Apple Rumored to Release Updated iPod Touch Later This Year

[nutmac]

An iPod Touch is a decent portable media player, internet, and gaming device that has access to (most of) the same apps as an iPhone, for a fraction of a price and no mobile service plan to worry about. I don't see why it's surprising that people might still be interested in it. Think teenagers, for example, who can't afford or their parents simply don't want to get them a smartphone.

It also depends on the carrier you are on.

Last year, I switched from AT&T to T-Mobile mostly because I have 2 children that will be getting phones in the near future. (The coverage isn't as good, but I had to jump to take advantage of corporate discount that is about to phased out for new customers.)

Anyway, with T-Mobile, I don't share data with kids and there's no overage charge for going over the limit (data is automatically throttled to 128 Kbps). And each line after myself and spouse is only $10/month.

While iPhone is more expensive than iPod touch, giving kids our older iPhones cost about the same or less than new iPod touch AND basic phone.

 

[Hankkk]

The iPod Touch makes no sense in today's product matrix.

– For music you have the more portable iPod nano, Shuffle or Apple
– For gaming you have the larger screen of the iPad mini while still remaining portable.
– For children who's parents don't want to get them an iPhone, the iPad Nano is better.

I'll admit its target audience is not as wide as it used to be, but the product itself does indeed make sense. The iPod touch has the highest storage of all the iPods, that are sold right now. I always want to have a pretty big collection of music with me and I also listen to it for at least 3 hours on a daily basis. My iPhone doesn't have the battery capacity to do that. I'd gladly take an updated iPod classic, but since it has been discontinued, the iPod touch is the only option left for music lovers.

 

[sofila]

I really don't think that there are too many people out there who are agonizing whether to buy an iPhone or a Touch. People who want iPhones will buy them, and those that don't, won't, but might buy a Touch instead.

This. And a lot of Classic owners might want to have both.
Anyway, same form factor, upgraded processor, 64 gb (128 better) and I'm sold

 

[Jessica Lares]

Only 128GB? That's soooooo 2015.

Oh, I'd love to go bigger! Love to have everything in FLAC, would be great.

It definitely needs a better DAC first though. Going from it to my iPhone is so appalling. The iPod Nano sounds worse though.

 

[Solomani]

I'll buy two please!

 

[xlost6]

Excellent. I'll return the iPod touch 5th generation I just bought a few days ago and get the revision later this year. I was playing around with the iPod touch and found it very sluggish and unresponsive after updating it to iOS 8.3. I'll just return it and save my money now knowing there is a possibility a revision is in the works with better under the hood modifications.

 

[pubwvj]

"iPod sales have been declining for several years, becoming a largely insignificant part of Apple's product lineup, anchored by the iPhone, iPad and Mac."

Just because it is a minor product does not make it insignificant or unneeded. There are a a huge number of users, millions, who need a device that does all that the iPhone does, except they don't need the phone function and don't want to pay the high costs of service contracts.

We have six iPodTouch in our family. Every family member has one. I would not do that with iPhones as it is simply too expensive both for the initial cost and the ongoing expenses plus I do not want to give each kid a phone - not necessary or desirable aside from the fact that there is no cell coverage here like in many parts of the country.

The iPodTouch does make profits for Apple on the hardware sales and more importantly it makes a lot of profits for Apple on the content sales of music, books, apps, etc.

The iPodTouch is an excellent solution.

 

[dannyyankou]

Makes sense. You gotta give android users a good iOS device also. It's funny how many people I see on subways who are using a Samsung Galaxy in one hand, and using an iPod touch in the other listening to music.

 

[jmh600cbr]

this will be a minor topic at WWDC that no one cares about. it'll get a SSD boot to match the growing demand as the classic has died and may get minor revisions to colors. i doubt we will see a size change. great device for kids but the truth is an iPhone 5 or 5c can serve the same purpose at a similar price, without a contract

 

[agsystems]

Apple has not discontinued the Touch 5 yet so it will support IOS 9. Given the reports that IOS 9 should just be a maintenance upgrade with optimizations, it should in theory run on a Touch 5 better than IOS 8.

IOS 10 will not run on the Touch 5 so expect to see the Touch 5 discontinued this fall regardless of if Apple releases the Touch 6.

If Apple does release the Touch 6, I expect they will use an A7 with 1GB of RAM.

Cost

Bingo...the situation that you have now is that the A5 is dragging down the platform - this chip has to go

 

[peccles]

Oh, I'd love to go bigger! Love to have everything in FLAC, would be great.

It definitely needs a better DAC first though. Going from it to my iPhone is so appalling. The iPod Nano sounds worse though.

I concur with the a better even audiophile quality DAC. It should allow playing of up to 24-bit 192KHz ALAC files even multi-channel files. I could then hook it up to my AVR and get the full quality of the audio file played through my home theater.

 

[M-O]

Just get an iPhone.

iPod touch: $199
iPhone 6: $649

 

[Ray Brady]

the truth is an iPhone 5 or 5c can serve the same purpose at a similar price, without a contract

A 16GB iPod Touch is currently $200. An unlocked iPhone 5c is currently $450. And of course, neither the 5s nor 5c currently offer a 64GB version.

My two year old 5th gen is still running like new, but if they do indeed update, I'll likely be getting one. They are remarkably handy devices.

 

[pgiguere1]

Apple has not discontinued the Touch 5 yet so it will support IOS 9.

It'll probably do, but it's not 100% guaranteed at this point.

Look what happened with the 4th gen iPod touch. It's been discontinued on May 30 2013, only 11 days before iOS 7's announcement (which the 4th gen iPod touch didn't support).

 

[nutmac]

iPod touch: $199
iPhone 6: $649

You can't compare 3-year old iPod touch (A5, 512MB RAM) with iPhone 6. It would be more fair to compare it against iPhone 5c (which has A6 and 1GB RAM but same 4-inch screen), which costs $450 without contract (and typically free with contract).

While $250 cost difference is not insignificant, iPhone 5c is a lot more future proof than iPod touch.

 

[Foggydog]

ipod touch

I am a long haul trucker. I love my 6 plus as a small portable computer, but I am also disappointed at how easily I get dropped calls, as well as just not a strong enough antenna. With that said, I think I would like a 64 gig iPod touch in a size of the regular 6, then pick up a older style verizon phone that has a stronger antenna. Finely, topping that off with an iPad mini with retina for more downtime enjoyment.

Does this make any sense to anybody else?

 

[DaveTheRave]

RIIIIGGGHHHHT! And just pay a monthly recurring charge for cellular service when the consumer may not want a phone. Besides even with the iPod Touch you can make Skype and FaceTime audio/video calls.

Yup. And for a very small monthly charge you can get a real phone number through Skype and make / receive phone calls with their cheap calling plans. Pretty good for a teenager to use.

 

[MacHiavelli]

You can't compare 3-year old iPod touch (A5, 512MB RAM) with iPhone 6. It would be more fair to compare it against iPhone 5c (which has A6 and 1GB RAM but same 4-inch screen), which costs $450 without contract (and typically free with contract).

While $250 cost difference is not insignificant, iPhone 5c is a lot more future proof than iPod touch.

But only 8GB of storage, much of which is gobbled up by the OS. The 5c is almost impossible to use.

 

[AlekNovkovski]

I am a long haul trucker. I love my 6 plus as a small portable computer, but I am also disappointed at how easily I get dropped calls, as well as just not a strong enough antenna. With that said, I think I would like a 64 gig iPod touch in a size of the regular 6, then pick up a older style verizon phone that has a stronger antenna. Finely, topping that off with an iPad mini with retina for more downtime enjoyment.

Does this make any sense to anybody else?

Makes perfect sense. It's exactly why I love the iPod touch.

- I have a sturdy old-fashioned cell-phone that lasts for days without a charge, has much stronger reception etc etc...
- And then I have an iPod touch for the "smart" features and app usage.

Love keeping the two separate.

 

[oneMadRssn]

But considering the Shuffle.... its most popular amongst 'workout people'.... as far as I know... and those people will start wearing the smartwatches/jawbones anyway. As soon as those get bluetooth earphones.... the Shuffle is going the way of the dodo with that group of people... Why carry 2 devices after all?

Certainly smartwatches do what the Shuffle does, and more. Afterall, the Shuffle is a specialized single-purpose device and smartwatches are a convergence of many functions. However, I don't think you appreciate just how much price factors into the decision to buy a Shuffle. At $50, it's a no-brainer for many applications. There are lots of casual sports that are fun to do with music, but where fitness tracking is useless or unnecessary, and most participants wouldn't be willing to spend more than $50 on a gadget for it.

 

[SteveW928]

Just get an iPhone.

Some people don't have $900+ laying around and then $50/mo from there on out. (Or, have better things to do with their money.) That's $1500 the first year, and $600 each year after that, minimally!

Plus, iPhones have gotten too big, so if you want a reasonable pocket-sized device, an iPod touch is pretty perfect.

And, the reason sales for the iPod touch are down... is that who in their right mind is going to buy a new device that is already obsolete and can't (reasonably) run the latest version of the OS??? Kind of a self-fullfilling outcome there.

 

[jim0266]

I'm an outlier

Purchased the 5G Touch a few years ago. It's my main device. While I have an iPhone5 off contract using the T-Mobile PAYG plan and several iPads, I use the hell out of the Touch. For the amount I use a phone paying $1,200 a year to a carrier seems silly.

I'm in wifi range 90% of the time and use the iPhone just to make calls for the rare times I need a real phone. I don't fret over losing or damaging a $275 iPod. Now that wifi is ubiquitous I'm often able to make calls from my iPod out in the wild.

 

[SteveW928]

Possibly GPS chip, to go along with AppleWatch support?

I doubt it, as even the iPhone's GPS needs the cellular network to work well. I'd love to see it though.

 

[Guacamole]

I'll admit its target audience is not as wide as it used to be, but the product itself does indeed make sense. The iPod touch has the highest storage of all the iPods, that are sold right now. I always want to have a pretty big collection of music with me and I also listen to it for at least 3 hours on a daily basis. My iPhone doesn't have the battery capacity to do that. I'd gladly take an updated iPod classic, but since it has been discontinued, the iPod touch is the only option left for music lovers.

I agree. In my case, I got rid of all my cds and I have all my music on my iPod.
If I want to listen to music at home I don’t want to use my phone for that, let alone waste battery and no enough space for all my music .

 

[smithrh]

Excellent. I'll return the iPod touch 5th generation I just bought a few days ago and get the revision later this year. I was playing around with the iPod touch and found it very sluggish and unresponsive after updating it to iOS 8.3. I'll just return it and save my money now knowing there is a possibility a revision is in the works with better under the hood modifications.

Interesting. I just now (literally) upgraded my touch from 8.2 to 8.3 and while certain things are definitely still slow (lock screen, animations, etc), at least now I can consistently move around within a song, something I could not do at all in previous iOS 8 versions.