iPod touch iPod touch: Dead or Alive

No idea.

If it's updated, great.

If it's not, will just keep on using my iPod Touch 5 until it no longer runs.

If not this month, it'll be released with the Apple Watch or maybe iPad Pro. Early 2015 I'm guessing.

Yebubbleman said:

What makes you say this?

Click to expand...

I said I was guessing. There are many missing features on the iPod Touch like Touch ID, NFC for Apple Pay, and Apple Watch compatibility.

I wonder if iOS 9 will be available for A5 devices...

I'm pretty adamant the iPod Touch at least has one more generation. The iPod Touch is still too big to be ignored. The iPod Classic didn't die until it had lost almost complete interest. The next iPod Touch could be a huge upgrade and generate a lot of interest.

A 4.7" iPod Touch and a 5.5" iPod Touch Plus could be the perfect portable gaming console for kids and gamers. Since iOS 7 and iOS 8 also support controllers and there is a big list of controller-supported games, Apple could make their own controller and make it as an official accessory and bring even more interest.

Unlike the iPod Classic which was already dying because of streaming music, the iPod Touch is still a huge appeal to kids, especially in a bigger 5.5" size that's closer to an iPad Mini but still pocketable. I could see an appeal where some people might want to keep their basic feature or Android phone and have a big iPod Touch to work with from time to time.

A 5.5" iPod Touch would be killer.

Why do you need an iPod touch if you have an iPhone?

Yebubbleman said:

Let me rephrase, what makes you think (or guess) that they'll continue to offer an "iPod touch" product?

As for iOS 9, given how sluggish iOS 8 runs on all A5 devices, I'd say it'd be pretty safe to say that they won't be running it. I could see an exception being made for the third generation iPad with its A5X, but only due to the fact that it has 1GB of RAM versus the 512MB that the non-X A5 processor-based devices have.

Click to expand...

They updated it this year and it runs the latest OS. The iPhone can't replace it because of the price difference. The only reason they didn't do it yet is probably so it wouldn't take away from the iPhone 6.

markp-a said:

Why do you need an iPod touch if you have an iPhone?

Click to expand...

Double the battery life? With the new iCloud and continuity features, an iPod touch can do literally everything an iPhone can except make calls.

I think its alive, I have seen houndreds of people with iphone and only a couple of them were listening to music but who buys ipod touch loves music which makes them potential buyer for itunes, and new headphones which apple will built with beats.

The iPod touch is very much alive. The classic was discontinued, because it was just a music player. The iPod touch is so much more. Its a gaming device. A camera. A web surfing device. And emailing device. And yes, you can make and recieve phone calls on it...like I do.

I would say that the iPod touch is more an ipad nano, and believe Apple will market it as such when it's updated along with the iPads later this month. At least that is my theory.

Not everybody wants a smartphone. And not everyone wants to lug around an ipad or even an iPad mini around.

I can totally see Apple announcing a 4.7" or 5.5" iPod touch...or maybe both. They could market the 5.5" as an ipad nano and the 4.7" could remain the iPod touch.

Either way, there is definitely a market for the iPod touch. Especially if they offer them in the current iphone 6 sizes.

Guess we'll find out soon enough.

Maybe a 5.5 iPod Touch at the same price of an iPad Mini retina...

World you buy it?

i dont know how many times i've said this.

but if they discontinue this its going to be a mistake.

because this device without a contract is a gold mine for BUSINESSES.

a quick scan and pack device, retail, tradeshow order taking, etc etc etc.

right now i have to test throughly with our company's app to make sure it can handle our app with just 512 MB of RAM.


right now the price of an iPod device is $199, Linea Pro barcode/creditcard scanner , and then theres our licensing fee.

it all arounds up to be around $1500, you get rid of these iPods then we (well the customer) have to buy off contract phones

cheapest is the 5C with only 4GB of ram (4 is taken by the OS) which isnt enough, but that alone is $450 that makes one device with sleeve and our app $2000 grand a pop.

so we have to go with the iPhone 5S, which will make it over $2000, and companies are certainly not buying just one. and it adds up.

lets not even talk about the 6 or 6+ those will be $2500 if we sell those.


our bigger customers/bigger companies wouldn't mind too much, but still thats a steep price. especially if your buying 10 or more. hell even 5 thats 10 grand right there.

small-mid sized companies won't want to spend that much.


so whats going to happen?


we're gonna head towards buying USED phones, whether its locked or unlocked it doesnt matter (unless they need a data plan for people who travel)


so apple really wants to head towards this direction? wouldn't they want to sell more new products?

rather then missing out and having companies buy used iPhones?

i dont think so, thats not apple, they want a cut of everything.

with the iOS 8 we cant even manually install provisioning profiles anymore.

they're forcing us to upload to to their VPP (Business to business) App Store, probably to get a Cut.


$160 billion sitting around, while our federal government has around $49 billion, and these guys want even more.

they're greedy, i dont see them dropping the iTouch line to have businesses to look for cheaper alternatives like used iPhones.



iOS is the windows for mobile operating systems for businesses. (windows control what 90-95% of all operating systems in the world, if you talk about businesses probably 99%)


if they want to completely close the door to android, they're not going to drop this line.


but if they do, its not like android will thrive anyways, theres essentially nobody developing business apps on android, and businesses won't take the risk with 95% of all mobile spyware and malware on android OS.


Edit: the business industry (and any business from manufacturing, to construction, to services, to retail) is going to keep this device alive, not consumers.

I still think they should keep it around because a lot of kids have them and kids are purchasing games and apps probably a lot more than iPhone users. This increases apple's bottom line in terms of App Store purchase and in app purchases. Touch users also consume a lot of media for when they don't have wifi which means they are more likely to purchase music, movies or TV series from the App Store which again is more money for apple.

To quote Frank Zappa:"It ain't dead, but it sure smells funny."

The product that should be killed off is the iPod nano.

Not many Apple customers care for dedicated music players these days, usually they want some other functionality as well. The iPod nano offers nothing. The iPod touch on the other hand, gives you; apps, games, internet browsing, messages, etc.. It's perfect for kids and people who don't want an iPhone.

The iPod product line should be

iPod touch
iPod shuffle

Simple as that.

TheRainKing said:

The product that should be killed off is the iPod nano.

Not many Apple customers care for dedicated music players these days, usually they want some other functionality as well. The iPod nano offers nothing. The iPod touch on the other hand, gives you; apps, games, internet browsing, messages, etc.. It's perfect for kids and people who don't want an iPhone.

The iPod product line should be

iPod touch
iPod shuffle

Simple as that.

Click to expand...

The shuffle is the one that should be discarded. The nano offers a screen and larger storage capacities. Also, Nike+ support. I know people who use the nano in fitness and exercise context. But not the shuffle because the storage capacity is so small and there is no screen and no Nike+ support. The shuffle is still there to keep the lowest price for an "iPod" low. Essentially Apple's main products are iPhone, iPad and Mac. Everything else still exists for secondary/tertiary reasons and/or niche markets that require a less complex and/or single-use device.

To answer the OP: The gist of this entire thread (and topic itself) is that the iPod touch is stuck between a rock and a hard place. For POS systems, look at the Apple Store and how they recently upgraded to iPhones from iPod touches. For small/medium businesses, their POS systems generally use iPads. I don't see a significant portion that require iPod touches for business needs as opposed to an iPad. There do exist, but not significant.

For consumers, the iPod touch is probably something you'd give to your kids before you give them phones. But nowadays, kids get phones from a very young age so that market is shrinking. I see many parents buy an iPad for family-use (read: for their kids to play games on) instead of buy each kid an iPod touch.

The iPod touch is a very niche product now. Before, it was the iPhone sans phone. Now, many people around the world have iPhones and thus has no need for an iPod touch. WiFi only doesn't cut it anymore. People's usage habits have shifted. Being connected constantly is more a necessity than before. Look at Facebook for example. The majority of users used to be on desktop browsers. In the last year or so, that changed to mobile apps.

What I'm trying to say is that Apple's (and users') attention has shifted towards the iPhone and iPad paradigm. There are still niche uses for the iPod touch but it doesn't require keeping it up to date (at least annually) with the other two product lines (both from user and Apple's viewpoint). I don't know if ApplePay requires any kind of Internet access, but if not; Apple should update the iPod touch with TouchID and NFC at the very least to increase the number of devices that support ApplePay.

TLDR: Everyone has an iPhone now so they don't need iPod touches. For everything else, there's iPad.

----------

Outrun1986 said:

I still think they should keep it around because a lot of kids have them and kids are purchasing games and apps probably a lot more than iPhone users. This increases apple's bottom line in terms of App Store purchase and in app purchases. Touch users also consume a lot of media for when they don't have wifi which means they are more likely to purchase music, movies or TV series from the App Store which again is more money for apple.

Click to expand...

I agree with some of your points. Although, the experience of using Apple's content stores on an A5 device is pretty awful.

iPad nano?

It would be funny to see Tim introduce the new "iPad nano", just to immediately go "nah, just kidding. It's still the iPod touch we all know and love."

TheRainKing said:

The product that should be killed off is the iPod nano.

Not many Apple customers care for dedicated music players these days, usually they want some other functionality as well. The iPod nano offers nothing. The iPod touch on the other hand, gives you; apps, games, internet browsing, messages, etc.. It's perfect for kids and people who don't want an iPhone.

The iPod product line should be

iPod touch
iPod shuffle

Simple as that.

Click to expand...

If they made the iPod nano with decent storage it could replace the classic and have more features like Bluetooth that are needed. But as of now a nano with 16gb or 8gb is pretty useless, it doesn't have enough storage to be useful. If it started at 32gb or 64gb then it could be marketed as a device for music lovers. I think people who want to carry their whole music library with them and those who want to listen in the car for example.

I'd be more concerned about the iPod shuffle since its page hasn't even been edited to reflect the new flat look. It still uses Myriad Pro Semibold instead of Regular.

SnowLeopard2008 said:

To answer the OP: The gist of this entire thread (and topic itself) is that the iPod touch is stuck between a rock and a hard place. For POS systems, look at the Apple Store and how they recently upgraded to iPhones from iPod touches. For small/medium businesses, their POS systems generally use iPads. I don't see a significant portion that require iPod touches for business needs as opposed to an iPad. There do exist, but not significant.

Click to expand...

The local AT&T store uses 9.7" iPads as POS machines (iirc, can be docked) while the local Verizon uses iPad Minis inside a case with barcode scanner. While iPhones are considerably more expensive, the iPad Mini is pretty close to iPod Touch pricing and isn't incredibly unwieldy if one needs something relatively portable.

rui no onna said:

The local AT&T store uses 9.7" iPads as POS machines (iirc, can be docked) while the local Verizon uses iPad Minis inside a case with barcode scanner. While iPhones are considerably more expensive, the iPad Mini is pretty close to iPod Touch pricing and isn't incredibly unwieldy if one needs something relatively portable.

Click to expand...

Yes, that is what I was pointing out. POS systems favor iPads over iPod touches. I think Apple is one of the few that favored iPod touches for their in-store POS systems but recently they upgraded to iPhones. But this is due to how they designed their store.