Apple’s new iPod touch looks… just like the old iPod touch. But under the hood it’s a lot more powerful.

The company hasn’t raised the price though. You can still pick up an entry-level iPod touch for $199. It’s just that now you’ll get a model with 32GB of storage and an Apple A10 Fusion processor for that price rather than one with 16GB of storage and an Apple A8 chip.

Those spec bumps are welcome, but not exactly surprising. The last time Apple refreshed its iPod touch lineup was 2015, so the product line was long overdue for either an update or a cancellation.

The Apple A10 Fusion processor is the same chip that powered the iPhone 7. It’s not exactly a speed demon by modern standards, but it’s still not bad for a $199 device.

Apple says that, among other things, it enables support for augmented reality experiences on an iPod touch and offers a smoother gaming experience.

On the outside, the new model looks just like the 2015 version, complete with a 4 inch, 1136 x 640 pixel display with a large top and bottom bezels and a home button below the screen. The device measures 4.86″ x 2.31″ x 0.24″ and weighs 3.1 ounces.

It has an 8MP rear camera and 1080p front-facing camera and support for 802.11ac WiFi and Bluetooth 4.1.

All told, the iPod touch It’s basically a compact iPhone with a dated design and the inability to connect to cellular networks. And that may be exactly one some folks are looking for, since it’s a relatively inexpensive device to hand off to a kid or for reading, watching, or playing on the go without running down your smartphone battery. And it’s a lot more portable (and affordable) than even the smallest of iPads.

The 2019 iPod touch is available online starting today and it should be in stores later this week.

Here’s an overview of the prices/configurations:

  • iPod touch w/32GB for $199
  • iPod touch w/128GB for $299
  • iPod touch w/256GB for $399

via Apple

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14 replies on “Apple gives the iPod touch an A10 Fusion chip, keeps the $199 starting price”

  1. I just checked and you can get a second-hand iPhone 7 for much less. Yes, it’s used. But it’s essentially this device, only better.

  2. I don’t get it. Even putting lack of cellular aside, at that price I can get an actual phone with much, much better specs for everything from screen to camera. Are people actually willing to pay not despite but *because* of the “inability to connect to cellular networks”?

    1. Partly it is the size as phones are now all big and heavy. I assume that if you are locked into iOS then that is also a factor. Finally battery life is meant to be good.
      I will stick with an old phone.

  3. Does this get to keep the 3.5 mm jack or is yet another courageous product?

    1. In 2018 Apple sold just over half of the world’s “premium” phones and captured something like 75% of the total profit made by the entire worldwide smartphone market.

      1. The vast majority of the world either can’t afford or wisely chooses not to pay the grossly-inflated prices for “premium” phones though. Thus Android accounts for ~88% of all smartphone sales to end users worldwide.

        1. So you’re telling me 75% of the total profit, is wedged in the 12% slice that Apple controls?

          Well, sounds like Apple’s doing something right, from a business perspective…. and they are a for-profit business.

          What’s Google’s, Sony’s, Samsung’s, LG’s, Nokia’s, HTC’s, Motorola’s, ASUS’s, and ZTE’s problem, lol.

        2. Sure. But Apple accounts for about 40% or smartphone sales in the US.

          My general point isn’t that Apple is the greatest or anything, just that the original claim that Apple is somehow irrelevant is plainly and obviously wrong.

  5. Apple is really desperate to sell these devices. But could they not give 64GB at the $199 price point?

    1. Amen to that. For $199, I’d ge a 64gb in a heartbeat. I’d like to use one as a PDA for work. They don’t give us phones and if you want to access the network using BYOD, they want to take control of your device. A separate devices is the only way I’ll participate in the BYOD program. WiFi only is fine. I only need it in the office and at home and I have a hotspot for the rare time I need it and don’t have WiFi access.

  6. They’d look quite a bit better if the face was the same color as the shell.

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