iPod touch How do you think the future of the iPod touch will play out? (2021)

[subjonas]

How long will Apple keep making/selling the iPod touch? Is this the last one? How long before Apple has to either discontinue it or update it? Will it continue getting spec bumps every few years for the foreseeable future? Will it ever get a redesign, maybe based off of the iPhone SE2? Maybe even a Plus size version?
I’d love to hear thoughts.

 

[ericwn]

I guess that product is getting very close to becoming history. iPhone and iPad and services is the focus on that area in my opinion.

 

[subjonas]

I guess that product is getting very close to becoming history. iPhone and iPad and services is the focus on that area in my opinion.

Most likely. But care to go out on a limb with a more specific prediction? ? Maybe one more update with EOL in <4 years?

(I edited the thread title to try to get some more specifics.)

 

[ericwn]

Personally I don’t know how many of those customers are still on that bandwagon and if it’s even worth it to Apple. My guess is the current one will fade out and that’s it then.

 

[sracer]

Traditionally, Apple seems to wait until the customer grapevine begins predicting the death of the iPod Touch before releasing an update. (So I'll help get an update released by predicting its demise)

I think that the latest iPod Touch will be the last. But that said, it still has a bit of life left in its current generation.

One reason why it is difficult to predict is because we really don't know what the target market is for it. Yes, some will say that it is targeted for kids... I don't agree. The price is too high for a device to give to kids are too young for a cellphone. There are capable alternatives that are less expensive.

Without knowing who the target is, we can't really forecast where things will go.

In contrast, I know how the iPad Mini is used and can forecast with fairly good accuracy what's going to happen with that.

 

[retta283]

What I really wonder is if the A10 is still in production or they are burning through their existing stock of it. If it's the latter, it will probably be discontinued once the A10 stock is exhausted. I am suspect the same may be the case with the 1080p Apple TV? I don't keep up with the stock situations but this is one way I think it could end up.

Too bad they didn't give it a truly good last update and instead left it practically unchanged from 2012. Probably for POS systems though, IMO one of the only reasons they even updated it in 2019.

 

[RichardMZhlubb]

I'm sure that Apple makes a profit on the iPod touch and, until more people start buying iPhones for their pre-teen kids, there will still be a market. I doubt that it goes away any time soon.

 

[ericwn]

I'm sure that Apple makes a profit on the iPod touch and, until more people start buying iPhones for their pre-teen kids, there will still be a market. I doubt that it goes away any time soon.

But isn’t it more likely that kids these days get an iPad at home? That’s at least the observation I made with my kids and those in the family.

I don’t even remember anyone who bought one in the last few years.

 

[GMShadow]

I'd like to see another internal refresh at least, but the last one only happened a few months prior to iOS 13 dropping support for the A8.

I use the current model daily.

 

[Falhófnir]

If they weren’t selling in sufficient quantity to be viable, I think it would already be gone. Probably with the last (A8) generation being the final iteration. So I do think they will continue on, the question being do they cling to this design with sporadic chip refreshes until it’s completely non viable, or will they actually update it to use more modern components (4.7” display?).

 

[sracer]

If they weren’t selling in sufficient quantity to be viable, I think it would already be gone. Probably with the last (A8) generation being the final iteration. So I do think they will continue on, the question being do they cling to this design with sporadic chip refreshes until it’s completely non viable, or will they actually update it to use more modern components (4.7” display?).

If the iPod Touch is being used for POS (I believe that people have seen it, but I haven't) then there is no chance that the physical design will change. Establishments that use them will probably have cases and holders custom designed for the current design. Changing the physical design of the Touch would require them to not only buy new Touches but new cases and holders... which might not exist for the newer design.

This is the reason why the iPad Mini has retained it's physical design (with only ever so slight adjustments to button and microphone placement)

 

[subjonas]

If the iPod Touch is being used for POS (I believe that people have seen it, but I haven't) then there is no chance that the physical design will change. Establishments that use them will probably have cases and holders custom designed for the current design. Changing the physical design of the Touch would require them to not only buy new Touches but new cases and holders... which might not exist for the newer design.

This is the reason why the iPad Mini has retained it's physical design (with only ever so slight adjustments to button and microphone placement)

I agree it’s tough to pin down the market for the Touch. I’ve seen them used for POS, but not in a long time. But either way, I’m not inclined to believe that retail is its main market. I just don’t see Apple wanting to continue making an iOS device mainly for retailers, requiring all iPhone developers to continue supporting its now unique size, even though retailers probably only use one or two apps.
Maybe it’s just a little of several different markets—retailers, kids, people who use it for working out, people who want dedicated music players, and developers who want the cheapest iOS device. That’s all I can think of.

 

[kerr]

Time between latest iPod Touch releases:
Gen3 to Gen4 - 1 year
Gen4 to Gen5 - 2 years
Gen5 to Gen6 - 3 years
Gen6 to Gen7 - 4 years
Gen7 to (Gen8) - 2 years so far

 

[Falhófnir]

If the iPod Touch is being used for POS (I believe that people have seen it, but I haven't) then there is no chance that the physical design will change. Establishments that use them will probably have cases and holders custom designed for the current design. Changing the physical design of the Touch would require them to not only buy new Touches but new cases and holders... which might not exist for the newer design.

This is the reason why the iPad Mini has retained it's physical design (with only ever so slight adjustments to button and microphone placement)

I’m not sure it really is PoS keeping the device afloat (as you say iPad mini seems to be what they use for this purpose now, at least as far as I’ve seen) I just think sales might be quite low, but there is still a viable market for Apple to tap into, it just takes 3-4 years for Apple to get a decent RoI. Whether the extra cost of a redesign to pay back would tip the scales over into unviable or whether amortising it over another 3 or so long (3 year plus) generations would be do-able is the only doubt I really have about it’s future. If I had to guess, at this point I would say it’s redesign or nothing when the current iteration comes to an end.

 

[MattA]

They'll probably keep selling it until the current version of iOS will no longer run on it, then they'll put in whatever is new at the time and keep selling it. R&D costs are extremely low, and all of the tooling is done. All they have to do is update the logic board and keep selling it in the same form factor. Low overhead means they can sell relatively few and still come out ahead.

iPods still have their place. There are still plenty of use-cases for them, and until they pretty much have people quit buying them, they'll continue to sell them.

 

[Falhófnir]

They'll probably keep selling it until the current version of iOS will no longer run on it, then they'll put in whatever is new at the time and keep selling it. R&D costs are extremely low, and all of the tooling is done. All they have to do is update the logic board and keep selling it in the same form factor. Low overhead means they can sell relatively few and still come out ahead.

iPods still have their place. There are still plenty of use-cases for them, and until they pretty much have people quit buying them, they'll continue to sell them.

That is (or at least has been) the path of least resistance, I only wonder if the current form factor is finally no longer viable - possibly at this point I’d say yes as the final 4” iPhone is just about at the end of the line and iOS doesn’t work particularly well on that display size any more. A larger display is also sure to be more desirable, but making that much of a change may be more hassle than it’s worth.

 

[macsound1]

I don't understand why the iPod touch has been abandoned.
You'd think it's the exact product Apple likes to make. You already have the pieces and parts from the phone, just take out the cellular guts.
I could see them using the same mold as the regular 12 iPhone but casting in plastic instead of metal and glass.

 

[subjonas]

the final 4” iPhone is just about at the end of the line and iOS doesn’t work particularly well on that display size any more.

Why do you say that? iOS 14 works as well on my SE1 as any version prior ever did (and supposedly it will get iOS 15 as well).

 

[Falhófnir]

Why do you say that? iOS 14 works as well on my SE1 as any version prior ever did (and supposedly it will get iOS 15 as well).

Just notice an increasing number of layout/ scaling issues in apps and particularly on webpages on my iPT. Think it’s now such a low market share/ semi forgotten display size fewer and fewer developers or web developers are optimising for or even taking it into account, and the auto scaling stuff can only work so well. Granted my iPT is stuck back on iOS 12, maybe a newer version fixes some of these issues, who knows.

 

[danny842003]

I don't understand why the iPod touch has been abandoned.
You'd think it's the exact product Apple likes to make. You already have the pieces and parts from the phone, just take out the cellular guts.
I could see them using the same mold as the regular 12 iPhone but casting in plastic instead of metal and glass.

Apple don’t like to make products that don’t sell. Sure there’s probably a small number of people who will keep buying it but companies like Apple aren’t in to small volumes.

 

[macsound1]

Apple don’t like to make products that don’t sell. Sure there’s probably a small number of people who will keep buying it but companies like Apple aren’t in to small volumes.

I have this issue with many companies. Stop updating, make poor design decisions, overall make a product unappealing and then complain when no one buys any.

If it was updated at all since the iPhone X era, you can bet the volume would be higher than it is now.

 

[subjonas]

Just notice an increasing number of layout/ scaling issues in apps and particularly on webpages on my iPT. Think it’s now such a low market share/ semi forgotten display size fewer and fewer developers or web developers are optimising for or even taking it into account, and the auto scaling stuff can only work so well. Granted my iPT is stuck back on iOS 12, maybe a newer version fixes some of these issues, who knows.

Oh I thought you meant iOS as in the OS itself. But I haven’t noticed any layout scaling issues in any of the apps or websites I use either, beyond obviously the sites that don’t optimize for mobile at all.

edit- also I should mention I’m a light user when it comes to phones. I do most of my stuffs on my iPad and Mac.

 

[danny842003]

I have this issue with many companies. Stop updating, make poor design decisions, overall make a product unappealing and then complain when no one buys any.

If it was updated at all since the iPhone X era, you can bet the volume would be higher than it is now.

But probably not enough to interest apples bottom line. It’s such a niche product most people are fine using their mobile phone.

 

[GMShadow]

There are some small quirks with the layout, yeah. The AirPlay status at the bottom of a music page, for example, cuts off the bottom 1-2 rows of pixels.

 

[subjonas]

There are some small quirks with the layout, yeah. The AirPlay status at the bottom of a music page, for example, cuts off the bottom 1-2 rows of pixels.

Really? I just checked on my SE1 which should be the same. It looked fine, but not sure we’re talking about the same thing. Any chance you could post a screenshot?