Apple introduced a new iPod touch on Wednesday as we expected after selling nearly the same model for almost three years, and today iFixit has shared its routine teardown to grade the device’s ability to be repaired and catalog exactly what’s inside Apple’s newest iOS device.
While the exterior of the new iPod touch remains largely the same aside from new color options and the removal of the Loop camera strap, the teardown does confirm the RAM upgrade caught in benchmarks earlier this week and a slightly larger battery than the previous model…
Alongside the A8 chip, underclocked compared to the iPhone version, Apple’s 6th-gen iPod touch features the same 1 GB LPDDR3 RAM found in the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus. Between the processor jump from the iPhone 4S level A5 chip to the iPhone 6 level A8 chip and the doubled RAM compared to 4 Gb (512 MB) of Mobile DDR2 RAM found in the the 5th-gen iPod touch, Apple’s new $199 and up iOS device packs in plenty more power for the price.
More power under-the-hood can mean more juice needed to keep everything running, and the iPod touch 6th-gen delivers with a slightly higher capacity battery. The new iPod touch includes a battery rated at 1043 mAh over the battery included with the 5th-gen iPod touch rated at 1030 mAh. The only slight battery capacity increase isn’t as large as the shift between the 930 mAh in the 4th-gen iPod touch and the previous model, but the casing remains mostly unchanged with the same 4-inch display while the previous model jumped from 3.5-inches.
iFixit notes a few other trivial changes including the inclusion of a white bezel on the inside of the display and a few other known differences including a smaller ƒ/2.4 aperture compared to the iPhone 6’s ƒ/2.2 aperture despite the same 8 MP spec. In terms of repairability, iFixit rates the new iPod touch model at a 4 out of 10, coming in at the low end of the scale but jumping 1 point since the 5th-gen model in 2012 despite citing the same issues including no external screws and use of adhesive. Check out the full teardown here and stay tuned for our hands-on coverage soon.
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cant believe Touch ID is not on the list…
For what? It’s not something that you carry with you all the times. There’s an iPhone for it. iPod is pretty much a home or car devices nowadays. Don’t even mention NFC, please.
This is exactly why it SHOULD have Touch ID, to make it more secure because you’re not carrying it with you all the time. With ubiquitous syncing some people will be likely to have the same secure information accessible from this device as from their iPad and/or iPhone, even Mac.
For adults maybe. For kids it’s still marketed as your everything device. With family accounts I would like the little extra security when authorizing purchases on my credit card.
Not all of us go for an iPhone… yet. I’m a college student on a budget and I use the iPod Touch as a primary way to contact, YES, even for interviews and important calls (over Wi-Fi) of course. I, for one, am very happy that the iPod Touch got an upgrade.. Also disappointed it doesn’t have TouchID
Make an iPhone with the same size, TouchID and Apple Pay. Instant buy.
Did they find little turtles inside of the iPod touch?
Wait, the new iPod Touch has sea turtles in it?!
No cell antennas and TouchID = more room for endangered aquatic sea life.
It’s a music device. Higher speed, memory and battery capacities are all welcome improvements.
As others have guessed, if this means a new iPhone 6c – a version of this with TouchId, Force Touch and a cellular radio – that’d be great news for lovers of the tiny screen phone.
Some people turn their iPod touch into a phone, which is actually a great budget choice
At FreedomPop you can pick up a $30 4g hotspot (it is there, but good luck trying to find it on their walled-garden website)… along with free 500mb/month service.
Use some VoIP programs to add a phone # to the device, and you have got yourself a working phone on the cheap….
I’ve got a setup like this for my daughter. Works OK from her perspective…from mine not, as good, since she never answers the phone and has various points of failure to use an excuse, but she manages to get it all working when she wants to call out or access instagram.
I seriously doubt a) 6C gets force touch or b) anyone seriously uses an iPod touch as a phone. VOIP over 4G hotspot is just simply unreliable.
Each subscriber on my 8-person TMobile cell plan (family/friends) gets 2.5GB data, free international data, free long distance to other countries, no overage. All for about $12.50/mo including fees. Coverage is about 5x better than VOIP over 4G hotspot.
Nice turtles
I think they should kill all iPod’s and rebrand the touch as “ iPod.” it should come in 4.7″ & 5.5″ With A8X and M8. Touch ID, Pay support, and an LTE model, and the LTE Model should be compatible with WATCH. That would bring the iPod back.