New iPod touch review: Is it worth the money?

Last month, Apple quietly released a new iPod touch. Although the iPod has become Apple's "Others" product, they still made a lot of hardware performance upgrades to this generation of iPod touch, so that the iPod touch can at least use the same A8 processor as the latest iPhone (although it is a down-clocked version).

Apple cannot ignore the demand for iPod touch from entry-level users. As the cheapest iOS device, can iPod touch really satisfy those users who want an iPhone but are not determined enough to buy one? For the huge number of iPhone users, can an iPod touch without mobile network and calling functions make them want to buy it?

How slim can its figure be?

The appearance of the new iPod touch, including its three-dimensional dimensions, follows the design of the previous generation, except that the Loop lanyard at the bottom of the back has been removed. The 4-inch screen, 6.1 mm thickness, and 88-gram weight will not cause any hindrance to one-handed operation, and such a size can be described as "invisible" when carried around. For readers of iPhone or old iPod touch, the feel of the new iPod touch will not be unfamiliar, but when users of other brands first use the iPod touch, I believe they will still clearly feel that this product is different from other brands, or even the exquisiteness of their own iPhone 6. However, the size of the iPod touch seems a bit out of place in this era dominated by large-screen mobile phones. The experience of reading text or watching videos for a long time on the iPod touch is really not flattering.

The color of this generation of iPod touch is basically the same as the previous generation, the only difference is that the yellow color of the previous generation has been replaced by the gold color that is widely praised in iPhone 6. The (PRODUCT)RED? red version I bought is a cooperation version between Apple and the charity (RED). Apple will donate part of the sales revenue of the red version of iPod touch to the Global Fund to fund the African AIDS prevention project. In addition to iPod, iPhone and iPad also have (PRODUCT)RED? red protective cases.

Editor Hao Ying has already introduced the downclocked A8 chip in the iPod touch in detail in the previous article "New iPod touch and iPhone 6: Same heart, different power". Although the actual performance cannot be compared with the iPhone 6, it is also equipped with a 64-bit A8 with an M8 coprocessor and supports Metal technology. Therefore, the new iPod touch will not experience obvious lag when running some large games, or image processing software such as iMovie and Hyperlapse, or even watching Google's Stories panoramic micro-movies. When Ai Fan's "Ma Fu Shuai" borrowed an iPod touch 6 for testing, he also exclaimed that it was "very smooth".

Thanks to the addition of the M8 coprocessor, the iPod touch can now also measure the user's health data. When sports enthusiasts want to record their sports data but don't want to carry a heavy large-screen phone, the iPod touch is the best choice. But do you want to take it for a run and use Xiaomi Sports or Runtastic to record your exercise tracks? Sorry, the iPod touch still doesn't have GPS.

If there is any flaw in the hardware of iPod touch, the battery should be a configuration that is "vulnerable". Although the battery capacity of the new iPod touch has increased to 1043mAh compared to the 1030mAh capacity of the fifth generation, which is almost equivalent to no improvement, such a battery capacity has to support a more powerful CPU. Strictly speaking, iPod touch is an audio-visual entertainment device, so most users use it to listen to music, watch videos or play games in a WiFi environment. In addition to listening to music, the other two uses require the screen to be turned on for a long time, which is a great test for the battery of iPod touch. If it is used heavily (watching videos and playing games non-stop), the battery will be exhausted in less than half a day.

The best camera in a music player

The camera is also one of the biggest upgrades of this generation of iPod touch, from the 5-megapixel camera of the previous generation to the current 8-megapixel iSight camera. Thanks to the processor upgrade, iPod touch has the same rich camera modes as iPhone, including 120fps high-speed video. Such a camera with average performance, combined with a variety of photography apps in the App Store, can derive a lot of fun shooting methods, such as using Lapse It Pro to shoot time-lapse videos.

While domestic mobile phones such as vivo, Meizu, and Xiaomi have installed independent DACs and promoted HiFi functions, Apple has not given a very high priority to the sound quality of the iPod touch. The new iPod touch uses the 338S1116 Cirrus decoding chip, the same as the iPod touch 5. Editor Li Mou, who is quite knowledgeable about headphones, said after listening to the Sony headphones that the sound quality is quite good, but the style is neutral, a little plain, not catchy enough, but still pleasant to listen to. In terms of sound, there are no highlights, nor are there any shortcomings.

However, music is still a very important function for iPod touch. Apple's update of iPod touch at this time may also be related to the emergence of Apple Music. Regarding the experience of Apple Music, you can review our first experience. Although the sound quality is not outstanding, it is still a good music device with the addition of content. Unfortunately, users in China cannot use Apple Music at present. Domestic platforms such as NetEase Cloud Music and Xiami Music can also provide very good music experience, so Apple Music will not have much impact on the choice of domestic users at present.

With mobile phones so powerful, is it necessary to buy new devices?

Under rational assumptions, I would answer why I would buy this generation of iPod touch. Maybe I would talk to you about the CPU upgrade and the camera upgrade, but to simplify, iPod touch is a device that can provide the closest experience to iPhone at the lowest price. After the courier delivered the goods and other editors took turns to take photos and post them on WeChat Moments, I downloaded common applications such as WeChat, Weibo, input method, Alipay, etc., turned on the WiFi hotspot of the phone, and officially used iPod touch as a substitute for the phone. Since I still use an Android phone, I cannot experience many applications recommended by AppSolution, so iPod touch has become a bridge for me to experience high-quality iOS applications.

After experiencing it for a while, I can clearly say:

You can safely let iPod touch complete all tasks on your phone except making calls and GPS positioning.

Whether from a subjective experience or a product design concept, the inexpensive iPod touch is quite attractive. Apple is now releasing the latest version of the iPod touch, probably to catch up with the new iPhone before it goes on the market, and to create a "hot product" to quickly consume the inventory of old screens, CPUs, memory, cameras, batteries and other raw materials, and provide an entry-level experience close to the iPhone, so that more users will make up their minds to buy the iPhone.

For iPhone users, the iPod touch also has a different meaning. Our deputy editor-in-chief Chen Yibin also bought a red iPod touch. He described the benefits of the iPod touch in his blog:

After I bought the iPod Touch, I found that its advantage is that it can become my private space, just like many people have their own diaries and blogs. A space that is completely my own.

On my iPod Touch, I have no social apps installed at all. I only have the songs I like to listen to, games for relaxation, and journaling apps, and that's it.

Aside from the performance and system, many users need to solve a problem before buying an iPod touch: Is it necessary? For non-iPhone users, the iPod touch is a very good "castrated" iPhone, because the price is not expensive (purchased in 12 installments, each installment only costs 158 yuan), so if you have a strong desire for iOS, the iPod touch is worth buying. Since iPhone users do not need to purchase an additional Apple device of similar size to experience the iOS ecosystem, and the insulation of the iPod touch provides a good independent space, if you want to temporarily escape from the frequent notification prompts of social networks, as well as the weight and inconvenience brought by large-screen mobile phones, then the iPod touch will become a very good independent space.

As a winner of Toutiao's Qingyun Plan and Baijiahao's Bai+ Plan, the 2019 Baidu Digital Author of the Year, the Baijiahao's Most Popular Author in the Technology Field, the 2019 Sogou Technology and Culture Author, and the 2021 Baijiahao Quarterly Influential Creator, he has won many awards, including the 2013 Sohu Best Industry Media Person, the 2015 China New Media Entrepreneurship Competition Beijing Third Place, the 2015 Guangmang Experience Award, the 2015 China New Media Entrepreneurship Competition Finals Third Place, and the 2018 Baidu Dynamic Annual Powerful Celebrity.