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iPhone 4's 5MP Camera Won't Fit in Current iPod Touch Design

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Apr 12, 2001
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164513-iphone4TouchComparison_500.jpg

iPod Touch (left) and iPhone 4 camera (right)

After we heard today's rumors claiming that the next iPod Touch might be getting the iPhone 4's 5 megapixel camera, we asked iFixit's Kyle Wiens if that would even be possible given the sizes of the parts involved. iFixit offers repair guides (iPhone 4 guide) and parts for Apple products and has made a name for itself by posting detailed product teardowns.

This issue of camera size is one we've seen before. The iPod nano, for example, contains a video-only camera but is unable to take still photos. Steve Jobs explained the reason to the New York Times:
I also asked him why the Nano can record video, but can’t snap still photos. That reason, he said, is technical: the sensors you need to record video are extremely thin these days—thin enough to fit into the wafer-thin Nano. But the ones with enough resolution for stills, especially with autofocus (like the sensor in the iPhone), are much too thick to cram into a player that’s only 0.2 inches thick.
Click to expand...
Wiens reports on the relative sizes of the hardware in question:

- iPhone 4 5MP (back) camera: 6.5mm
- iPhone 4 Facetime (front) camera: 2.5mm
- iPod Touch width (at edges): 6mm

The iPod Touch dimensions don't include the casing and display, so actual usable space is smaller than the 6mm shown. This shows that the iPhone 4's back camera can not fit in the iPod Touch, though the front Facetime camera could. It's possible that Apple might "square off" the iPod Touch design like the iPhone 4, but even so, Wiens still isn't sure that it would be possible in the current dimensions. That would mean Apple would have to make the iPod Touch thicker as well as "squaring off" the design to accommodate the 5MP camera.

Given the early iPod touch parts and Apple's push for Facetime, it seems likely that the next iPod Touch will have a front-facing Facetime camera, but the same high quality 5MP iPhone 4 camera seems less likely.

Article Link: iPhone 4's 5MP Camera Won't Fit in Current iPod Touch Design
 
Article Link
https://www.macrumors.com/2010/07/08/iphone-4s-5mp-camera-wont-fit-in-current-ipod-touch-design/
If I were in charge I'd just make the darned thing thicker and put both cameras in.

But based on my experiences with this company, I'm officially predicting that they'll give the iPod the front-facing camera but not the rear camera. Too bad.
 
Doesn't it stand to reason that they will make the new iPod Touch look like the iPhone 4?
 
Duh...

Aren't the rumors also saying that the new iPod Touch will get the iPhone 4 styling - which would make it thicker at the edges (instead of rounded), making it possible to squeeze the camera in? The display thickness isn't an issue - the camera isn't behind the display, just the cover glass.

MadCow
 
So stick a crappy camera, like the one in the 3G and below. 3GS wasn't all that great either. Then use the same weak VGA camera that the i4 uses. Also, make the iPod Touch thinner.
 
Apple, just make the ipod touch bigger to fit that cam in, i wouldn't care...
 
grantsdale said:
Doesn't it stand to reason that they will make the new iPod Touch look like the iPhone 4?
Click to expand...

MadCow42 said:
Aren't the rumors also saying that the new iPod Touch will get the iPhone 4 styling - which would make it thicker at the edges (instead of rounded), making it possible to squeeze the camera in? The display thickness isn't an issue - the camera isn't behind the display, just the cover glass.

MadCow
Click to expand...

from the article:

---
It's possible that Apple might "square off" the iPod Touch design like the iPhone 4, but even so, Wiens still isn't sure that it would be possible in the current dimensions. That would mean Apple would have to make the iPod Touch thicker as well as "squaring off" the design to accommodate the 5MP camera.
---

while the picture shows the iPod touch is slightly taller in the center than the camera. there's stuff like case and screen glass that takes up a non-negligable amount of space.

arn
 
They don't have to stay with that design. it's more than likely going to change to the block style the 4 has. I also don't think they will have facetime since it uses the SMS/text system to initiate "calls" which wouldn't work on a cell free device.
 
Is it completely improbably that they'd revamp the iTouches design? If they want the camera I think they could make it happen just make it slightly bigger right?

EDIT *woops already been said a few times :-( On another note I think they'll get a camera into the iPod Touch whether or not it's a similar design as current or if they revamp it in order to fit it then we shall see.
 
Quite simply if the new 5MP camera will be in the new iPod Touch design, it will be just that, a new design for the iPod Touch. The line needs a refresh with slipping sales over last year.
 
I wish apple would actually make the new ipod touch shaped more along the lines of the iphone 4 rather than having the back be rounded and get scratched easily. Why do people expect the new ipod touch to look like all of the older ipod touches? Also the ipod touch reflects the look of the current iphone. Example, the 1st ipod had a black strip on the bottom and was flat. Where the 2nd & 3rd gen ipods had a rounded back like the 2nd & 3rd gen iphones. So naturally the 4th gen ipod should have a flat back alot more like iphone 4.
 
They may make it look like the iPhone but it will be thinner than the iPhone. Squared off or not, I very much doubt you'll be able to fit that 5MP camera in an iPod Touch.

The FaceTime camera is a strategic move to allow mulitple iOS devices to make video calls. The back camera is on the iPhone 4 because people demand it in a phone. No one demands a camera in a PMP, in so far as I'm aware.
 
I don't see the 5MP camera in iPod Touch happening. Why risk cannibalizing iPhone sales? if iPhone minus call capability is iPod Touch (which it is not right now), people who will hold out for Verizon iPhone will dramatically increase. This also means lower than expected sale for iPhone.

I expect that 3.2MP camera used in iPhone 3GS to make it into the new Touch.
 
My prediction is: Front facing camera for Face-Time, 64GB max.

No rear-facing camera, no GPS. Retina display maybe... is not really essential in the iPod Touch, but maybe they'll use it because is thinner...

Keeping the same price point is the main problem with all these new features but, if the iPhone can do it...
 
Making itouch bigger

If they were able to add both camera's and based on tests and reviews on other sites both camera's could make the itouch a Flip video camera competitor and if they allowed the new imovie app to work on the itouch then we could have a nice little video camera on our hands. And odds our the itouch will get facetime as steve jobs said millions of facetime devices will ship this year so either itouch gets it or a Ipad update in the works?
 
Nice rumour, but no hope.

We know from generations ago that the iPod Touch is always crippled, so it doesn't take away sales from the iPhone that alone generates as much profit to Apple Inc as a whole iPod Touch.
 
Like I said here

"It won't come with a retina display, without a bigger battery, and it won't have a rear view 5MP camera without also getting a new case; which also enables Apple to introduce a 128GB model.

p.s. The next iPad will also have a front view camera. I think."
 
grantsdale said:
Doesn't it stand to reason that they will make the new iPod Touch look like the iPhone 4?
Click to expand...

ghostface147 said:
So stick a crappy camera, like the one in the 3G and below. 3GS wasn't all that great either. Then use the same weak VGA camera that the i4 uses. Also, make the iPod Touch thinner.
Click to expand...

Biker said:
Apple, just make the ipod touch bigger to fit that cam in, i wouldn't care...
Click to expand...

Front AND back cameras are part of the FaceTime feature set and user experience. Being able to flip the cameras around is the stand out feature. I say if it gets one, it will get both!

They will make the iPod Touch a flat banded design like the iPhone 4 but without the seems probably ;) Also take into account that by including the same cameras across products Apple will save lots of money in parts purchasing. Apple does this a lot and is very streamlined with parts and assembly.

It is NOT a big deal to make the iPod Touch 1 mm thicker lol! They have to or they won't be able to add many features to it ever. If it is to stay competitive with features like camera, shooting HD video, and everything else, it is simply necessary and I think even Steve will understand this. It will still be very thin.
 
Why do we keep getting these updates? THE IPOD TOUCH WILL NEVER GET A BACK CAMERA. Apple realized it was stupid with the nano, and that it's not worth it.

But what will happen in a front facing camera for video calls, that's what will really sell
 
Only a mm or so thicker wouldn't be horrible. I don't see the problem with it.

Couldn't it also be possible that there exists a camera module that is slightly thinner than the one found in iPhone 4? Perhaps Apple used that module in the iPhone 4 because it was slightly cheaper than the thinner models and they had the room for it anyway. Anyone have access to these parts catalogs? Or all these custom orders?
 
grantsdale said:
Doesn't it stand to reason that they will make the new iPod Touch look like the iPhone 4?
Click to expand...
Absolutely.

Basing the possibility of the next-gen iPod touch based on last year's hardware dimensions is silly, especially in light of the fact that the leaked parts of the purported next-gen iPod touch look very, very similar to the iPhone 4.

I don't know why the author isn't clearly making this connection. If the next-gen iPod touch is the same thickness as the current iPhone 4, there is every possibility that the device could have the same rear-facing autofocus camera module.

While Apple could deliberately cripple the iPod touch, it's not really far fetched to say that the possibility of a rear-facing camera is slim, particularly in light of the development of the iMovie app. An iPod touch with still image and video recording capabilities would put enormous pressure on the compact camera industry as well as Flip Video.
 
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