iPod touch Which recent Mac OS/iTunes still support 5G/iOS9?

[sunrisemusic]

Hi, I have an iPod Touch 5th generation, I’m using it pretty much just for music (I’ll occasionally check email or surf with it, but I usually use iPhone or iPad for that).

I’m currently running merrily along on iOS7 and I see that if I upgrade the iOS the 5G is only supported as far as iOS9.3.5.

Anyway my situation:

My main mac (2012 i7 Mac Mini) is currently running Mac OS 10.9.5 (mavericks), with iTunes 12.6.2.20, which still syncs with the Touch.

I’m looking into upgrading the MacOS in order to upgrade to more current music/audio apps, but wanted to check first to find out how high I can upgrade the Mac OS so that I can still sync the Touch in iTunes.

Another reason to upgrade the MacOS is that I’d like to upgrade my phone and iPad to iOS 12 when it comes out, and for that I’m pretty sure that to sync with iTunes it means I’ll also need to upgrade the Mac OS.

If I do that I’m a little concerned if I upgrade too high I might suddenly find I’m unable to sync the Touch - (which I’ll probably have to upgrade to iOS 9). It seems that El Cap should be fine, but I’m not 100% sure about Sierra and beyond. If I upgraded to Sierra, H.Sierra (or even, hopefully, Mojave later on) will I still be able to sync the iPod on iOS 9 with iTunes or will I have be forced to use an old machine still running 10.6.8 for that (which would be a PITA, but possible)?

Or even worse does this mean I’d need to let go of a perfectly good iPod and buy a newer model? (in which case I'd be wanting to wait and see if a new one is released later this year, not likely since no rumors at this point).

Thoughts? Advice? Recommendations?

Thanks so much!

Julianne

 

[Paddle1]

Is iOS 9 not compatible with the latest version of iTunes?

 

[sunrisemusic]

Thanks for the reply. To answer your question - I don't know, the iPod's currently on iOS 7 and Mac OS 9.5, so I can't check, but if you think it is that would be great news!

Edit to add: I don't think my version of iTunes is the newest one available, just the newest version that will work on Mac OS 9.5, but perhaps I'm wrong about that?

 

[FeliApple]

I have no idea whether it's compatible or not with your OS X version (Until not too long ago, I synced my iPod Touch 5G on iOS 6 with Windows 7), so I can't help you there, but do not update the iPod to iOS 9. It works so poorly it's laughable.

 

[Paddle1]

From what I've read the current version of iTunes can sync with iOS 9, you might want the alternate version that can still manage apps though.

 

[sunrisemusic]

Thanks again Paddle1 - I'd definitely be wanting something syncs music and apps where I can handle app etc info. I often record rough things in Voice Memos and there are some occasions where wifi etc is useful.

I wasn't quite clear what you mean - are you saying the current version that syncs with iOS9 won't manage apps and thus a need for an alternate version (and if so, do we know if it will work on the newer Mac OSes?

Thanks very much for trying to sleuth out more info.

Hopefully someone who is using the 5G on newer Mac OSes will see this and chime in at some point.


FeliApple - thanks for your reply and recommendation. Yikes, that doesn't sound so good. What is it that's not working well for you in iOS9 so I can figure out if I can live with that?!!

 

[Paddle1]

Thanks again Paddle1 - I'd definitely be wanting something syncs music and apps where I can handle app etc info. I often record rough things in Voice Memos and there are some occasions where wifi etc is useful.

I wasn't quite clear what you mean - are you saying the current version that syncs with iOS9 won't manage apps and thus a need for an alternate version (and if so, do we know if it will work on the newer Mac OSes?

Thanks very much for trying to sleuth out more info.

Hopefully someone who is using the 5G on newer Mac OSes will see this and chime in at some point.


FeliApple - thanks for your reply and recommendation. Yikes, that doesn't sound so good. What is it that's not working well for you in iOS9 so I can figure out if I can live with that?!!

Apple removed certain features from iTunes such as the App Store last year, you have to download their alternate version of iTunes to get it back. Here's an article about it: https://www.macrumors.com/2018/04/04/itunes-12-6-4-released/

As for running iOS 9, you'll have more features and app support, but the device will likely be a bit slower.

 

[FeliApple]

Thanks again Paddle1 - I'd definitely be wanting something syncs music and apps where I can handle app etc info. I often record rough things in Voice Memos and there are some occasions where wifi etc is useful.

I wasn't quite clear what you mean - are you saying the current version that syncs with iOS9 won't manage apps and thus a need for an alternate version (and if so, do we know if it will work on the newer Mac OSes?

Thanks very much for trying to sleuth out more info.

Hopefully someone who is using the 5G on newer Mac OSes will see this and chime in at some point.


FeliApple - thanks for your reply and recommendation. Yikes, that doesn't sound so good. What is it that's not working well for you in iOS9 so I can figure out if I can live with that?!!

I use an iPod Touch 5G on iOS 6, but a family member had one on iOS 7, and although it was quite slower, it worked fine. After it was updated to iOS 9, performance plummeted. App launches take 3 times as long; the system itself (unlocking, response times to simple actions, to name a few) is a lot slower; newer apps can be downloaded but performance is poor, and if you use it just for music - in that case, iOS 7 is probably just fine - then what's the point of updating? It will surely be slower. How much exactly overall? Not sure, but significantly slower.
Of course, it's your call.

 

[sunrisemusic]

Thanks again for your replies, folks. Bummer it sounds like iOS9 is that much slower, but if I can’t use iOS7 on a newer MacOS then I might be forced to do the upgrade, but I still have time to think about it, and I’m grateful to know ahead of time what issues might await an iOS upgrade. Of course I will try to stay with iOS7 if possible, though I’m assuming it won’t be supported on later MacOS’s. At any rate it will still be little while before I get around to upgrading the Mac.

Paddle1 - thanks so much for taking the time to get that info for me! That will come in handy!

FeliApple - that sounds crappy! Even though I’m just doing music it might annoy me when I need to switch between things.

 

[Slix]

The current versions of iTunes work with any iPod and iPhone, running any software update or iOS. They never removed functionality to sync devices - the only things they removed, like @Paddle1 mentioned, were the ability to manage iOS apps and Ringtones from iTunes, however, you can still sync them if you have the files in the Finder and drag them onto the iOS device in the iTunes window. Or, you can download the alternate version of iTunes that allows app management, as mentioned above.

Hope that helps! I'm using the latest iTunes on High Sierra currently, and it syncs my iPod touches as far back as the first generation iPod touch (iOS 3.1.3).

 

[sunrisemusic]

Thanks so much Slix! That answers everything - I'm very happy to know I can keep the Touch on iOS7, I hadn't expected that. For sure I'll use the alternate iTunes version. Yay, happy camper here, thanks again, and thanks again also to Paddle1 and FeliApple!