I just read a very sad article on the Verge stating that Apple is discontinuing the iPod Touch. For those of us who wanted an iPhone without the phone capabilities, this was a great device for many years. Many of us who use Voiceover don't need the full screen of an iPad and sometimes you just want a device which will not ring when you are reading a good book. As the article states, the writing for this decision was kind of on the wall as the last Touch was released in 2019. Still, I, for one, was hoping Apple would release a new Touch this year, but I guess that is not happening. A sad day for those of us who really like the iPod Touch. A full link to the article is at:
https://www.theverge.com/2022/5/10/23065412/apple-ipod-touch-canceled-discontinued
Thanks.
Jim
By Jim D, 10 May, 2022
Forum
Apple Hardware and Compatible Accessories
Comments
Sad Indeed
That is indeed sad news. I was thinking about getting one actually, so it only figures that they announce now to discontinue. Truth is I have been wanting a digital audio player (DAP) that is accessible. I was coming to the conclusion that the iPod was going to be the only way to go. All others that I have heard/read about seem to be completely inaccessible. Oh well, I guess the next step is to try and convince a DAP designer to make one accessible. Thanks for the news, sad though it is.
buy one now
They are still available while supplies last. If you really want one I'd hop on it.
looking forward the future appl watch
maybe it will combind together in the apple watch
iPod is the best
This is the first device which introduce me to Apple ecosystem. Without an iPod, I won’t really knows how to use an iPhone. Farewell iPod, hope someday Apple will release a great new product again to replace an iPod
That was training wheels
Apple was going in a totally different direction than today. We all freaked when we couldn't use the iPod with the click wheel so you had other solutions, think rock box and stupid stuff. Then you had a better computer, better phone, again mini freak about glass and can I use it by myself? Then the watch, so it's natural they kicked it to the curb. thank god as that had a terribly junk speaker. give me bass shaking over the tinny sounding stuff most apple puts out. Not willing to get a homepod where siri is the dumb blonde stripper you take home late. apple needs to get it's game together and I for one and glad it's gone. so buy one, then when it's obsolete, oh it already is, just forget wifi and enjoy.
I am Cassandra, Apparently
Just bought an iPhone SE 3rd gen as replacement iPod Touch, as even the latest one is slowing down considerably and doesn't have features like VoiceOver screen recognition (it's using the Fusion A10 which is the same as the iPhone 7, so no real surprise there). Anyone else thinking of trying this, be aware that until Apple fixes this (I've filed feedback and even contacted support who seemed to be quite clueful, so there's hope) the absence of a SIM card means you can't use the Phone app to route calls through Continuity to a real iPhone as you normally can with iPad or iPod Touch. Hope the fix comes soon, now there's a clear need.
But this is still terrible news. I loved iPod Touch, as I'm sure did many of us. The true spiritual heir to iOS as a general-purpose OS, it was a tiny, lightweight device that lasted basically forever. And one could learn to live without Touch ID or Face ID if the device was relatively unlikely to leave the house anyway. And you could do all the stuff you really needed to do—make and take calls with a nearby iPhone, send and receive texts, bank online, read the news and books, check the weather, catch up on your email and, last but not least, listen to music (or Podcasts, or audiobooks ...). Just a joy, really. RIP, iPod Touch!
Apple even put out a press…
Apple even put out a press release about it.
https://www.apple.com/newsroom/2022/05/the-music-lives-on/
Reading that, it does kind of make sense and I'm kind of surprised it didn't happen a couple years ago. It'll be interesting to see what this means for WWDC in June.
The iPhone has pretty much replaced the iPod Touch. Heck, I thought the iPod Touch would only be around until the iPhone became available on most wireless carriers. The Apple Watch and BT headphones are the new iPod Nano.
Some people thought Apple should release an updated iPod for its 20th anniversary last year, but Apple doesn't do nostalgia. IMO, except for a few nich use cases, you can do most anything with an iPhone, iPad, Mac or Watch that you could with an iPod. People make the argument that they don't want distractions from their iPhone when listening to music, make a focus mode for that. People say they don't want to stream everything. You can still put your own music on your iPhone the way you do with an iPod, and you can download music to your iPhone from streaming services you're subbed to and not have to stream them.
I think Apple should put up a page on their website explaining how you can do most of the stuff your iPod could using its modern products as I think there's some misconception floating around, as is often the case with stuff like this. Yes, VO does present some quirks, like not easily switching speech output between an iPhone and an Apple Watch, but I don't know how they could resolve that.
Sad to see the iPod brand go, though.
iPod touch
hi, as a person who has an iPod touch, I'm gonna miss this product. whilst your phone can do everything an iPod can and more, I feel that the iPod should of stayed around, for the people who couldn't afford an iPhone. I was hoping Apple would bring out the 8th gen, but that's not gonna happen. lol
Kinda surprised TBH but also not really
This got used a lot in the education and business spaces for stuff like card readers. I guess the corporate orders finally dried up. It's the end of an era, I suppose. I think it wouldn't have been possible to fit a newer chip in there due to heat and power requirements. That hardware is almost a decade old and still rocking a 4 inch display and a 1000-ish mAh battery. Couple that with a ridiculously thin chassis and you would probably need a redesign to fit in the extra juice and cooling for a newer chip. When half your profit comes from smartphones, your headphone sales are big enough to be considered a fortune 500 company, and you're in the middle of an architecture transition during a chip shortage, I guess it's not too surprising they wouldn't be motivated to redesign the hardware.
Sad but not surprising
I was shocked when they released the iPod Touch 7. I'm not shocked by this announcement but a bit sad. I have no need for an iPad, as a braille only user I find the entire iPadOS unnecissary, so will hold on to the iPod for as long as I can. Then it will be time for my iPhone SE 2, though that will be annoying without the headphone jack. The audio needs I have aren't currenly capable of reliably being met with Bluetooth. This is my attachment to the legacy technology. Simply that modern wireless technology is not reliable enough to meet my needs.
I remember owning my first iPod
I remember owning my first iPod. That was the first device I've ever owned that included voiceover. This was way before I got introduced to the iPhone.
Good riddence
The iPod has been displaced by the iPhone. Used iPhones without a SIM card have more storage and functionality than iPod touches at a lower price. I like the iPod functionality in my iPhone so much I selected 512 GB for my iPhone 13.
Doesn't surprise me as they…
Doesn't surprise me as they really never updated it much.