New A8 iPod Touch Clocks in at 1.10GHz, Includes 1GB RAM and Bluetooth 4.1

[bniu]

so this fall, the iOS lineup will be completely 64 bit based, and maybe a year later, iOS will be completely 64 bit based too.

 

[kalsta]

According to the numbers posted, the new model is not six times faster. It is five times faster. (It is six times as fast.)

I continue to be dismayed by how commonly people get this basic arithmetic wrong.

You've highlighted the difference between human languages and programming logic. Most people would interpret 'six times faster' to mean six times as fast. But they might start to get confused if you said 'one and a half times faster'. Similarly, they would understand '50% faster' to mean 1.5 times as fast, but might start to get confused by '500% faster'. Welcome to the wonderful ambiguities of language. (But I agree, 'six times as fast' has less ambiguity.)

 

[TallManNY]

Wow. Seems like a powerful piece of tech. Yes I see this, in the U.S., as a device that folks buy for their kids because they don't want to pay for cell data and they don't want them texting at school. But this is going to be a nice gaming device with all the power or the A8 and Metal software. Plus, for those who are thrifty, this is a powerful communication device once connected to WiFi. And WiFI is so many places that is not that limiting a factor.

 

[oldmacs]

I know, those people were not believers in the iPod touch

I would argue that because iOS 9 is a performance and stability improvement release, they wanted to have the best possible experience for A5 devices before discontinuing support for them. I think iOS 10 will be the perfect opportunity to beef up OS requirements (such as 1GB of RAM).

I don't simply due to the number of people who are on devices with less ram. I could see them releasing iOS 10 for A5 devices as a barebones operation system with very few new features, but continued ability to sync and get security updates, As they've developed their new method of creating a core system separate to the newer devices, and seeing what they can and can't turn on.

 

[Andres Cantu]

I don't simply due to the number of people who are on devices with less ram. I could see them releasing iOS 10 for A5 devices as a barebones operation system with very few new features, but continued ability to sync and get security updates, As they've developed their new method of creating a core system separate to the newer devices, and seeing what they can and can't turn on.

Certainly a possibility, I just think it's an unlikely one. But there's no point arguing about that now, as none of us know how the installed base will change over the course of this year.

 

[oldmacs]

Certainly a possibility, I just think it's an unlikely one. But there's no point arguing about that now, as none of us know how the installed base will change over the course of this year.

Yes of course We probably won't know till around may next year. I have my fingers crossed, as I honestly can't see myself being able to afford a new iPad next year.

 

[anshuvorty]

In other news, it will be interesting to hear about the backstory as to why this newest revision is known internally as 7,1 and not 6,1. Possibly in a biography of some sort in in the 5-10 years?

 

[iZac]

Its not about guilt, its more about leaving large numbers of its users behind - Apple hates the F word (fragmentation) We'll see. Apple hasn't increased the OS X system requirements in years. They also are regularly doing strange things, for example most people said there were not be another iPod Touch.

I think to backup the fragmentation argument, Apple have realised the upgrade cycle for the iPad is much longer than for an iPhone since people tend to treat it like a family computer / web browser than a phone.

Mostly because people aren't locked in / led towards subsidised phone contracts with specific upgrade paths.

 

[oldmacs]

I think to back up the fragmentation argument, Apple have realised the upgrade cycle for the iPad is much longer than for an iPhone since people tend to treat it like a family computer / web browser than a phone.

Mostly because people aren't locked in / lead towards subsidised phone contracts with specific upgrade paths.

My thoughts exactly. People are treating the iPad more like a Mac and the Mac has been getting quite long update cycles of late.

 

[shareef777]

I wonder if it has the Watch App? That would be a surprise.

Only reason I haven't gotten my daughter a watch. Not going to pair it to my or my wife's phones, and definitely not getting her a phone.

 

[bniu]

I don't simply due to the number of people who are on devices with less ram. I could see them releasing iOS 10 for A5 devices as a barebones operation system with very few new features, but continued ability to sync and get security updates, As they've developed their new method of creating a core system separate to the newer devices, and seeing what they can and can't turn on.

I actually see iOS 10 being a clean break away from 32 bit devices completely. Kind of like how Snow Leopard left behind PowerPC, and Lion left behind all 32 bit machines, iOS X will likely leave behind all 32 bit devices too.

 

[H2SO4]

Seriously? Get over it. Show me a 3 year old android phone that runs as good as ANY 3 year old iOS device. Same goes for computers average Mac is kept about 5 years compared to Windows machines that are like sloths after 5 years. People are still rocking iPhone 4S and 5, iPad 2,3,4 and 2010 Macbook.

Gut check pal, get your facts straight.

That old tired cliche. Macs last longer than PCs. What. A. Crock. No they don’t.
It’s not true the other way around either. The vast majortiy of old computing equipment I see around are PCs and not Macs I will tell you that though. In the VAST majority of cases, I can run any PC OS on any PC hardware that meets the requirements, (actually I can sometimes run it on less if I can stomach the slowness). Amongst other things, Apple have inserted a document called platformsupport.plist in your System/Library/Coreservices folder that prevents you doing the same on a Mac. So they stop supporting the hardware when they feel like it even if it is still viable and actively try and prevent you from doing what you want.
Honestly I don’t know where you guys get that crap from sometimes.

Gut check pal, get your lies straight.

 

[Homme]

Also just realized this is the first iOS device and first iPod which ditches XP and Vista, you need Windows 7 or higher to use it with iTunes on PC's.

 

[Ferazel]

Wow, that's a great processor upgrade for the iPod touch. Apple has tended to put pretty dilapidated specs on the touch (I'm looking at you 256 MB RAM iPod touch 4). I'm glad that the specs are pretty close to the iPhone6.

Honestly, I'm more interested in what processor they stick into the AppStore AppleTV as that will set the min spec for an entire family of development devices. While most pegged the AppleTV with an A8 around WWDC release, I'm hoping with the delay they will put an A9 in there so it can compete more with the current-generation of game consoles. I'm sure it's not going to be at PS4/XBone levels I'm hoping the A9 would be comparable to 360/PS3 era hardware.

 

[dazzer21]

Wow! If the next generation iMac also turns out to be six times faster than the current one, then consider my money already taken!!

 

[bollman]

Or, you can put your money where your mouth is and never buy another Apple product again, if you really think that's what they're doing.

I at least did. No way I'll buy an i-device again. Did last year when visiting US just because it was cheap, but the thing (iPad mini) lies uncharged in some drawer. That was the first i-buy since iPhone 3G, but iOS is just as dull and unusable as it was then. It's 2015, get a usable filesystem ffs, it's embarrassing that it's so difficult to share files between apps. Most of the time when one tries to do anything you struggle to find ways around the inability to share files between apps.

Quite happy with my BQ ubuntu. And ubuntu runs fine on my MBP too, no need for OSX.

So, why do I hang around here? Apple products are my profession and I keep hoping (in vain) that stuff will get back on track, but it looks grim.

 

[Alenore]

Except the vast majority of people on Android either cant or ever upgrade older devices to the latest software. Try again.

Showing updated datas would help, don't you think ?
50% on an OS from no more than a year. Only 10% on an OS older than 3 years. Consider it includes every single cheap Android smartphones made in China.
I thought the "vast majority" would be way over 50%.

Anyway, the person you quoted is wrong : my Xperia Z1 is dying since I've put Lollipop on it, though I guess a clean install would help since I have a ton of useless apps running on it.

 

[H2SO4]

I at least did. No way I'll buy an i-device again. Did last year when visiting US just because it was cheap, but the thing (iPad mini) lies uncharged in some drawer. That was the first i-buy since iPhone 3G, but iOS is just as dull and unusable as it was then. It's 2015, get a usable filesystem ffs, it's embarrassing that it's so difficult to share files between apps. Most of the time when one tries to do anything you struggle to find ways around the inability to share files between apps.

Quite happy with my BQ ubuntu. And ubuntu runs fine on my MBP too, no need for OSX.

So, why do I hang around here? Apple products are my profession and I keep hoping (in vain) that stuff will get back on track, but it looks grim.

I never even knew that Ubuntu did phones. The Meizu MX4 is lovely, much nicer, (don’t know if better), than an iP6. My biggest problem would be importing and syncing, (offline), my calendars and contacts. Ther are precious few details about apps.

 

[Keirasplace]

Isn't it funny how something with the "same" processor in a device significantly less pixels is clocking in much lower than a device with much more pixels? Huh interesting Apple isn't it?

OK bud. Let look at the facts...

The device is also much smaller in volume than the Iphone 6, thus much less battery;
guess you conveniently forgot that little tidbit.

Iphone 6 volume : 63844 144%
Ipod Touch 7 volume : 44110 100%

yep, 44% more internal volume.

Considering the logic board for those two would be pretty similar.
The difference gets even greater once you look at the battery.

Iphone 6 battery : 1810 mAh
Ipod touch Battery : probably about 1,030 mAh (if its the same as the old Ipod touch, could be slightly bigger).

So, about a 75% difference... Hmmm.

That 30% underclocking doesn't seem so bad hey now.
Unless you want your touch to die in 2-3 hours...

Considering the Ipod would have very little space for heat dissipation compared to the Iphone, that alone would warrant significant speed reduction (let alone the smaller battery).

 

[oldmacs]

I actually see iOS 10 being a clean break away from 32 bit devices completely. Kind of like how Snow Leopard left behind PowerPC, and Lion left behind all 32 bit machines, iOS X will likely leave behind all 32 bit devices too.

I'd certainly hope not it should definitely be A6 and up.

 

[Tech198]

Apple still does the iPod ? I should visit the Apple Store more often....

I guess there is no point in updating the shuffle then..... Of course why would want more storage on a music player ? Who would ever need more than 2Gig.

Its good the touch is being updated, but leaving the shuffle in the lurks. Plus it probably just forces people who want more storage to get the touch anyway and more feature you may not even want.

There goes ya music player....

 

[Gudi]

You've got to be joking. The iPod as a portable music player is a joke compared to the competition. Astell&Kern, FiiO, HiFiMan and even Sony all make better portable players.

I've heard of Sony. It's a company in trouble, isn't it? So the right answer was, there is no competition in the mp3-player market. That market has been reduced to a smartphone app.

 

[anomie]

I think that a $749 iPhone in 2015 should come with 32 GB standard.

Nice thinking. But in 2015 we still haven´t overcome capitalism. Therefore, nobody cares about what makes sense or what you´d like to see but only what brings the most profit to Apple and its shareholders.

 

[anomie]

You've got to be joking. The iPod as a portable music player is a joke compared to the competition.

Astell&Kern, FiiO, HiFiMan and even Sony all make better portable players. They support FLAC, hi-res, DSD, and offer way more storage (up to 256GB).

The iPod is supposed to be a portable music player first. Instead, it's a jack-of-all-trades master of none.

Tim Cook has no interest in making the best products.

Wrong. It is the best product to most, BECAUSE it's a jack-of-all-trades, master of none.
That´s what people want.
Nobody cares about a few music nerds who believe they really hear a difference in quality through their headphones.

 

[afd]

So if this just needs cellular and GPS circuitry to make it a smartphone, how much is Apple ripping us off on iPhones? Or maybe the iPod is sold as a loss, to suck kids into the apple ecosystem?