The iPod Touch will now in name belong to the iPad family, as its smallest representant, but sharing the same new 1280x720 resolution as the new iPhone but at 264 ppi (as the iPad Air), sporting then a 5.6" screen.
As a name proposition, i submit: iPad Pocket (to tell, yes it's big, but it still can fit pockets).

Not a phablet but a micro-tablet.
A phone shouldnt' be too large, and Apple will prefer you to buy both an iPhone and an iPad, rather than an aimed at do-it-all phablet.
The iPod Touch doesn't need to be as pocketable as an iPod or an iPhone, in essence it's a micro iPad running the iPhone iOS variant. It could fill the space between the 4.x" iPhones and the 8" iPad, as for example a great gaming device, still quite pocketable but much more comfortable than the current small 4" devices.

/oracle mode off

kb12252004 · Feb 20, 2014

chleuasme said:
The iPod Touch will only disappear in name, but the concept of a micro-tablet could still make sense today, concurently to smartphones.

. The iPhone 5C line aiming at being cheaper iPhone models will continue to exist and evolve, with drop in entry price this year, to finally enter the $4xx range. The screen size will remain the same 4" at 1136x640 (326 ppi).

. The high-end line of iPhone will see a moderate screen size growth, 4.5" at 1280x720 (326 ppi) for example could be a good candidate. With thinner bezels, its footprint shouldn't be much enlarged while the screen would offer over 25% more available surface for content, and apps will have to be capable to adapt to the new resolution to not be run letterboxed.

. The iPod Touch will now in name belong to the iPad family, as its smallest representant, but sharing the same new 1280x720 resolution as the new iPhone but at 264 ppi (as the iPad Air), sporting then a 5.6" screen.
As a name proposition, i submit: iPad Pocket (to tell, yes it's big, but it still can fit pockets).

Not a phablet but a micro-tablet.
A phone shouldnt' be too large, and Apple will prefer you to buy both an iPhone and an iPad, rather than an aimed at do-it-all phablet.
The iPod Touch doesn't need to be as pocketable as an iPod or an iPhone, in essence it's a micro iPad running the iPhone iOS variant. It could fill the space between the 4.x" iPhones and the 8" iPad, as for example a great gaming device, still quite pocketable but much more comfortable than the current small 4" devices.

/oracle mode off

I think you're on to something there, as I also feel there's a market for this. Kind of funny the rumors that are now surfacing for a 5.5" device not designated as an iPhone. If Apple were to do this, it would be particularly interesting if they offered an LTE version, with similar carrier no-contract data options as they do with the ipad line. I would buy one in a heartbeat. My first inclination for a name would be the "iPad Nano."

mintfan7200 · Feb 20, 2014

I do not think the ipod touch is going anywhere . It sells too good for them discontinue it and if apple did discontinue it people will buy android alternatives . Apple is already loosing to android and getting rid of the ipod touch would only help Android . I really like the ipod touch it is such a great device . The thing is that apple moves too slow when it comes to upgrading there hardware and they charge way too much that is why they are loosing to the cheaper Android makers . I like ios more than android but apple is really behind with its hardware and the price is too high compared to Android . Apple makes most of there money with its ios devices and ipods not the mac . I hope they release something amazing soon or they are going to loose a lot of mobile market share if they do not have something great .

kb12252004 · Feb 20, 2014

talmy said:
I've got the current gen iPod Touch. I don't own an iPhone (or any smart phone) as I don't feel I need one. I'd miss the iPod Touch (which replaced the Palm Pilot for me as my portable organizer) and wouldn't look forward to paying $750 for an iPhone with the same capacity as the $300 iPod Touch. (And I don't consider paying $2000+ over two years for an iPhone contract to make the iPhone "free" since I'm paying $10/year for my very limited use cellphone service.)

You were wiser than I. The iPod Touch was my gateway into the ios ecosystem (since 2009), and after purchasing the 5th gen last summer, I finally took the "grass is greener" bait to a 32 GB iphone 5c in October. Thought an all-in-one device would be worth the $80 monthly bill. First month was great with the novelty, second month was OK, third month was questionable, and by month #4, I developed a case of buyer's remorse -- or should I say cell phone bill remorse. "Only" $1,600 to go before the contract ends. Cut to end of story; gladly got rid of the iPhone through an assumption of liability transfer, and now using my "iPhone Touch" with Talkatone/Google Voice around wi-fi, and a cheap no-contract flip phone for out and about. $6.25 per month for flip phone service; $0 for "iPhone Touch" service.

itsmeorthedog · Feb 25, 2014

I truly hope we get another model released, even if it's the last one.

taptic · Feb 25, 2014

itsmeorthedog said:
I truly hope we get another model released, even if it's the last one.

Yeah, I just hope they aren't all so confusing... I mean, why have the camera only on certain models... that's not the type of thing Apple usually does...

pagemaster · Feb 25, 2014

chekz0414 said:
People who think the iPod touch is getting the axe aren't thinking carefully about what Apple said. Apple said the iPod was taken down by their OWN iPhone and iPad products. The iPod touch serves as the entry to iOS, and isn't marketed as a simple iPod, On all of the iOS pages speaking of features etc, they show the iPad, iPhone and iPod touch. Obviously if the classic isn't dead yet, the iPod touch will still have life. iOS 8 is said to be centered around the iWatch, and this touch will get it. There will be a newer touch THIS YEAR, optimized for 64-bit, iOS 8, possibly sporting a new design involving plastic, and possibly TouchID. Also the iPod touch HAS been two hardware revisions behind in the past. The iPod touch 4th generation showed us that. Until we got this iPod in 2012.

Wow, there are some members on here who have some common sense.

The iPod Touch is not dead and will not be continued, there are plenty of people who do not want an iPhone but do want an iPod, I am one of them. I simply do not want an iPhone, EVER!

As for next gen, I will upgrade right away if they include a radio tuner.

----------

colodane said:
Amen Bruce & Talmy. Love my 32 GB Touch. Smaller and lighter than an iPhone with all the functionality I need 90% of the time. Don't miss having a smart phone.

Well said....

Bacong · Feb 26, 2014

The iPad Mini was the death knell for the iPod touch. When it was released, the iPod touch was just 30 dollars cheaper. Why not get the iPad for 30 bucks more?

talmy · Feb 26, 2014

Bacong said:
The iPad Mini was the death knell for the iPod touch. When it was released, the iPod touch was just 30 dollars cheaper. Why not get the iPad for 30 bucks more?

Because it doesn't fit in my shirt pocket? Currently the iPod Touch has 32GB while the original iPad Mini is only available with 16GB (at the same price).

pagemaster · Feb 26, 2014

Bacong said:
The iPad Mini was the death knell for the iPod touch. When it was released, the iPod touch was just 30 dollars cheaper. Why not get the iPad for 30 bucks more?

Because the mini is bitch to carry around with. The touch fits perfectly in my pocket while I am working

Andy-UK · Feb 28, 2014

I agree with several of the other comments here, the most likely next step isn't listed in the survey: a spec bump to an A6 processor. Apple has just dropped the iPad 2, which was the only other device still running the A5 processor, and there's no point keeping it just for the iPod Touch so I think they'll keep the same iPod Touch form factor and give it a small spec bump.

The Touch is very price sensitive - it doesn't sell well at its full price but it flies out the door whenever they post stock on the refurbished store with a big discount so a more substantial spec increase to an A7 or A8 processor, and the price rise necessary to cover it, is just wishful thinking.

iPod touch The Future of the iPod touch

What do you think will happen to the iPod touch product line

The current (fifth) generation is the last generation; it will be phased out in the near future

It's going nowhere! They'll make a version with the Apple A8 Processor to match current hardware

It's going nowhere! They'll make a version with the Apple A7 processor to keep it one behind.

They'll make an A7 version, but after that, it's getting phased out.

They'll make an A8 version, but after that, it's getting phased out.

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