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iPod touch iPod Touch revival in 2014

preyan

preyan

macrumors 6502
Original poster
Aug 31, 2007
311
11
South Africa
Resurrect this thread if it doesn't happen but mark my words. 2014 will see the revival of the iPod touch. I base it on the following:
- Bigger screen - we all know Apple is playing catch up with screen size of their competitors. The iPod touch will also have the same screen size as the competitors and forthcoming iPhone 6
- 128GB hard drive considering they will have more space due to bigger screen
- faster processor
- more ram

Other unconfirmed factors:
- Gaming pad as mentioned in recent reports about iPhone
- additional functionality, maybe fingerprint sensor?

This will definitely happen next year alongside the new iPhone with a bigger screen
 
Yes but...

I think we'll see it renamed as the iPad micro, when they'll have (approximately) 6, 8, 10 and 12 inch iPads for 2014. Just a wild guess on my part.
 
I guess the bigger screen will happen, since they might just up the screen every other year along with the iPhone. A faster processor and more ram is a given on any line upgrade. As for the larger ssd, that's kinda doubtful. It's an iPod touch, not a netbook. Apple's traditionally tried to lower the costs of the iTouch line to appeal to the child demographic.
 
I hope the iPod Touch continues and evolves, I love mine! I suspect also it could have a rename/rebrand, but bet the name will more likely be something like iPad Nano.

I suspect more of 4.5 or 5" screen than a 6" one, keep it nice and compact.
 
preyan said:
Resurrect this thread if it doesn't happen but mark my words. 2014 will see the revival of the iPod touch. I base it on the following:
- Bigger screen - we all know Apple is playing catch up with screen size of their competitors. The iPod touch will also have the same screen size as the competitors and forthcoming iPhone 6
- 128GB hard drive considering they will have more space due to bigger screen
- faster processor
- more ram

Other unconfirmed factors:
- Gaming pad as mentioned in recent reports about iPhone
- additional functionality, maybe fingerprint sensor?

This will definitely happen next year alongside the new iPhone with a bigger screen
Click to expand...

32; 64; 128Gb SSD PCie, A7 clocked at 1.3Ghz, 1Gb of RAM (which is not enough for 64 bit but still; it's Apple).
 
Espeonia said:
I guess the bigger screen will happen, since they might just up the screen every other year along with the iPhone. A faster processor and more ram is a given on any line upgrade. As for the larger ssd, that's kinda doubtful. It's an iPod touch, not a netbook. Apple's traditionally tried to lower the costs of the iTouch line to appeal to the child demographic.
Click to expand...

I believe that a bigger screen will be a lead factor for the revival of iPod Touch :cool:
I believe space was a factor for not giving us a 128GB. With a bigger screen, bigger case, additional space, I think there's a chance :D
 
And Looking Forawrd to...

Getting the out of date A6 processor with the new and improved equipment!!!!

Just like the 5c ....
 
preyan said:
- 128GB hard drive considering they will have more space due to bigger screen
Click to expand...

I'm sure they'll eventually have this as an option (not necessarily next year), but the reason they don't have it now is undoubtedly cost rather than space, in my opinion. They don't use hard drives (and haven't since the iPod Classic); they use flash storage, which is absolutely tiny. You can fit 128 GB on an SD card these days--and while I haven't seen an microSD cards yet at this capacity, I'm sure there is still room to spare--so I'd doubt that they couldn't fit the same inside the iPod.
 
RMo said:
You can fit 128 GB on an SD card these days--and while I haven't seen an microSD cards yet at this capacity, I'm sure there is still room to spare--so I'd doubt that they couldn't fit the same inside the iPod.
Click to expand...

You can get SD cards at 256GB now ;)

I don't think the size is the issue; the issue is the cost like you said.

Those 256GB SD cards are quite pricey.

MartinAppleGuy said:
32; 64; 128Gb SSD PCie, A7 clocked at 1.3Ghz, 1Gb of RAM (which is not enough for 64 bit but still; it's Apple).
Click to expand...

PCI Express SSD on a mobile device? That would very expensive. The SSD would probably cost as much as the whole device.
 
I will list the proposed specs of next year's iPod touch with the purported iPhone 6's specs in (parentheses).

Larger Retina display (same)
A7/M7 chips (A8/M8 chips)
1GB or 2GB of RAM (2GB of RAM most likely)
5MP iSight camera with f/2.2 aperture, larger pixels (10MP iSight)

That's about all I've got. Apple will play the chicken catch-up game once more and give the iPod touch inferior hardware which will have insufficient RAM.

In the beginning, the iPod touch was given the same hardware; the second gen iPod touch was actually clocked higher than its counterpart the iPhone 3G (533 MHz vs 433 MHz); the third generation was equivalent to the 3GS (though did not support iOS 6 and possibly could have).

Everything started to slide when the fourth generation iPod touch was given half of the amount of RAM as the iPhone 4 on the same A4 chip (256MB vs 512MB), then slid even further with the iPhone 4S. The iPod touch 5G runs okay with iOS 7, but its A5 chip is absolutely vaporized performance-wise alongside the iPhone 5, 5c, and 5s.

Apple's strategy? Give it the headlining features of its more powerful iPhone siblings and watch it crash and burn, losing support for one major OS version earlier than the iPhone. It's a game that I refuse to play anymore (having the third - and fifth - generation iPod touch). It's getting old.
 
I too think Apple is giving the iPod Touch less importance than iPad and iPhone, they skipped the iTouch this year, and they skipped the iTouch in 2011. The iPod Touch is now two generations behind, the iTouch 5G with the A5 chip, while 2013 iDevices have A7 chip. There is higher chance that they'll announce an iPod Touch 6G in 2014, they better make it with (possible) A8 - M8 chip, and not A6 chip, Touch ID would be better, but that would raise the price.
Bigger screen (wider), better RAM, dual LED flash, 8MP Camera, A8 - M8 chip, and a 299-349 $ price tag, while the 5G price would drop to 249$.
 
At this point, isn't an iPod Touch just a tiny iPad?

An extra hundred bucks for an iPad Mini vs an iPod Touch is a no brainer IMO. It's a redundant product. Hell you can pick up a used iPhone from a generation ago for the same price as an iTouch, use it without a data connection and basically have the same thing.
 
I could see a new iPod Touch revival in 2014. I have an iPod Touch 5th gen, I did not want an iPhone under any circumstance. I mainly use my touch for podcasts and a few other things. My main phone is a Google Nexus.

I hope the touch does not get bigger, I think it is the perfect size it is now.
 
SomeGuyDude said:
At this point, isn't an iPod Touch just a tiny iPad?

An extra hundred bucks for an iPad Mini vs an iPod Touch is a no brainer IMO. It's a redundant product. Hell you can pick up a used iPhone from a generation ago for the same price as an iTouch, use it without a data connection and basically have the same thing.
Click to expand...

That is why the iPod Touch will only be revived in marketing.

If they let the product slide down into older tech, to save cost, they can price it competitively within the chain of similar products (iPads). Maybe they should just call it iPad Nano and try to offer it for $199.

A6(x?), 128GB max, bigger screen, same camera (probably), same case design--more colors perhaps.

iPT should jump the fence to iPad, iPods should be locked in and reduce costs year after year. $49 for a shuffle is almost robbery, and it should have 2GB instead of 4GB; price--$29. The classic is about ready to depart. The nano should be kept identical and be $99.

pagemaster said:
I hope the touch does not get bigger, I think it is the perfect size it is now.
Click to expand...

I actually want it a little bigger. The iPod Touch could be the perfect control surface for x-y-z programs which can be my MIDI pitch bend toggle, while being a camera and web device and media container.
 
Lesser Evets said:
That is why the iPod Touch will only be revived in marketing.

If they let the product slide down into older tech, to save cost, they can price it competitively within the chain of similar products (iPads). Maybe they should just call it iPad Nano and try to offer it for $199.

A6(x?), 128GB max, bigger screen, same camera (probably), same case design--more colors perhaps.

iPT should jump the fence to iPad, iPods should be locked in and reduce costs year after year. $49 for a shuffle is almost robbery, and it should have 2GB instead of 4GB; price--$29. The classic is about ready to depart. The nano should be kept identical and be $99.



I actually want it a little bigger. The iPod Touch could be the perfect control surface for x-y-z programs which can be my MIDI pitch bend toggle, while being a camera and web device and media container.
Click to expand...

None of this explains why in the world they should need to make new iPT's any more. The thing is done for. Keep the current version on the market with the price gradually sliding downward until it no longer sells. Honestly, tell me who these days is going to get one. It has such a strangely narrow band of utility.

Think about it like this: most Apple products work in concert with one another. It's totally reasonable that someone would have an iPod shuffle/nano for when you're out running or working out, an iPhone for daily pocket use, an iPad for sitting around on the couch just playing games and being social, a Macbook of some kind for a mobile workstation, and then an iMac on the desk for heavy usage, plus an Apple TV hooked up for all your Netflix and Amazon needs.

So the question is: where does the iPod Touch it in? Quite literally the only place the iPT fits is for budgetary purposes, someone wants to have iPhone apps but doesn't want to pay for a data plan or doesn't have the money to spring for an iPad, and I would really doubt that such a person is going to be putting money money into the app store (meaning they're even less of a profit source).

It's a redundant device these days. It needs to go away. Combine the iPods into the Nano for one tiny portable player you can stick in an armband and move on.
 
It'll have the whatever the newer processor is clocked at a lower speed with the memory + graphics of the iPhone 5S.

Doubt they'll bother changing screen size. 4" is perfect for the iPod touch.
 
SomeGuyDude said:
None of this explains why in the world they should need to make new iPT's any more.
Click to expand...

...OK... let me get this straight. You are telling us that there is NO NEED to make iPod Touch anymore, or at least improve it... because it only sells about 4-6 MILLION every quarter.

Are you sure you don't want to rethink your logic? The reason is PROFIT.

As long as it sells enough to make profit, it doesn't pay to KILL profit by stopping innovation. The main point of the iPod Touch is to be a "cheap" iPhone. It just is a slight redesign on the iPhone. If they are still designing iPhones, why wouldn't they tweak them to make an audio player selling 4+ MILLION every three months?

15 million/year x $30/iPod (average earning, speculation) = $450,000,000 profit. So... go ahead and say that is worthless.

You, like most, are falling for the fallacy that the iPods are DEAD. They aren't dead at this time, merely diminishing. iPods still have a few years of life ahead of them. Some, like the Shuffle and Nano, should be cut off from development and locked down, reduced in price, and sold as low-end introductory products.

I would love to have an iPod Touch, a new one to replace my 2G, but I'll wait for the newer release in 6 months. Since it will mirror the iPhone, it will probably have the bigger screen, if the iPhone gets a bigger screen. I'd like that, too.
 
Lesser Evets said:
...OK... let me get this straight. You are telling us that there is NO NEED to make iPod Touch anymore, or at least improve it... because it only sells about 4-6 MILLION every quarter.

Are you sure you don't want to rethink your logic? The reason is PROFIT.

As long as it sells enough to make profit, it doesn't pay to KILL profit by stopping innovation. The main point of the iPod Touch is to be a "cheap" iPhone. It just is a slight redesign on the iPhone. If they are still designing iPhones, why wouldn't they tweak them to make an audio player selling 4+ MILLION every three months?

15 million/year x $30/iPod (average earning, speculation) = $450,000,000 profit. So... go ahead and say that is worthless.

You, like most, are falling for the fallacy that the iPods are DEAD. They aren't dead at this time, merely diminishing. iPods still have a few years of life ahead of them. Some, like the Shuffle and Nano, should be cut off from development and locked down, reduced in price, and sold as low-end introductory products.

I would love to have an iPod Touch, a new one to replace my 2G, but I'll wait for the newer release in 6 months. Since it will mirror the iPhone, it will probably have the bigger screen, if the iPhone gets a bigger screen. I'd like that, too.
Click to expand...

They're diminishing rapidly because their market is disappearing. They're dead and just coasting on momentum currently. Again, all you did was say that they still sell. What you're missing is that they're having drops from quarter to quarter that are downright cataclysmic. Like, 50% area.

Previously the iPod Touch fit in that gap for people who didn't want to shell out for an iPhone but still wanted the apps. Now that data plans are pretty much standard and you can get an iPhone for dirt cheap on contract they're losing their market. Who is buying an iPod Touch now? You still haven't said what market there is?

I'm not falling for any fallacy. If anything, the sales figures are matching what I've been saying for a while now: the iPhone has left the iPT in a death spiral.

I could see them selling in markets where people don't have iPhones or data plans, but elsewhere? I'm not even kidding, why would anyone with a smartphone buy one? It makes no sense. It doesn't offer ANY advantages.
 
It won't have A6, it will have A7 for 64-bit future proofing (it might not be replaced for two years) and skip over the A6 like the iPad Mini did. The iPod Touch (5th generation) used the previous year's A5 chip, why would they use the two year old A6 chip in a model that's supposed to have a bigger screen with a possibly higher resolution?
 
I used to have an iPod touch that I would use for all the fun Apple features, but use a prepaid brick phone for just the phone and texting.
 
Release date of the new iPod touch 6th generation

Can anybody tell me when the iPod touch 6 is gonna be released ?????? will it be released March - June ?? :confused:
 
TeshanPams said:
Can anybody tell me when the iPod touch 6 is gonna be released ?????? will it be released March - June ?? :confused:
Click to expand...

If anything it'll be released in the fall like every other apple product is.

There's no actual word yet, though. There are rumors, but Apple will keep mum until they officially unveil it in the fall.
 
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