Another Apple event has gone by, and no words on the iPod touch. It is getting old enough now that I don't see it lasting much longer, and the chances of a new model are slim. 6 iPhones have been released since the 6th gen touch came out. When do you guys think they will discontinue it? And when they do, do you think it will be silent or will they say something about it? It would be crazy for something as important to not only Apple's history but also the 21st century tech culture to disappear without a word, but knowing Apple now it would not surprise me.
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iPod touch Thoughts on iPod touch discontinuation
- Thread starter retta283
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smorrissey
macrumors 68000
Plutonius
macrumors G4
When Apple is unable or unwilling to get the latest version of iOS to run on the Touch 6, it will be updated or discontinued.
My prediction is that the Touch will be discontinued at that time.
I'd assume the Touch 6 will not get iOS 14, it may get 13. The Touch 6's hardware is based on the iPhone 6 but slightly underclocked, so it is actually similar to the 5s which will not get 13. I'd say WWDC 19 is when we will see the fate of the Touch in terms of iOS support.
Falhófnir
macrumors 603
The fact it's hanging around for so long suggests they still see a place for it. Remember it's a music focused device, even if it's also an iOS device as well, so for it's core functionality it doesn't need to be bleeding edge or ultra powerful, just performant enough to keep running iOS, Apple Music and most of the latest apps.
The iPad mini 4 is still there as well. Like the MacBook Air there's a good chance they'll update these devices if they're still holding on in the lineup.
Plutonius
macrumors G4
Sounds about right.
When Apple is forced to make a significant effort to get iOS to run on the Touch, it will be the time when they decide.
The trend seems to be towards streaming media rather than downloads so much as i would like to see an iPod Touch 7th gen I just don't see it happening. I believe Apple sees the future in ever higher performing iPhones that can stream whatever media you want.
I've been hoping for an updated iPod Touch for a while now. I still use my 6th generation every single day to watch YouTube in bed while my phone is charging overnight.
I want something new due to the slowness of the A8 processor, tired battery (get about 2 hours of use before it's at 20%), and it doesn't hold a connection to my AirPods anymore.
I'll more than likely just buy an iPhone 7 to replace it rather than waiting for something that may never happen.
I want something new due to the slowness of the A8 processor, tired battery (get about 2 hours of use before it's at 20%), and it doesn't hold a connection to my AirPods anymore.
I'll more than likely just buy an iPhone 7 to replace it rather than waiting for something that may never happen.
Every year I hope for a new ipod touch. It's the perfect device for listening to music and you don't want to use your phone. As long as they still sell the ipod touch, there's always hope.
I think the big problem with the iPod touch is that it is from another era in technology. Back whenever it was popular, smartphones were not nearly as common, let alone ones like the iPhone. So the iPod touch served as a way to get into the iPhone OS ecosystem without needing to buy an expensive phone and get locked into a 2-year contract. Most people back then had a regular old cell phone, and used the iPod touch for all their media. However this is not the case anymore, as now most people have smartphones in addition to the fact that smartphones are much cheaper, and the contracts are more open due to it not being an AT&T exclusive. In my opinion, the only way the iPod touch would work again would be to make it extremely cheap, and perhaps multiple screen sizes. If it is cheap and has the option of a big screen it would make for a great portable media device. Another thing would be storage size. If they release another touch, it should have a 256 or 512GB model at the high end IMO.
I have always been a fan of the iPod touch, having owned every generation except the 6th. I still use a 2nd gen. with iPhone OS 3.1.3 for most of my portable music. My dream iPod is actually the 64GB 3rd gen touch running iPhone OS 3. Maybe someday... It's too bad that the touch is in the state it's in, I miss the era of consumer electronics. I don't see them updating it, but if they do they'll have to do quite a lot to make it sell well.
I have always been a fan of the iPod touch, having owned every generation except the 6th. I still use a 2nd gen. with iPhone OS 3.1.3 for most of my portable music. My dream iPod is actually the 64GB 3rd gen touch running iPhone OS 3. Maybe someday... It's too bad that the touch is in the state it's in, I miss the era of consumer electronics. I don't see them updating it, but if they do they'll have to do quite a lot to make it sell well.
acocke
macrumors member
The thing that comes to my mind also is that if they update the iPod touch, would apple have the courage to take away the headphone jack? I think of an iPod I think of music device that has a headphone jack. Take away the headphone jack, you might as well kill off the iPod, IMO.
I’m pretty certain the Touch is dead which is too bad. When I went to an iPhone XS last week, I looked at my 7+, now no longer an activated phon and thought, “At last, a Touch with truly decent battery life!” My Touch 6 is new enough that the battery health is still 100%.
Not only do I listen to my Touch 6, I also stick a Zoom iQ5 or Shure MV88 on it for field recording. Yes, I can use my XS but I prefer to not use my phone for recording. Powering the mic really sucks down the charge of that tiny battery. The 7+ battery is huge by comparison. Both the 7+ and Touch 6 are 128G models.
The headphone jack is not an issue as the Zoom iOS microphones have their own for monitoring. The Shure does not.
If I sell my Touch 6, I’ll sell the MV88 also.
[doublepost=1541061129][/doublepost]I’d like to see a Touch 7 in the form of the 5+/SE. If they lost the ‘phone jack, that and the thicker case would allow for a much bigger battery along with, say, 512G capacity. This would be water resistant as well.
A Lightening connector would allow it to use a number of plug-in mics from Zoom, RØDE and others.
Not only do I listen to my Touch 6, I also stick a Zoom iQ5 or Shure MV88 on it for field recording. Yes, I can use my XS but I prefer to not use my phone for recording. Powering the mic really sucks down the charge of that tiny battery. The 7+ battery is huge by comparison. Both the 7+ and Touch 6 are 128G models.
The headphone jack is not an issue as the Zoom iOS microphones have their own for monitoring. The Shure does not.
If I sell my Touch 6, I’ll sell the MV88 also.
[doublepost=1541061129][/doublepost]I’d like to see a Touch 7 in the form of the 5+/SE. If they lost the ‘phone jack, that and the thicker case would allow for a much bigger battery along with, say, 512G capacity. This would be water resistant as well.
A Lightening connector would allow it to use a number of plug-in mics from Zoom, RØDE and others.
Falhófnir
macrumors 603
It’s very unlikely to get 13 as it’s the oldest supported device and already the longest supported phone to date. I’d even say it’s a tossup whether the 6/6+ will get 13 as 12 is focused on performance and stability and 13 is supposed to be a big redesign (presumably more resource intensive) so Apple may decide that the extra power of the A9 and 2GB of RAM will be the minimal specification. Whereas the A8 was a minor bump from the A7 in the 5s, the A9 was almost twice as fast as the A8 on both CPU and GPU tasks.
Bingo. If iOS 13 is the huge redesign it is rumored to be, the 5s won't be getting it. Unless Apple wants to start crippling phones again...
smorrissey
macrumors 68000
If IOS is the huge redesign you mention i assume its gonna demand more RAM, 3GB minimum? that's gonna be the end of Apple, tons of decives are gonna be discontinued, 6s, 7, 8 etc...
At least the end of the relationship between me and Apple....🙄
I mean a redesign like iOS 7 was. It will probably have the 6 as the oldest device. I can imagine that the iPhone 6 won't be able to handle it very well, I predict it will run like iOS 7 did on the iPhone 4, but perhaps Apple has changed. I think the 6S will handle it, because the leap in speed from the 6 to 6S is much greater than the leap from 5S to 6.
My relationship with Apple is strained right now, I've been extremely disappointed with their quality control since 2013, iOS used to be way less buggy than it is now. I cannot believe Apple released iOS 11 and was never able to fully fix it. This is not a first time thing though, I remember updated the iPhone 3G to iOS 4 the day it was released, that phone was legitimately impossible to use. But compared to now, big problems like that were rare back then.