Teardown of New 16 GB iPod Touch Reveals Same Internals and Layout as Larger Capacity Models

[RightMACatU]

2015 News Headline: iPod Touch to get new exciting colors with same A5 and maxed out 64GB.

Kidding aside, price is good but no thanks. I use a Note 3 for music, videos, surfing, games, email and use it no more than 10 min. per month as an emergency phone. So the Touch is not even on my radar for non-phone use.

 

[Nabooly]

Uh-oh....I think it's time to try out the Zune.

 

[mtneer]

I wonder if they will break the user experience to crap on this model once they release iOS 8 later this year totally pissing off those who bought it for their kids this summer?

If they do it'll be a great way to loose customers by souring the taste in their mouths

Such reactions are mainly confined to Android and Windows. Apple users typically may complain on forums, but they will go and upgrade to another Apple device. What do you think - anyone here will go get a Cowon?? And that's not even an apples to apples competitor to the iPod Touch.

 

[Rogifan]

"best product pipeline I've seen in the past 25 years at Apple." - Eddy Cue

Was he referring to this "new" 16GB iPod Touch?

Is that you Mark Gurman?

 

[mtneer]

An iPod Touch with perhaps limited (data only) network capabilities would cannibalize the iPhone about as much as a 3G iPad mini does.
.

And why would the carriers allow something with a phone like form factor to have data only capabilities that will enable consumers to bypass their lucrative monthly charges and go to third party voice over data apps? As it is, the carriers grudgingly allow iPads to have standalone data plans, but at least they know most people won't trundle out an iPad to make a phone call. A data only iPod touch will allow Whatsapp, Skype and others to undercut the wireless carriers, with a phone like form factor. They will fight to the death to not be relegated to the "public utility" status carrying dumb data.

 

[QCassidy352]

Point is, Apple is using the iPhone 4S internals (2011) in their iPod touch (released in 2012) and still charges the same price for THREE YEAR OLD HARDWARE.

Huh? They're not charging the same price. The 16 GB costs $30 less (plus added a camera), the 32 GB costs $50 less, and the $64 GB costs $100 less than when announced.

Now, if you wanna say they should cut prices even more, I agree. And if you wanna say they should also have at least bumped the specs to an A6 and 8 MP camera, I agree again. But they are most certainly not charging the same price as they did at release.

 

[thekeyring]

"best product pipeline I've seen in the past 25 years at Apple." - Eddy Cue

Was he referring to this "new" 16GB iPod Touch?

No, obviously not. No more than he was referring to the updated iMacs when he said that.

What's wrong with you people? It's not like Apple held a press event for these updates, they were silent.

 

[dyt1983]

It has gone up overall since 2012.

 

[Plutonius]

IPT eventually will be replaced by a version with phone capabilities.

You buy a prepaid-card from any provider and IPT is an iPhone when you need it.

For over 2x the cost of a Touch.

the household has a few cars and I keep an iPod in each one

I do the same and it works very well. I have almost 2000 songs in a playlist and I set the Touch to shuffle.

 

[groovyd]

i think this year they are focused on putting together a more cost effective lineup to increase sales in emerging markets. makes perfect sense to swap out some memory and lower the prices. takes almost no development effort and the price of the device anyways has little to do with actual cost. non emerging market would not flinch at paying an extra $100 for a little extra memory. win-win. you satisfy all markets and reduce product pipeline cost. get your product scaling across your various markets sorted out before stepping up the game on the higher end models in the next revision.

this is more about building a business that can satisfy a vast variety of target markets while still producing a quality product for all markets that is competitive but slightly better then the alternatives. their image allows them to take this step and fill out the portfolio. they are still the most innovative company around.

 

[Lesser Evets]

They should be lowering the iPod Shuffle to $29 or less for 2GB.

They should be lowering the iPod Nano to $99 or less.

They should have kept the non-camera iPT and sold it for $149 with 8GB.

Apple should have been revising prices down on older tech like the Shuffle for years.

 

[cdmoore74]

Why is iFixit doing a teardown of a product that is basically a marketing refresh?

They needed to confirm that Apple could care less about this product line. The ipod touch is basically a platform for outdated iphone parts. I would be shocked if we see a 4.7" touch with a A8 processor and more than 1gig of memory in 2014. Maybe 2 years from now.
With flagship Android tablets costing less for more the ipod touch is dead. I knew this back when the first Nexus came out. Kids should just use their parents iphones when they upgrade this fall.

 

[BornAgainMac]

Eddy Cue, best product pipeline he has seen in his 25 years at Apple.

 

[hoodedwarbler12]

A brand new device with an A5 chip... this makes sense how? They'll have to support it at least through iOS 9 now.

 

[apolloa]

Kinda interested in this as the replacement car iPod, easier to have an iPod and change your phones plus Bluetooth means chuck it in a pocket and forget it, this is a very good value iPod with the bonus of being able to buy and download and store podcasts and tunes directly onto it.

 

[SockRolid]

This "refreshed" device includes the same components as the existing 32 GB iPod touch variant ...

It will be interesting to see how long Apple keeps shipping 4.0" iPhones and iPod touches. I think the best strategy is to keep on selling them until there is no more demand. The refresh of the low-end iPod touch seems to confirm that. If Apple were planning to discontinue 4.0" screens soon (maybe 2016 when the 5S is 3 years old) then I doubt they would be spending any effort at all on the low-end iPod touch. They seem to be perfectly happy to freeze older iPod model specs (e.g. iPod classic.)

Fine. So let's extrapolate a little bit. Does it make sense for Apple to add a 4.7" or 5.5" iPod touch to the lineup (if the rumors of 4.7" and 5.5" iPhone "6" are true)? They could amortize their LCD production line machinery over a larger number of units, reducing the cost per unit, which helps their bottom line. So from a production standpoint, it makes sense to ship an iPod touch with (at least) one of the bigger iPhone screens.

And larger iPod touches would allow Apple to even more thoroughly exploit a market in which they have no serious competition whatsoever. With the 64-bit A7 and Metal in iOS 8, a bigger iPod touch could provide an even more compelling and unrivaled mobile gaming experience. And man would a 4.7" iPod touch be thin. If the iPhone "6" is roughly 6mm thick, even with its higher battery power requirements, just imagine how thin a 4.7" iPod touch would be.

 

[HighDesert50]

To not infuse new technology and ideas into a product really destines the product to failure. There is much Apple could do to make the platform distinct. For example, a ruggedized platform with ABC sensors, compass, GPS could open the venue to the adventurous.

 

[pubwvj]

I'm glad to see Apple continuing to support the iPodTouch. We need to have a solution for those of us who don't want or can't have an iPhone. There are a lot of places in the world that don't have cellular service. The cell phone monthly contracts are expensive. I don't want to have a cell contract for each member of our family. With the iPodTouch we all have all the essential functionality without the added cost of the cell phone service. The iPodTouch is exactly what a lot of people need. Proof is in the fact that it still has several billion dollars a year in sales.

 

[Starship77]

Wow. The amazing new MacBook Air with a slight processor increase and $100 price drop, the revolutionary breathtaking slower iMac, and the groundbreaking new iPod touch. So far 2014 has been an extraordinary year for Apple. As Tim Cook said "Only Apple could make such amazing hardware and software"

"This is truly the best pipeline I've ever seen in 25 years" -Eddy Cue

In all honestly, it's kinda pathetic to see how cheap Tim Cook is. The 5th gen 16GB iPod touch with out a camera was around for a little over a year. Just because Tim Cook is a cheap greedy cow. The new iMac reinforces that! And the new iPod touch pretty much shows that as well.

Only Apple......

And you forgot the AMAZING new iPhone 5C 8GB in some markets...

 

[ISanych]

As pointed by 9to5mac price difference between 16, 32 and 64gb models only $50 now. And that imho much more important than iPod hardware. If Apple will use the same approach with iPhones and iPads it will be great.

 

[MrXiro]

No, obviously not. No more than he was referring to the updated iMacs when he said that.

What's wrong with you people? It's not like Apple held a press event for these updates, they were silent.

Are you new to the internet? This place is for whining, complaining and bitching... even if it's totally unnecessary.

 

[jb007clone]

And why would the carriers allow something with a phone like form factor to have data only capabilities that will enable consumers to bypass their lucrative monthly charges and go to third party voice over data apps? As it is, the carriers grudgingly allow iPads to have standalone data plans, but at least they know most people won't trundle out an iPad to make a phone call. A data only iPod touch will allow Whatsapp, Skype and others to undercut the wireless carriers, with a phone like form factor. They will fight to the death to not be relegated to the "public utility" status carrying dumb data.

The argument carriers don't "like" it, doesn't equal it won't happen. The 3G iPad proves the point. They're fighting a losing battle in regards to being a "public utility" carrying "dumb data". That's how most people see them now and it's only a matter of time until they realize and accept it. Apple could easily put out a 3g Touch or iPad 'Nano' tomorrow and carriers couldn't do ***** about it. What leverage do they have on Apple to push back? Nothing.

 

[MrXiro]

As pointed by 9to5mac price difference between 16, 32 and 64gb models only $50 now. And that imho much more important than iPod hardware. If Apple will use the same approach with iPhones and iPads it will be great.

I would love if it's only a $50 difference between future iPhone and iPad models... but I'm not going hold my breath.

 

[512ke]

This is why Apple apparently needs Google and Samsung nipping at its heels to spur competition.

 

[thekeyring]

Are you new to the internet? This place is for whining, complaining and bitching... even if it's totally unnecessary.

I want to give this comment ALL THE THUMBS UPs