Posts tagged with "ipod"

New iPod Benchmarks and Notes→

Over at TechCrunch, Matthew Panzarino was able to run some tests on the newly updated iPod touch. Unsurprisingly, the device appears to be underclocked when compared to the iPhone 6 but has 1 GB of RAM. I noted this morning that the iPod touch would make for a decent test device, but I wonder if performance differences in CPU could be a problem there (I don’t think so – unless there are some graphically intensive apps that really push the A8 to the very limit?).

9to5Mac points out that the iPod touch comes with Bluetooth 4.1 – a first for Apple (the iPhone 6 has Bluetooth 4.0). The updated standard will likely be adopted on new iPhones in the Fall as it has some interesting upgrades for communication between LTE and Bluetooth radios, but it also includes changes for connected “Internet of Things” devices – perhaps Zac has a point when he envisions the iPod as a smart home remote.

Last, we noted this morning that the refreshed iPod nano doesn’t feature an updated user interface to match the post-iOS 7 era of design at Apple. John Gruber has heard the reason why that might be the case, and it’s quite sad.

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Apple Releases New iPod touch, New Colors for Entire iPod Line

Apple this morning released an updated slate of iPods, featuring a big update to the internals of the iPod touch and updated colors for the entire line of iPods. The new iPods are available for purchase now on the Apple Online Store and Apple Retail Stores.

“iPod touch gives customers around the world access to Apple Music, the App Store and iOS, the world’s most advanced mobile operating system, starting at just $199,” said Greg Joswiak, Apple’s vice president of iPhone, iPod and iOS Product Marketing. “With big advancements like the A8 chip and the 8 megapixel iSight camera, customers can experience next-level gameplay, take even more beautiful photos and enjoy their favorite music, TV shows and movies.”

The iPod touch can now be purchased in space gray, silver, gold, pink, blue, and red. The same new colors are available for the iPod nano and shuffle, also updated today with new colors but without changes in price or tech specs.

The new iPod touch now has an 8 megapixel rear camera, a big increase from the previous 5 megapixel camera. The internals have also been brought up to date with a 64-bit A8 processor and an M8 Motion chip to track steps and elevation. The iPod touch still starts at $199 for a 16 GB device, with the 32 GB model available at $249 and $299 for 64 GB, but there’s also a new 128 GB model for $399. Today’s update to the iPod touch is the first since Apple released the fifth generation iPod touch in October 2012.

Aside from the new colors, the iPod nano and iPod shuffle remain the same feature-wise, including the pre-iOS 7 style icons on the iPod nano. The iPod nano costs $149 and the iPod shuffle costs $49.

Apple Discontinues iPod classic

Click image to view a full resolution version

Click image to view a full resolution version

The iPod classic is no longer on sale after Apple quietly discontinued the product yesterday. It shouldn’t be much of a surprise to anyone given that the product hasn’t been refreshed since September 2009 - five years ago, but as the direct descendant of the original iPod, it signals the end of an era to a certain degree. The iPod shuffle, nano and touch remain on sale, at least for now.

We’ve charted the key product milestones of the iPod classic line above (view the full resolution version), with thanks to the thorough Wikipedia entry on it. If you’re after a bit more of a visual history of some of the major changes to iPod classic, head over to The Verge.

iPod Eclipse→

Benedict Evans:

As music has moved on from the iPod, it has actually become much less important to the tech industry. With streaming and the decline of ownership, there are fewer barriers to switching service, and every device has a choice of music services, both from the platform owner (i.e. Apple/Google/Microsoft/Nokia etc) and as third-party apps. In effect,  music has become a commodity.

Compare this to dedicated eBook readers, which still have a feature that smartphones haven’t replicated (E Ink). The iPod didn’t have exclusive features that tied music (and customers) to the device; the built-in WiFi and cellular options of iPhones facilitated the rise of streaming services and access over ownership. The only iPod-only feature I can think about is storage in the 160 GB iPod Classic; millions of people just don’t need an iPod anymore.

For further evidence, look at Apple’s upcoming launches: iTunes Radio can be used on iPod touches connected to WiFi, but iPhones (and cellular iPads) can use it all the time.

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iPod Nano Gets Update, iPod Touch Now in White

 

Phil Schiller just announced an updated version of the iPod nano. The new model allows users to swipe between much larger icons instead of the previous grid layout with Apple’s Multi-Touch™ user interface. Other notable features include the ability to track walks and runs using  the built in Nike+ fitness app without the need for the Nike+ adapter.

Apple has also added 16 new clock faces for customers that enjoy wearing the iPod nano as a wrist watch. The clock faces have a large variety including classic analog clocks as well as Disney characters that will surely be popular among young children.

The iPod nano models:

  • 8GB for $129
  • 16GB for $149

The iPod touch have some exciting new software features that ship with iOS 5 including iMessage, Game Center, Notifications and Wi-Fi Syncing to iTunes.

The iPod touch now comes in a Black and White model, and it will be available starting October 12th.

  • 8GB for $199
  • 32GB for $299
  • 64GB for $399

The iPod shuffle is also still available in a 2GB model for $49.[Apple Press Release]

Apple Removes “iPod Click Wheel Games” From iTunes Store

As noted by AppleInsider, Apple has removed iPod click wheel games from the iTunes Store, pulling a link to the category from the App Store’s dropdown menu inside iTunes, and also removing listings for those games that users could play on a click wheel-based iPod. It’s not clear when Apple made the change exactly, but it appears to be recent. Apple updates the App Store’s homepage every week with new features, banners and links to special sections, and the removal of iPod Click Wheel Games (which had their very own category) might have been part of a weekly refresh. There were around 50 games for click wheel iPods in the iTunes Store, including classics like Vortex and Klondike, or other titles like Song Summoner by Square Enix.

Click wheel games were compatible with the iPod classic, as well as older versions of the iPod, iPod nano and iPod mini. They allowed users to control games using an iPod’s touch-sensitive click wheel, and they’re still mentioned on Apple’s iPod classic Features page. Development of click wheel games never really took off with third-party developers, as Apple didn’t make a software development kit publicly available.

The FAQ page for iPod Click Wheel Games has been marked as “archived” and “old article” by Apple on September 21, 2011. The article still reports click wheel games are available in the iTunes Store, but old direct links for such games aren’t working anymore, and games no longer appear in iTunes’ search results.

The removal of click wheel games comes amidst rumors of the discontinuation of the classic and shuffle iPod lines, quite possibly with a formal announcement as early as next week at Apple’s October 4th keynote. The iPod classic was rumored to be nearing discontinuation before, as Apple didn’t announce a refresh at last year’s music event in a clear focus on iOS devices (and the updated iPod nano). Apple’s Steve Jobs allegedly confirmed in an email to a customer that they had no intention to cease production of the iPod classic, which remains the only iPod to offer high capacity with 160 GB of storage. Speculation surrounding the iPod suggests Apple would axe the Classic to make room for a new 128 GB iPod touch, although this year’s iPod touch refresh is believed to be a minor one and there have been no signs of a 128 GB iPod touch in the past months. A 64 GB iPhone prototype surfaced earlier this year, if this can be an indication of Apple looking to bump the storage sizes of its iOS devices.

In 2010, the iPod classic was the 5th most popular MP3 player in the United States.

Apple Could Be About To Discontinue The iPod Shuffle and Classic

Apple could be about retire the iPod classic and iPod shuffle as part of a “product transition” that was hinted at by Apple in their last earnings call. The news comes from TUAW who seem reasonably confident that at some point this year Apple will axe the two devices — likely keeping the iPod nano and iPod touch, for now.

To back up their source’s information they cite a recent report from CNet in which it was noted that the iPods now only make up for 8% of Apple’s total revenue. As the above graph shows, iPod sales have also been stagnant or falling over the last few quarters and although Apple doesn’t break these figures down model by model, its believed the iPod touch is what has held iPod sales up. Interestingly the iPod’s 10 year anniversary is coming up soon on October 24th and as CNet said it would be a nice for Apple to say “It had a great run, now go buy an iPhone”.

The shuffle is basically the same form factor as the nano, minus a screen. The classic uses a platter-based hard drive, while Apple is largely transitioning to flash-based memory solutions. The shuffle’s lack of a screen has been an issue since it first appeared as a memory stick with music playback functions. If Apple killed these off, all of its iPods would have touchscreens, and something tells me it wants it that way.

Concluding their report, TUAW notes that their source is “NOT an analyst” and that Apple’s plans are to consolidate the iPod line into just the nano (which would become Apple’s lowest-end iPod) and the touch. The iPod touch would become the premium iPod, with few changes except the availability of a white version.

[Via TUAW]

Apple’s Fall Media Event Scheduled For September 7?

For months there has been discussion of a Fall media event for Apple to reveal the iPhone 5 and according to a report by Kodawarisan Apple has scheduled the event for Wednesday, September 7th. The date falls in line with previous years in which the traditional iPod event was held on September 1st in 2010 and September 9th in 2009 and 2008.

MacRumors clarified with Kodawarisan that the September 7th date was not a “product of guesswork, but came from a source in the know”. They also note that Kodawarisan has had a long history of rumors (nearly a decade) but had recently been pretty quiet - with the last “sucessful” rumor arising in 2009 in whcih they correctly predicted the Mac Mini launch date.

If this date does come true and the event includes the announcement of the iPhone 5, it would differ from reports earlier this month in which AllThingsD claimed an “October surprise” for the iPhone 5 launch.

[Via MacRumors]