With the addition of white models and a new entry-level price point earlier this month, Apple considered the iPod touch line to have been updated despite the lack of any substantial hardware improvements. The company continues to refer the device as the fourth-generation line, first introduced in 2010, but the teardown experts at iFixit decided to crack one open anyway to see if anything had quietly been changed.
So what does this year’s Touch have in store?
After close examination, we confirmed that the front panel is, in fact, white. +1 for us. So far so good.
And… that’s about it. To our dismay there is not much else different between the iPod Touch released last year and the one released last week.
In a close examination of the logic board in the new white iPod touch, iFixit could really only distinguish new markings on the A4 chip, as well as possible upgrades to the Wi-Fi/Bluetooth and gyroscope components. But it is unclear from the new chip numbers exactly what has been changed, meaning that they may simply be minor revisions offering the same functionality as earlier versions.
Top Rated Comments
* The iPod has a lower-quality screen. Same retina res, but worse viewable angle. (The iPhone hardly shifts colors at all when you tilt it quite far, as when it's lying flat, say.)
* The iPod has half the RAM of the iPhone 4 and 4S, as well as a smaller battery, I believe.
* The iPod has a much lower-quality rear camera (really dedicated to video, much like the iPad).
* The iPod lacks a cell radio/antennas, SIM slot, GPS, vibrator, noise-cancelling second mic, mic/remote built into earbuds, rear glass, camera flash lamp, mute switch, proximity sensor, and magnetometer/compass.
So, lots of small factors add up!
As for thickness, I believe one issue is that the lower-quality iPod camera is smaller. I believe the terrific camera defines the minimum thickness of the iPhone. (And compare the awkward camera “humps” on some phones—always a design challenge.)