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

[Neepman]

I love all of those telling me how to spend my time and money or what apple should discontinue . I find a touch a very useful device to have.

 

[aitch1234]

I'd dearly love to see a return of the small form factor ipod devices, but I doubt I will. Something that was dedicated to podcasts and music that I could use for running without taking my $1000 iphone and getting gunky sweat all over. If you want to lock me into just those two apps apple, i'm fine with that! I still use an ipod nano when i can't sleep to listen to podcasts and the like.

 

[magicMac]

would be awesome if the iPod touch got at least one last cool update, although unlikely. I think it makes sense for the current version to stick around, although maybe at a more aggressive price point really considering its age and specs.

Old products hanging around in Apples lineup that bother me more:

-1st gen Apple Pencil and 1st gen Smart Keyboard - released September 2015
-AppleTV HD - released September 2015
-Magic Mouse 2 - released October 2015
-Apple Watch Series 3 - released September 2017
-Intel Mac Mini - released October 2018
-2nd gen AirPods - released March 2019
-iPhone 11 (non pro) - released September 2019


If you still own some of the products above and they still work fine, thats ok (I'm still using a 2018 Intel Mac Mini with self-upgraded RAM for example).

But I just think if you were to go out and buy one of the above products brand new from Apple today you would have a far inferior customer experience for the price compared to any of the newer products superseding them in their respective categories. Not to mention their questionable longevity if you bought one of the above products today.

I feel like those old products exist just exist to justify higher price of newer models but unfortunately some people will buy the lower priced models from years back with a far inferior experience - tells you all you need to know about the new "profit first" apple.

Why they don't make sense to me and what I think they should do (but almost certainly won't).

-1st gen Apple Pencil and 1st gen Smart Keyboard
just ditch them. surely it's in apples interest to upsell to a more expensive USB-C iPad to get "brand new" pencil and keyboard support (of course second hand and 3rd party markets are there for those on the bargain for older iPads and the updated 10.2" base model).

-AppleTV HD
just ditch it and sell the 4K one for £10 less or something. here in UK/EU, it's almost impossible to buy a TV that is NOT 4K for the last 3 years, and more people are just using the constantly improving inbuilt apps with 4K support, which is a threat to apple if they don't stay competitive - this product from apple is a joke now.

-Magic Mouse 2 - released October 2015
replace with a mouse that can be charged while in-use (either with a braided cable or charged from the mouse pad). Only apple fans buy this mouse now, I had one sold it years ago just a pain to live with. Hopefully they do something about the Magic Mouse 3 this year...

-Apple Watch Series 3
just ditch it and sell the SE for £10 less or something

-Intel Mac Mini
Keep the M1 silver model and replace the dark grey Intel one with an M1 Pro, although lack of intel virtualisation could alienate a few hobby like customers. This is almost certainly being announced this March or June based on rumours.

-2nd gen AirPods
doesn't support MagSafe with the newer iPhones. just ditch it and sell the new 3rd gen AirPods for £10 less or something.

-iPhone 11 (non pro)
just ditch it and price last years iPhone 12 / 12 mini a little more aggressively, they're already priced so close to the 13 , just looks insulting. And for those who want to spend even less there is still the SE 2nd Gen anyway. Mind you, if history repeats itself in predictable apple fashion, the iPhone 11 will just fall off the line-up later year anyway.

 

[SeaFox]

Especially when you can get a refurbished '16 SE for half the price, get around the same performance, use Touch ID, and even, you know, make calls.

Arguably with how little people use their smartphones as actual phones you could replace an iPhone with a less-expensive iPod Touch and the only difference would be not having data access when you're away from wi-fi. Imagine using one as a "home phone" that lives on a charging dock with VoIP apps for calls.

 

[Agent OrangeZ]

Unless you give it to a small child and don't want to worry about them intentionally or unintentionally calling 911 (or whatever emergency number your country has).

Can You Disable 911 Emergency Calls on an iPhone?

If you're thinking about letting a young child use an iPhone for entertainment, you might worry about accidental 911 calls. Here's how to reduce accidental emergency calls and why 911 support is required on all phones.

www.howtogeek.com

 

[Greenmeenie]

I think it’s safe to say that the ipod touch will be discontinued soon. And this coming from someone who LOVED the ipod touch. I used it and a cellular ipad mini instead of an iphone for a long time. Since I got my iPhone 11 Pro tho, my ipod touch has collected dust. Even kids these days have iphones. And the Apple watch is much better for playing music when you don’t want to carry a phone while jogging.

 

[turbineseaplane]

I wish they'd do one more iPod Classic and bring up to speed with bluetooth and some limited music apps (work with streaming companies, or at minimum make it Apple Music capable).

Would be a really cool product that I think would do better right now than folks realize.
We are having a bit of longing for more dedicated devices again.

 

[sofila]

Still would buy a 1 Tb option at a reasonable price

 

[PinkyMacGodess]

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)

Cost? Shrinkage?

 

[PinkyMacGodess]

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.

I have three of the squarish Nano because they were my Have To Have for my runs. AND they took the Nike+ Pod interface. I rocked that combo solid for quite a while. Found a new in package Nike+ 'pod', and tossed it in the 'to be recycled' box, with a heavy heart...

 

[LovePeace]

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...

Well, this would be an idea. But the fact is that in Europe, due to inflation, taxes and average purchase capacity, any iPhone or iPod actually represents 40% more purchasing effort compared to that of an average American citizen (average in terms of economic situation). Do you imagine purchasing your iPhone 40% more expensive than what you paid for it? That's what en European has to invest for her/his phone or iPod. Even an iPhone SE results to be too expensive for a child sometimes. This is why iPods have sense still if you want your family to be in Apple's ecosystem. Let alone if we are talking about families in Asia or Africa where the purchasing capacity is even lower.
And then again, iPod Touch is a tiny awesome device that you can physically share in a party when you know you have not synced any of your contacts or any other personal stuff. I really wish Apple would incorporate the next generation sound capacities (both wired and Bluetooth) in their next generation iPhones.

 

[LovePeace]

So either the iPod Touch is still barely making Apple a profit or there are a boatload of them on the market still needing to be sold. Apple no longer needs this product to be their entry-level device. Even parents are buying their little kids iPhones now. Plus, with so many people streaming their music...the larger capacity isn't as enticing as it once was.

But the fact is that in Europe, due to inflation, taxes and average purchase capacity, any iPhone or iPod actually represents 40% more purchasing effort compared to that of an average American citizen (average in terms of economic situation). Do you imagine purchasing your iPhone 40% more expensive than what you paid for it? That's what en European has to invest for her/his phone or iPod. Even an iPhone SE results to be too expensive for a child sometimes. This is why iPods have sense still if you want your family to be in Apple's ecosystem. Let alone if we are talking about families in Asia or Africa where the purchasing capacity is even lower.
And then again, iPod Touch is a tiny awesome device that you can physically share in a party when you know you have not synced any of your contacts or any other personal stuff. I really wish Apple would incorporate the next generation sound capacities (both wired and Bluetooth) in their next generation iPhones as well as more lasting batteries even if that would make a thicker device.

 

[a.jfred]

I would love for them to bring the nano back - it's just the right device to have in my 10-year-old car, but my old one ... just needs a wee bit more space

(read: the bluetooth is spotty at best, whether or not I can replace the radio with something that has Car Play with steering wheel controls is still subject to debate ... but I haven't had to deal with a car payment in several years, so win?)

 

[return2sendai]

iPod Classic forever!

Say no to being forever connected!

Offline is the new online!

I dunno what that means, but it is so cool!

 

[LovePeace]

I think it has lived a good life. I have seen them being used to scan tickets at sporting events and concerts. I have seen them be used as POS devices and warehouse inventory devices. I think that is why it has been available for so long.

The thing is, if Apple does not promote it, then people are not going to buy it neither for their children, nor as a scanning interface (by the way: why doesn't Apple get the control of database software such as Claris, the old FileMaker?). Also, an IPod Touch could be re-thought as a device you use for domotics (including music streaming) in offices or homes.

 

[LovePeace]

Still would buy a 1 Tb option at a reasonable price

Me too. 1Tb and twice as much battery life. Not a bigger screen; just a bit thicker.

 

[NatashaDelCardo]

I'd dearly love to see a return of the small form factor ipod devices, but I doubt I will. Something that was dedicated to podcasts and music that I could use for running without taking my $1000 iphone and getting gunky sweat all over. If you want to lock me into just those two apps apple, i'm fine with that! I still use an ipod nano when i can't sleep to listen to podcasts and the like.

They want you to buy Apple Watch for that.

 

[MacCheetah3]

The battery on my 6th gen got so bad that it has to be plugged in or it turns off within seconds.

This is why I have laughed at the posts with comments such as, ”just hand down your iPhone.“ Seriously? There are several threads on the forum complaining about battery life (i.e. realistic operating time) on new and less than one year old devices. Do people really believe a child is not going to be similarly upset, especially with the performance of a few year old gadget? 😆

 

[turbineseaplane]

They want you to buy Apple Watch for that.

They need to make it a heck of a lot better then.

I tried an SE Watch for just music synced to it and I was honestly never even able to get it to sync correctly a single time.
Entire experience frustrated the hell out of me.
Weird, slow...didn't really work and I just gave up and sold the thing.

I wish they'd release a new Shuffle that has Bluetooth
That's all I really want is a shuffle + AirPods for running/biking

 

[LovePeace]

Arguably with how little people use their smartphones as actual phones you could replace an iPhone with a less-expensive iPod Touch and the only difference would be not having data access when you're away from wi-fi. Imagine using one as a "home phone" that lives on a charging dock with VoIP apps for calls.

Yes. Imagine also being able to use Messages whenever an iPhone is nearby. Using a similar technology as Airtags... Free messaging (no SIM card) inside Apple's ecosystem.

 

[jimimac71]

Yeah, get rid of iPod.
Get them babies addicted to iPhones as quickly as possible.
I have an old Sansa player. After 15+ years, the battery won’t charge.
Sansa has 3 players now and only 1 still has a micro SD slot.
The iPod Touch is way too expensive.
Apple could do okay with a dedicated music player, one with FM radio, which they have refused to do with any device.
In my opinion, Steve loved Apple while Tim loves the bank.
Don’t expect anything that won’t bring in buckets of cash.
There is still a market for MP3 players.
Just look at all the copycat products out there.

 

[MacCheetah3]

If anything I would think the iPhone would be more secure because, since it has Cellular data and gps, if your kid goes missing you can attempt to track them.

While I generally agree, kids have found ways to bypass/disabled parents restrictions/measures.

Remove Parental Controls on iPhone without Password - iOS 17/16 Supported

This post introduces you 3 ways to remove parental controls from iPhone/iPad with or without passcode.

www.imyfone.com

 

[ikramerica]

Arguably with how little people use their smartphones as actual phones you could replace an iPhone with a less-expensive iPod Touch and the only difference would be not having data access when you're away from wi-fi. Imagine using one as a "home phone" that lives on a charging dock with VoIP apps for calls.

Does “calls on other devices” work on a Touch linked to the same Apple ID as your phone? Then you don’t even need voip.

 

[LovePeace]

Arguably with how little people use their smartphones as actual phones you could replace an iPhone with a less-expensive iPod Touch and the only difference would be not having data access when you're away from wi-fi. Imagine using one as a "home phone" that lives on a charging dock with VoIP apps for calls.

This is actually what we have at home.

 

[ignatius345]

I have young kids who love to play music on their already-old iPods. I’d snatch up new models if Apple ever released them but I’m not going to spend $200 on three year old hardware.

Better off just buying a used iPhone at that price point and using it on wifi without a SIM.