Fast
64-bit. That’s the biggest improvement in the new iPod Touch range introduced by Apple today – but you wouldn’t believe that looking at the press release, which enthuses about the five new colors and incredibly useful 8-megapizel camera.
The release does say this about the processor, “The Apple-designed A8 chip with 10 times faster graphics performance for a more immersive gaming experience, and even better fitness tracking with the M8 motion coprocessor.”
It also cites Greg Joswiak, Apple’s vice president of iPhone, iPod and iOS Product Marketing, who says “With big advancements like the A8 chip and the 8 megapixel iSight camera, customers can experience next-level gameplay, take even more beautiful photos and enjoy their favourite music, TV shows and movies.”
And…
I’ll return to why I think the new processor is so important shortly, but first here’s a swift rundown of some of what’s inside the new iPod touch:
- Available in space grey, silver, gold, pink and blue and (PRODUCT) Red.
- 8-megapixel iSight camera and better FaceTime HD camera
- Inclusion of the M8 motion coprocessor
- 4-inch Retina Display
- Much-improved Wi-Fi
- Up to 128GB storage
This significant update (the first since 2012, fact-fans) ticks a lot of boxes. Not only does the upper 128GB capacity make this a device all your iPod Classic users can store their entire music collections upon, but in conjunction with iCloud and/or Apple Music this suddenly looks like a useful storage solution too.
Power
However, by migrating the device to a 64-bit chip Apple is clearly signaling just how very important it feels it is to unify all its products for this new faster processor. That’s no real surprise, given the company now insists all new apps support 64-bit to gain inclusion on the App Store, but it also suggests a future in which those apps become even more powerful and capable moving forward.
In doing this, Apple also makes it possible for people who do want a mobile device but don’t want a smartphone to use these connected solutions, and now offers a smaller, lower-cost route through which customers and potential customers can get to use some of the tools available on iOS.
Apple isn’t talking about the potential of the product for productivity, of course, but whenever you read about games I recommend thinking about what the graphics support they demand suggests for productive uses beyond games. “Its 4-inch Retina display and rich collection of gaming titles are further enhanced with incredible graphics performance and thousands of Metal-optimized games,” Apple explained.
Lacks
While I am a little disappointed at the lack of Force Touch or TouchID support (so no Apple Pay) in the product, I can’t help but reflect that these new devices could also be a good way to get rid of any stockpiled Home buttons Apple may possess, particularly if it truly does plan to abandon these in favor of Force Touch displays in the next few months.
All the same, these seem to bring significant enhancement to the range and in doing so sets a high bar of expectation for the next iPhone, which now seems even more likely to break new ground for technological sophistication.
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