The fourth generation

iPod Touch The iPod Touch (stylized as iPod touch) is a discontinued line of iOS-based mobile devices designed and formerly marketed by Apple Inc. with a touchscreen-controlled user interface. As with other iPod models, the iPod Touch can be used as a po ...

(marketed as "the new iPod touch", and colloquially known as the iPod Touch 4G, iPod Touch 4, or iPod 4) is a multi-touch mobile device designed and marketed by

Apple Inc. Apple Inc. is an American multinational corporation and technology company headquartered in Cupertino, California, in Silicon Valley. It is best known for its consumer electronics, software, and services. Founded in 1976 as Apple Comput ...

with a touchscreen-based

user interface In the industrial design field of human–computer interaction, a user interface (UI) is the space where interactions between humans and machines occur. The goal of this interaction is to allow effective operation and control of the machine fro ...

. The successor to the 3rd-generation iPod Touch, it was unveiled at Apple's media event on September 1, 2010, and was released on September 12, 2010. It is compatible with up to iOS 6.1.6, which was released on February 21, 2014. The fourth-generation iPod Touch was the first iPod to offer front and rear facing cameras. It is a slimmer, lighter model than its predecessors and the

iPhone 4 The iPhone 4 is a smartphone that was developed and marketed by Apple Inc. It is the List of iPhone models, fourth generation of the iPhone lineup, succeeding the iPhone 3GS and preceding the iPhone 4s. Following a number of notable leaks, ...

, and introduces a

Retina Display Retina display is a branded series of LCDs and OLED displays by Apple Inc. that have a higher pixel density than their traditional displays. Apple has registered the term "Retina" as a trademark with regard to computers and mobile devices with t ...

. Other improvements include support for recording 720p video via the rear camera, and Apple's A4 chip (the same chip used in the

iPad (1st generation) The first-generation iPad (; ) (retrospectively referred to unofficially as the iPad 1 or original iPad) is a tablet computer designed and marketed by Apple Inc. as the first device in the iPad lineup of tablet computers. It features an Appl ...

, and

History

The fourth-generation iPod Touch was initially released with a single color option. It initially featured with a black-colored front with a stainless steel back. On October 12, 2011, with the release of the iPhone 4S, the white-colored version was added and the stainless steel back remained unchanged. It was the last iPod Touch to have this customization option, because it was removed with the release of the fifth-generation iPod Touch, which removed the front color options in favor of changing the faceplate color depending on the back color of the device. The device was initially only sold in 8 GB, 32 GB and 64 GB models. The three storage options remained the same in October 2011, with the release of the white-colored version. On October 11, 2012, Apple discontinued the 8 GB and 64 GB models with the release of the 32 and 64 GB models of the fifth-generation iPod Touch. The price for the 32 GB model was reduced, and the 16 GB model was introduced. The iPod Touch (4th generation) was officially discontinued by Apple on May 30, 2013, with the release of a 16 GB version of its successor, the

iPod Touch 5 The fifth generation iPod Touch (stylized and marketed as the iPod touch, and colloquially known as the iPod Touch 5G or iPod Touch 5) is a mobile device designed and marketed by Apple Inc. with a touchscreen-based user interface. The successor ...

. It is also the last of the iPod Touch players released to use the

30-pin dock connector A dock connector is an electrical connector used to attach a mobile device simultaneously to multiple external resources. Dock connectors typically carry a variety of signals and power, through a single connector, to simplify the process of docki ...

, which was substituted with the

Lightning Lightning is a natural phenomenon consisting of electrostatic discharges occurring through the atmosphere between two electrically charged regions. One or both regions are within the atmosphere, with the second region sometimes occurring on ...

connector starting with the 5th generation of iPod Touch devices.

Features

Software

It fully supports

iOS 4 iOS 4 is the fourth major release of the iOS mobile operating system developed by Apple Inc., being the successor to iPhone OS 3. It was announced at the Apple Special Event on April 8, 2010, and released on June 21, 2010. iOS 4 was the first ...

, and

iOS 5 iOS 5 is the iOS version history, fifth major release of the iOS mobile operating system developed by Apple Inc., being the successor to iOS 4. It was announced at the company's Worldwide Developers Conference on June 6, 2011, and was released ...

, but has limited support for

iOS 6 iOS 6 is the sixth major release of the iOS mobile operating system developed by Apple Inc, being the successor to iOS 5. It was announced at the company's Worldwide Developers Conference on June 11, 2012, and was released on September 19, 2012 ...

. Unlike the

, it did not officially support

iOS 7 iOS 7 is the seventh major release of the iOS mobile operating system developed by Apple Inc., being the successor to iOS 6. It was announced at the company's Worldwide Developers Conference on June 10, 2013, and was released on September 18 ...

due to performance issues. On November 14, 2013, Apple issued iOS 6.1.5 for the iPod touch (4th generation) to fix FaceTime calls failing. On February 21, 2014, Apple issued iOS 6.1.6 for the iPod touch (4th generation) and

iPhone 3GS The iPhone 3GS, stylized as , is a smartphone that was developed and marketed by Apple Inc. It is the List of iPhone models, third generation of the iPhone and the successor to the iPhone 3G. It was unveiled on June 8, 2009 at the Apple Worldw ...

to fix faulty SSL verification. It also was the last version for all those devices. In 2018, iOS 7 was successfully ported to the device, adding unofficial iOS 7 support.

References

{{Apple Touch (4th generation) Products introduced in 2010 Touchscreen portable media players Digital audio players