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alright, can't be bothered to read all that self indulgent nonsense. there's no reason to discontinue a product simply because YOU do not use it.
I mean, when even Apple is doing everything they can to hide it on their website, completely removing its tab and everything, I think it’s days are numbered.
 
What has the iPod touch got to do with it?! It’s a great little product to enable being the Apple ecosystem without necessitating big bucks for an iPhone. Children for example.
I don’t think anyone in these comments has actually used a seventh GEN iPod touch
The experience is not worth $200, let me just tell you that.
 
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Why?

How bout they spec bump it instead. People still use them!
Because if they spec bumped it, they would have to increase the price, and at that point just get an iPhone SE.
The refurbished iPhone market and the budget iPad has made the iPod touch completely obsolete, even for children
 
I really hope for the following 2022 MacBook lineup:
— 700-800 MacBook SE (current base M1 Air with a price drop). Or just keep the Air name with a price drop. My choice :)
— M2 14” and 16” Just Macbook with colors. Fanless 14’ and maybe single small fan for 16’. Or maybe fanless in base config and small fan with an upper one (same as with iMac — single fan base model and double fan for the higher end model), usb-c on each side and mag safe, mini led without pro motion, notch, 1100-2000$
— new Pros of course.
— new super high end Air. 13” screen, super thin bezels, titanium body, Face ID, M2, 900 grams, pro motion mini led, 2 usb c: one on each side, nag safe, wedge shape, but more boxy and sharp, matte black option, price 1800+.
Yeah, that lineup is an absolute mess.
What’s more likely:
M1 MBA: $999
M2 MBA with colors, Square design, 13.3 inch mini LED display, 1080P WebCam, bigger battery: $1299
MacBook Pro: $1999 for 14 inch, $2499 for 16 inch
 
I don’t think anyone in these comments has actually used a seventh GEN iPod touch
The experience is not worth $200, let me just tell you that.
I have a 7th. Gen and you're right, it's not worth $200, let alone $400. But if they lowered the price to $100, I'd buy one for every day of the week!
 
You understimate the budgets these schools have that they have to burn or else they lose it.
I've been out of higher ed. for 3 years. But I do remember Apple treated my university quite well with decent discounts. But that ended sometime ago. I assumed they were cultivating sales from graduated students after graduation. I don't know what changed.

I know I fought bravely for the Apple brand at the grad. school I worked for during the 24 years I was there. It wasn't easy. But over the years I saw more and more Macs during exam time ;)
 
I have a 7th. Gen and you're right, it's not worth $200, let alone $400. But if they lowered the price to $100, I'd buy one for every day of the week!
Besides the CPU, everything on it is from 2012.
It’s the same battery as 2012, it’s the same cameras from the iPhone 5 from 2012, it’s the same display from 2012, it’s the same design from 2012, literally the main thing you’re getting for your $200-400 is an underclocked A10.
If you want that, just buy an iPhone 7, you’ll get The full processing power of the A10, plus much much better cameras, touch ID, much bigger battery, a bigger screen, not to mention water resistance which, if you’re targeting this thing towards children, water resistance is pretty important.
Not to mention you can probably get an iPhone 7 for much cheaper than an iPod touch seven. It’s just not a good value at all, for anyone.
It’s too slow and The battery life is too horrible for those who want to use it as a back up device, it’s way too expensive and no water resistance makes it a stupid purchase for children, the extremely high price and terrible DAC make it a terrible purchase for music lovers, the extremely slow, under clocked and dated CPU/GPU makes it a terrible gaming/Apple arcade machine, not to mention the battery life. Have I mentioned the battery life?
Even for $100, you’re better off buying… like… a used iPhone SE1 or a HomePod Mini or literally anything else.
For the record, given that this thing has been absolutely hidden from the main Apple website, I’m pretty sure it’s gonna be gone any day now
 
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For as long as I can remember Apple always sold a model in its education store that was basically the cheapest configuration you can get. If that entry price has now been raised by $300 and school are now supposed to spend more on their computers, then Apple really is serious about racing prices across all their lines going forward. Not sure how you could configure an education model of the newest iMac like they used to with the intel one since they don't have slower chips or cheaper monitors they can put in it.
 
Good!!!
That thing was a good five years out of date, if not more.
Now just replace the Touch Bar M1 MacBook Pro with a new M2 MacBook Air, discontinue the iPod touch, and I think they would have the best lineup they’ve had in years.
They would literally have a product at every price point that I could genuinely recommend, no pulled punches
I like the Macbook Pro m1 13" as I wouldn't want a M2 MacBook Air. I like having a fan with the very little video editing that I do and don't feel like having to take an extra long break because the computer slows down.
 
I don’t think anyone in these comments has actually used a seventh GEN iPod touch
The experience is not worth $200, let me just tell you that.
Sure they could do with a spec bump.

For kids though, they’re fine. I have 2. The batteries are fine to be honest. Do you even have one?

Plus- buying some second hand iPhone is hardly a substitute for a new Christmas present for your children, especially if the phone part and the extra specs are largely irrelevant.
 
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I like the Macbook Pro m1 13" as I wouldn't want a M2 MacBook Air. I like having a fan with the very little video editing that I do and don't feel like having to take an extra long break because the computer slows down.
Have you ever used the M1 MacBook Air? Slow down isn’t a worry, just look at benchmarks comparing the two. The fan makes very little difference
 
My buddy bought one last summer (2020) for med school and he says it’s painfully slow. Surprised they didn’t continue to at least upgrade the internals. Who in the world buys this over the new 24”??
Public school districts are process heavy. Many months pass between the time someone submits a purchase request and the time a purchase order appears. School districts were no doubt buying 21” iMacs for the fall semester that were requested before the new 24” iMac was announced, and it was too late to change the purchase orders. Now that the new school year has started, it’s a logical time for Apple to discontinue the old product.
 
Sure they could do with a spec bump.

For kids though, they’re fine. I have 2. The batteries are fine to be honest. Do you even have one?

Plus- buying some second hand iPhone is hardly a substitute for a new Christmas present for your children, especially if the phone part and the extra specs are largely irrelevant.
Not really, if you’re buying this thing for kids, it’s usually for them to be able to play games.
A 4 inch screen, under clocked A10, and barely 16 GB of usable storage is just a waste of $200.
 
It’s overpriced for what it is, $200 for a underclocked 2016 processor is absolutely laughable, it has absolutely horrendous battery life even for just listening to music, it is using an outdated design from 2012, it’s the only iOS device in the lineup without at least an A13, it’s the only iOS device still available without any form of biometrics, and it’s very, very hard to justify its existence anymore.
I’ve heard people use the excuse that “well kids love it for gaming,” but that excuse falls apart immediately the second that you bring up the budget iPad that’s only an extra $129 with a screen almost 2.5 times the size, a battery life that’s at least quadrupled, and gaming/CPU performance thats much, much further ahead.
Not to mention you can easily go on eBay and find an iPhone 7 or eight for cheaper than this with better specifications, bigger screen, better speakers, faster processors, much much better battery, Touch ID.
It literally has absolutely no reason to exist other than that Apple can say “look guys, the iPod still exists” while doing absolutely everything they can to hide the fact that it exists.
After the October Keynote, they literally made it harder to fine, completely removing the tab. You have to go into the footnotes to even find it.
So in summary, it’s horrible for kids because it has a terrible battery life and A tiny screen with horrible gaming performance so there’s not much actual gaming they can do, it’s horrible for music lovers because you have to pay $400 to actually get it with 256 GB, and even then the battery life is so terrible that you’re better off just getting a used iPhone, and it’s horrible for anyone else because if you need just an extra device that’s not your phone, the budget iPad exists with a much faster processor, much, much, much and I cannot emphasis enough, much better battery life, not to mention that the 4 inch screen in 2021 is just cramped.
Add on top of these things the fact that it has an absolutely horrendous front facing camera, a back camera from the iPhone 5, and The fact that it’s probably only gonna get another year or two of software updates, and… it just needs to go.
I’m betting a Lot of the use is in ‘retail’ situations where they aren’t/won’t use an iPhone and an iPad mini is too cumbersome. My daughter works retail and both of her jobs (major retailers) use iPod Touch for their mobile POS. the sales associates all have them use it to look up inventory and place orders and all that jazz. These companies just need the cheapest iOS machine to run their custom apps.
 
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Also, to say that they "suck" just because it is intel is also ignorant. They did it's job for the time. Now it is a new time, new technology. The 21" iMac is a great design (and still actually). Yes, it is time to move on with it, but it cannot be said that they were bad.

Exactly. It's Apple who's to blame for selling old hardware for insane prices. But, what would you expect from company which sells chinese cloth for $19.
 
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I think Apple must be thinking they need an i3 or i5 dual core replacement chip. Maybe M2 range would have an M2 Mini option with 6 Core (2 fast / 4 slow).

I mean they have left the low end market open for takeover right now. Maybe M1 would be the M2 Lite.
Part of me thought they would just take the current 24" M1 iMac (with the 7 core GPU) and put a 1080p panel in it, sell it in only 1 color (silver?) to have an entry level iMac, but I guess that's not happening. I doubt they will make a lower end M series chip.
 
Not at all true.

On a personal note I have used a 2011 iMac with HDD for 10 years as a daily driver. For everything from content co sumptuous to medium level video tent creation (videos and movies, as well as some other things). Zero issues with the speed of the thing, even in 2021.

The downside is the video card crapped out this year and thus, I will be upgrading to a M1 Pro iMac when they release next year. In the interim I have a 2012 iMac coming to me and o cover my needs till then.

My use case is far from unique. Older Macs are still very capable machines. Sure pre OS 10 machines are getting a little long in the tooth but past that they are all still very usable today for many tasks.
And they run QT 7 - my MB 2008 does too - quick and dirty basic editing and formatting. Want to resize? crop? Yes.
 
When I see a 27" i9 iMac at sale for full price still when its about to be obsolete, well that sticks in my throat and makes my trust in Apple wane even more these days. iOS 15 is pretty much bloat, I cant see the point in a M1 iPad when the OS gimps it, and I cant even add more ram in the new machines. So no more Apple computers for me. Id be better off with a home built windows machine tbh. That's something I never thought Id ever say.
 
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