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Current iPod Touch Now 1,000 Days Old With No Sign of New Model

"the oldest device in Apple's lineup"? ? How about the Apple TV HD, introduced in September 2015? Sure, it's gotten a new remote since then... but the Apple TV itself is the same.

Not to mention the Mac mini (Oct 2018), which is still sold - and the Apple Watch Series 3 (Sept 2017).
 
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riverfreak said:
Great idea. I'm going to dig mine out from my Apple graveyard and see if I can fire it up.
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It's part of the reason I have so many iPods. Plus I was more active skiing and other outside activities. I, apparently, may have been one of the very few that actually liked the Shuffle Stick because it was perfect for skiing, etc. Tucked into my base layer, it was warm and protected, and aside from volume control, I never had to touch it until I was done. It was so small too, so I didn't look like I was wearing a medical device or something weird... *shrug*
 
There are a few things that Apple might do to follow up to the iPod touch line:

1. After the iPhone SE 3 is released, remove the cellular hardware from the SE 2 and rebadge it as the next iPod touch

2. Direct would-be iPod touch purchasers to a SIM-unlocked SKU of the SE 2 or SE 3

3. Add an "iPod touch Mode" to Screen Time that disables the cellular hardware and turns any iPhone into an iPod touch in software

My bet is either #2 or #3.
 
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A lot of people said they would buy these for their younger children, but as a grandparent, I think I would be inclined to hang on to an older iPhone and hand it down to a toddler with no SIM card in it.

Or, I can see handing down my old phone to the parents, then they hand down their phone to the kiddo....

Or maybe it's just an excuse to upgrade my phone. ;)
 
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PinkyMacGodess said:
Interesting as I've run into far more iPad's in use, and zero Touch's.
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In my (admittedly limited) experience, in the US most of the chain fast casual places have gone over to those table mounted tablet things where you have to order yourself, or at least pay by yourself. Suprisingly, such excitement hasn't made it over here to the UK yet, so we still have teenagers wandering to our tables with iPod Touches. Some of the cinemas use them too to validate online tickets and things.

(Not sure why we don't have those table things yet, usually we seem to have this sort of thing before the US)
 
PinkyMacGodess said:
It's part of the reason I have so many iPods. Plus I was more active skiing and other outside activities. I, apparently, may have been one of the very few that actually liked the Shuffle Stick because it was perfect for skiing, etc. Tucked into my base layer, it was warm and protected, and aside from volume control, I never had to touch it until I was done. It was so small too, so I didn't look like I was wearing a medical device or something weird... *shrug*
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The Shuffle was awesome for any active outdoor activities. I used mine constantly for MTBing and skiing. No fuss, easy controls, tiny size, great battery.

Nanos were good too. For a time there was a company that would coat them to be waterproof. Very popular with the river folk.
 
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Saw the touch as a good option for kids but not as a useful option for an adult with a smart phone with all the same features.

As for someone who works out and doesn't enjoy the bulkiness of a smart phone... an updated nano 5 would have been cool to have.

c870x524.jpg
 
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My son has one of these and he uses it almost everyday. Only a couple of years old, and I held off buying it back then hoping for an update. I can see people struggling to buy one with it being such an out-dated model.

Hope they release a spec' update with a better chip and maybe Touch ID- although a full redesign would be great!
 
I use these to cheaply manage HomeKit networks for remote clients and to hand to guests staying at my house to control the music system. Using MDM management, prisons could sell them to inmates with the camera disabled and locked to one WiFi so they could enjoy digital music and text and email and FaceTime with approved family members, cutting down on the costs and security risks of in-person visits and the drugs that get brought in.

Not everyone using iOS needs or wants to pay for cellular connectivity.
 
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MacRumors said:


The seventh-generation iPod touch is 1,000 days old as of today, with no apparent sign of a new model on the way.

ipodtouchthumb.jpg

In May 2019, Apple unveiled the seventh-generation iPod touch. With 32 months having now passed since the seventh-generation iPod touch's launch, it is now the oldest device in Apple's lineup. Apple's next-oldest device still on sale is the AirPods Pro, which were released in October 2019 and hit 847 days old today.

The iPod touch is Apple's least expensive iOS device, starting at $199. With a 4-inch Retina display, it is also the smallest iOS device and the only remaining iOS device with a 3.5mm headphone jack. The iPod touch is most popular as an entry-level device in the Apple ecosystem, particularly for children, and is also a common choice in retail settings due to its pricing and form factor.

ipodtouch2.jpg

It is notable that the seventh-generation iPod touch was a very minor update, featuring the A10 Fusion chip from the iPhone 7 and a 256GB storage option for the first time. Every other aspect of the device, including the camera specifications and color options, were the same as the previous, sixth-generation iPod touch. In terms of major updates, the iPod touch was last redesigned almost 10 years ago in 2012 at the same time as the iPhone 5. Since then, it has had two minor refreshes in 2015 and 2019.

Looking at the Apple devices that the company sold for the longest time, the seventh-generation iPod touch is still some way off the 2013 "trashcan" Mac Pro, which went 2,182 days without an update before the launch of the modular 2019 Mac Pro.

The iPod touch is the only iPod product that Apple still sells following the discontinuation of the iPod nano and iPod shuffle in July 2017. Despite the hopes of some iPod enthusiasts and excitement around the potential nostalgia of reviving the classic iPod design with the click wheel, there have been no rumors of an eighth-generation iPod touch, or of any new iPod models at all, meaning that the future of the entire iPod brand and product line stands in question.

Article Link: Current iPod Touch Now 1,000 Days Old With No Sign of New Model
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These days everyone has a phone.
 
Macropanda said:
I'd love a refresh on these. Would be perfect for kids that aren't really old enough for a phone but want something with a camera, games for car journeys and their banking app etc.
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Too young for a phone but old enough for a banking app?
 
NoSoup4U said:
The iPhone SE picks off a lot of the iPod demand. Or a hand-me-down iPhone.

Insert an unactivated SIM card, and many kids can get by with wifi calls via FaceTime audio. Plus free-texting phone plans have gotten a lot cheaper, cancel the landline...
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Still using Text Free & Line2 apps on my iPhone 4S on iOS 8.4.1 as long as I can find WiFi.
 
The question is who is using these, what are the demographics? If they are for young children (elementary school age or younger), do does that age group even buy music or listen enough to justify their parents getting a subscription for them? Ditto about really young kids and video content, do their parents get them a subscription? I'm having difficulty in seeing how this device would have a huge use with really young kids. Maybe it makes sense for middle school age kids. For high school age surely they are better served with an iPhone. I wonder if the main target though is people who don't want, or cannot afford, an iPhone. The Touch makes the most sense for middle school ages kids and those who don't want to invest in an iPhone. But I really cannot imagine a huge sales base any more. At $200 Apple cannot be making much off of them. If it is because Jobs decreed it, then that is stupid. Jobs is dead, a few more years from now most young people really won’t even remember him. Time to bury old outdated ideas with him, and move along. If they want a non-iPhone device for younger kids, it would make more sense to create a durable, padded device with limited access to the internet.
 
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cgs1xx said:
There’s no reason for Apple not to update them at the same time as the iPhone every year unless they think a bigger iPod would cannibalise iPhone sales? 🧐

Could it?
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No, but The iPod touch is $200. Make it literally any more expensive, and it’s way too much. Even I think the price of the current iPod touch for what you get is insane, a 2012 camera, 2012 battery, a 2012 display, no biometrics whatsoever, and an underclocked 2016 processor. Literally the iPhone 7, released three years earlier, is better in every way, and could be found for around the same price if not cheaper.
There’s space for the iPod to continue either as a more kids oriented device for games and basic messaging, or they go the totally opposite direction and make it into a far more audio focused device with maybe an integrated amp or something.
The kids messaging device you speak of already exists… it’s called the Apple Watch. Apple even has a “kids mode” where an older Family member sets it up and it goes through their phone and everything.
 
"iTunes" music app on my iPhone is horrendous, uninviting, a twilight-zone wtf experience. Apple is clueless to those who collect music against the wishes of the streaming overlords.
 
JPack said:
Apple tends to refresh it only when the old one can no longer run the current iOS. Basically whenever A10 is no longer supported by iOS.
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dz5b609 said:
I mean what would you want improved realistically in a new iPod touch, bigger would imo defeat the point, A10 is still a more than capable chip (I still use an 2018 iPad with that processor and you really can't tell a lot of difference with the newer chips in day to day usage), camera's are more than serviceable.
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In my experience, the 6th generation iPad (the same 2 GB of RAM and A10 except clocked at 2.3 GHz rather than 1.65 GHz) has noticeable lag running iOS 15 — it is usable indeed but clearly showing signs of reaching its limits.

And I use my iPad for average consumer stuff (e.g., Web browsing, email, video streaming, turn-based games)

So, at least, a bump to an A12 and 3 or 4 GB of RAM if Apple wants to allow the iPod forward (otherwise as is).
 
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