This week Apple released the first new iPod in nearly four years. While to some of us it might appear to be outdated, it is able to compete in a different market segment than the more expensive iPhone with its cheaper price and smaller size.
And at a time when Apple is selling fewer iPhones, it is desperately trying to make up for the missing dollars with other products and services. At its peak 11 years ago, the iPod sold well over 55 million units, but in 2013 – when Apple stopped reporting iPod sales data – only 20 million were sold.
In comes the new iPod touch with some small hardware upgrades. It runs on an A10 Fusion chip, the same as the iPhone 7 which was released three years ago, but that’s still faster than the A8 used in the 2015 version. In fact, Apple’s product marketing VP Greg Joswiak claimed that it is ‘twice as fast as before.’
The new iPod touch is able to run augmented reality apps and it supports Group FaceTime calls. Apple is also using the opportunity presented by the iPod launch to promote Apple Arcade, its soon-to-be launched gaming subscription service.
The 2019 iPod touch also comes with a 256 GB storage option, by far the largest storage capacity of any iPod ever. The now-defunct iPod Classic (the one with the click wheel) boasted a maximum storage of only 160 GB.
Apart from that, the new iPod seems quite similar to the old one with a 4-inch screen, a physical home button and a much more affordable price tag – from only $199 in the U.S. Available colours include gold, white, space grey, red, pink and blue.
You can now order one online from 27 countries.