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glambutnerdy

macrumors regular
Original poster
Apr 2, 2020
128
139
the clouds
Hi! I’m fairly new to this forum so if i’ve posted this thread in the wrong place please don’t bite.

I currently own an iPod touch 6th gen and iPhone SE, both 16gb. Both are amazing devices that have served me well, other than both of their battery lives. Not an issue with my iPod touch since it rarely leaves the house, but more so my SE and i’m considering upgrading to an iPhone 8 or 9/SE2 if the rumors are true and it comes out.

Now when it comes to music and general comfortable use at home (having a tight grip on it while walking around) I prefer the 4” devices so i’m definitely considering keeping a secondary device to my phone once I switch. I don’t know whether I should stick to my iPhone SE for that or sell both my iPod touch and SE and go for a new iPod touch with a lot more storage capacity (128gb). I usually use spotify free since I have unlimited data but when i’m travelling it would defeat the whole prupose of a second device if i would just be draining my primary phones battery for hotspot for my SE. So instead i’m planning to ditch spotify altogether and instead download all my songs for offline use though my laptop old fashioned style, lol. Only question is, would 8gb be enough for that? (half of my SE storage is used for system/other) Or should I just ditch the SE and buy a new iPod touch alongside the new iPhone?
 

chscag

macrumors 601
Feb 17, 2008
4,622
1,946
Fort Worth, Texas
I would just buy a new iPhone with either 128GB storage or if you can afford it, 256GB. I have no idea when Apple will start selling the new iPhone 9/SE which is rumored. Keep in mind that the new iPhone 9/SE is supposedly the same size as the current iPhone 8. That is a bit larger than the SE that you currently own.
 

WilliamDu

macrumors 6502
May 22, 2012
267
98
Hi! I’m fairly new to this forum so if i’ve posted this thread in the wrong place please don’t bite.

I currently own an iPod touch 6th gen and iPhone SE, both 16gb. Both are amazing devices that have served me well, other than both of their battery lives. Not an issue with my iPod touch since it rarely leaves the house, but more so my SE and i’m considering upgrading to an iPhone 8 or 9/SE2 if the rumors are true and it comes out.

Now when it comes to music and general comfortable use at home (having a tight grip on it while walking around) I prefer the 4” devices so i’m definitely considering keeping a secondary device to my phone once I switch. I don’t know whether I should stick to my iPhone SE for that or sell both my iPod touch and SE and go for a new iPod touch with a lot more storage capacity (128gb). I usually use spotify free since I have unlimited data but when i’m travelling it would defeat the whole prupose of a second device if i would just be draining my primary phones battery for hotspot for my SE. So instead i’m planning to ditch spotify altogether and instead download all my songs for offline use though my laptop old fashioned style, lol. Only question is, would 8gb be enough for that? (half of my SE storage is used for system/other) Or should I just ditch the SE and buy a new iPod touch alongside the new iPhone?
I recommend the new iPod Touch.
I bought a 7th gen 256GB iPod Touch several months ago and I love it.
My two aging 160GB (really 148GB max) Classics are old hardware no longer supported by Apple and will soon or later expire. I was pushing their limits already with 17,000+, and growing iTunes tracks.
The new Touch pairs with my Alexa devices all over the house, my superb $60 TaoTronics noise canceling earphones and my OTonics hearing aids.
You can get an SSD Classic, but you will still have old basic hardware. The Touch also does a lot more, like your iPhone.
It remains to be seen what the price will be for the rumored new iPhone 9, which might be your best choice.
I use an old flip phone which just talks, which is all I need a phone to do and costs a lot less to run than an iPhone.
(I'm also happily using IOS Mojave on my iMacs until Apple provides a stable upgrade, and the same for IOS/iPad 13.3. for my Touch and iPads)
 
Last edited:

glambutnerdy

macrumors regular
Original poster
Apr 2, 2020
128
139
the clouds
I would just buy a new iPhone with either 128GB storage or if you can afford it, 256GB. I have no idea when Apple will start selling the new iPhone 9/SE which is rumored. Keep in mind that the new iPhone 9/SE is supposedly the same size as the current iPhone 8. That is a bit larger than the SE that you currently own.
I’m well aware of the new SE being a bit bigger, so whole point of the secondary device is for a smaller 4” screen I can comfortably use for music (and also to not drain my phones battery when on trips etc)
 

chscag

macrumors 601
Feb 17, 2008
4,622
1,946
Fort Worth, Texas
But then, you'll wind up carrying two devices around with you on trips. (not including a portable computer if you take that along) Your choice, of course. :)
 

glambutnerdy

macrumors regular
Original poster
Apr 2, 2020
128
139
the clouds
But then, you'll wind up carrying two devices around with you on trips. (not including a portable computer if you take that along) Your choice, of course. :)

That’s not an issue when it comes to trips, and having my next phone as my primary music device at home would be much less comfortable because of the bigger size/weight in comparison to the SE/iPod. Wouldn’t be able to carry it around in one hand nearly as easily.
 

Traverse

macrumors 604
Mar 11, 2013
7,688
4,399
Here
If you want a device dedicated to Music, the iPod touch 7th generation is a decent choice. I bought one for that use not to save phone batter, but just because it made me happy to have a device with everything disabled except for music.

The only caveat is that battery life is fine, but not iPhone levels. It's noticeably better than the 6th generation, but it's not iPhone level.
 

glambutnerdy

macrumors regular
Original poster
Apr 2, 2020
128
139
the clouds
If you want a device dedicated to Music, the iPod touch 7th generation is a decent choice. I bought one for that use not to save phone batter, but just because it made me happy to have a device with everything disabled except for music.

The only caveat is that battery life is fine, but not iPhone levels. It's noticeably better than the 6th generation, but it's not iPhone level.

Do you think the 7th gen iPod touch is worth the upgrade from a 16gb SE (just as a music device)?
 

retta283

Suspended
Jun 8, 2018
3,180
3,478
The question is, how much storage do you want/need?

128GB is not a lot for me, because I have 9 times that in music files. If 128GB is enough that you still have room to grow for a while, go for it. 256GB will open things up nicely, but if you don't think you'll fill it it might not be worth dropping the extra $100 right now.

If 128GB is already excessive, you may consider bypassing the iPod altogether and just getting the highest storage config on the new iPhone.
 

glambutnerdy

macrumors regular
Original poster
Apr 2, 2020
128
139
the clouds
The question is, how much storage do you want/need?

128GB is not a lot for me, because I have 9 times that in music files. If 128GB is enough that you still have room to grow for a while, go for it. 256GB will open things up nicely, but if you don't think you'll fill it it might not be worth dropping the extra $100 right now.

If 128GB is already excessive, you may consider bypassing the iPod altogether and just getting the highest storage config on the new iPhone.

My question wasn’t really about storage, for me personally 128gb may even be far too much as i’ve gone by with 16gb on all my devices no bother.

But now i’m considering downloading music instead of streaming. I know for certain i’m keeping a separate device from my phone simply for music/gym because I need a smaller 4” device to comfortably use for that purpose. The 8/rumored new SE is just far too big for that. I don’t know whether my 16gb SE is too small for downloading music or not. I haven’t really done it before so I don’t know how much space music files take ?‍♀️
 

chscag

macrumors 601
Feb 17, 2008
4,622
1,946
Fort Worth, Texas
Here's a comparison: We have a 16GB Nano and can easily download around 200 MP3 sermons to it. Each sermon is around 30 minutes to 1 hour long. You should be able to fit quite a bit of music on a 16GB iPod Touch, but keep in mind in my comparison that MP3s are compressed. Full uncompressed music will take up more space. I would buy the 32GB model or the 64GB if you can afford it.
 
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retta283

Suspended
Jun 8, 2018
3,180
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Here's a comparison: We have a 16GB Nano and can easily download around 200 MP3 sermons to it. Each sermon is around 30 minutes to 1 hour long. You should be able to fit quite a bit of music on a 16GB iPod Touch, but keep in mind in my comparison that MP3s are compressed. Full uncompressed music will take up more space. I would buy the 32GB model or the 64GB if you can afford it.
There is no 64GB iPod touch right now. It's 32GB - 128GB - 256GB.
 

Traverse

macrumors 604
Mar 11, 2013
7,688
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Here
Do you think the 7th gen iPod touch is worth the upgrade from a 16gb SE (just as a music device)?

Well, it would be for me because 16GB is simply too little space. Assuming that you purchased your iPhone SE in 2016 you've already got 4 years of battery wear so the iPod touch 7th generation may actually be a slight improvement. Performance would be about the same.

If your current SE isn't fulfilling your needs then I think it's a reasonable upgrade path. But my opinion isn't worth too much. :p
 
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