The iPod was hailed as the “21st-century Walkman” when it was released in October 2001, with Steve Jobs declaring: “With iPod, Apple has invented a whole new category of digital music player that lets you put your entire music collection in your pocket and listen to it wherever you go. With iPod, listening to music will never be the same again.” He was right. Even though the iPod wasn’t the first MP3 player out there, his company indeed improved all the shortcomings in the existing products in the market. But then came the iPhone (with its built-in music player), which sent the loved music player in a year-on-year decline.
So it came as a surprise when Apple announced a new iPod Touch on Tuesday (the first one in four years) at a time when people talk about the iPhone XS, XS Max and XR. You ask, “Who will buy it?” The iPod Touch can’t do plenty of things that the iPhone can but it’s the features that it doesn’t have which makes it a niche product, one that deserves a space in 2019. Here are a few reasons why we want the iPod Touch to stay.
It’s for music lovers
Smartphones need regular app updates and it’s tough to avoid annoying notifications. With a device that only plays music, one can use it as long as the battery holds up, which, in this case, is a long time. Further, there is always the case of certain albums/artistes getting dropped from a streaming service. Here, you buy your music and it stays with you.
Young users
The iPod Touch is a great way to woo young users into the Apple ecosystem. Parents who have used the iPod will be encouraged to gift their kids one. These kids are potential Apple Music subscribers and iCloud users. Once hooked to the simple user interface, they would keep using Apple products. And then there is the smartphone-not-allowed group of children. Why make them miss out on listening to music? Next, the device addresses kids who listen to the Baby Shark song on a loop on a wireless speaker at max volume. Finally, without a data connection, the iPod Touch is simply a gadget for consuming pre-downloaded content on trips.
You want to try augmented reality
The device comes with the A10 chip, the same processor that powers the iPhone 7. This also means that games and apps that use augmented reality can be used on the new iPod Touch. Of course, nobody would like to go buying furniture and try out AR using an iPod Touch but it’s a cool feature when we think of the target audience — kids and youngsters. Besides, the new chip will amp up the device’s performance.
Group FaceTime
Apple has said that Group Face Time will work on an iPod touch for the first time, making it a perfect device for communicating with friends when you’re abroad and with decent Wi-Fi.
“We’re making the most affordable iOS device even better with performance that is twice as fast as before, Group FaceTime and augmented reality starting at just $199,” said Greg Joswiak, Apple’s vice-president of product marketing in a press note. “The ultra-thin and lightweight design of iPod touch has always made it ideal for enjoying games, music and so much more wherever you go.”
Headphones with a 3.5mm connector
Apple famously removed the headphone jack from its iPhones in 2016. This meant that one would need to connect headphones via a Lightning connector, through an adapter, or Bluetooth. But like the previous versions of the iPod Touch, the latest retains the old-school headphone jack.
Game on
With three times faster graphics, games on the new iPod touch run smoother and this fall, gamers can look forward to Apple Arcade, a game subscription service with over 100 new and exclusive games with no ads or additional purchases, and the ability to download games for offline play.
Pocket pinch
The device is priced at Rs 18,900 for the 32GB model, Rs 28,900 for the 128GB model and Rs 38,900 for the 256GB model.
