The iPod Touch (stylized as iPod touch) is a discontinued line of

iOS Ios, Io or Nio (, ; ; locally Nios, Νιός) is a Greek island in the Cyclades group in the Aegean Sea. Ios is a hilly island with cliffs down to the sea on most sides. It is situated halfway between Naxos and Santorini. It is about long an ...

-based

mobile device A mobile device or handheld device is a computer small enough to hold and operate in hand. Mobile devices are typically battery-powered and possess a flat-panel display and one or more built-in input devices, such as a touchscreen or keypad. ...

s designed and formerly 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 A touchscreen (or touch screen) is a type of electronic visual display, display that can detect touch input from a user. It consists of both an input device (a touch panel) and an output device (a visual display). The touch panel is typically l ...

-controlled

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 ...

. As with other

iPod The iPod is a series of portable media players and multi-purpose mobile devices that were designed and marketed by Apple Inc. from 2001 to 2022. The iPod Classic#1st generation, first version was released on November 10, 2001, about mon ...

models, the iPod Touch can be used as a

portable media player A portable media player (PMP) or digital audio player (DAP) is a portable consumer electronics device capable of storing and playing digital media such as audio, images, and video files. Normally they refer to small, Electric battery, batter ...

and a handheld gaming device, but can also be used as a

digital camera A digital camera, also called a digicam, is a camera that captures photographs in Digital data storage, digital memory. Most cameras produced today are digital, largely replacing those that capture images on photographic film or film stock. Dig ...

, a

web browser A web browser, often shortened to browser, is an application for accessing websites. When a user requests a web page from a particular website, the browser retrieves its files from a web server and then displays the page on the user's scr ...

, and for email and messaging. It is nearly identical in design to the

iPhone The iPhone is a line of smartphones developed and marketed by Apple that run iOS, the company's own mobile operating system. The first-generation iPhone was announced by then–Apple CEO and co-founder Steve Jobs on January 9, 2007, at ...

, and can run most iPhone third-party apps from the

App Store An app store, also called an app marketplace or app catalog, is a type of digital distribution platform for computer software called applications, often in a mobile context. Apps provide a specific set of functions which, by definition, do not i ...

, but it connects to the Internet only through

Wi-Fi Wi-Fi () is a family of wireless network protocols based on the IEEE 802.11 family of standards, which are commonly used for Wireless LAN, local area networking of devices and Internet access, allowing nearby digital devices to exchange data by ...

and uses no

cellular network A cellular network or mobile network is a telecommunications network where the link to and from end nodes is wireless network, wireless and the network is distributed over land areas called ''cells'', each served by at least one fixed-locatio ...

data, as it lacks a cellular modem. The iPod Touch was introduced in September 2007, and around 100 million units were sold by May 2013. The final iPod Touch model, released on May 28, 2019, is the seventh-generation model. iPod Touch models were distinguished by storage space and color; all models of the same generation typically offered identical features, performance, and operating system upgrades. An exception is the fifth generation, in which the low-end (16 GB) model was initially sold without a rear-facing camera and in a single color. The iPod Touch was the last product in Apple's iPod product line after the discontinuation of the

iPod Nano The iPod Nano (stylized and marketed as iPod nano) is a discontinued portable media player designed and formerly marketed by Apple Inc. The first-generation model was introduced on September 7, 2005, as a replacement for the iPod Mini, using ...

and

iPod Shuffle The iPod Shuffle (stylized and marketed as iPod shuffle) is a discontinued digital audio player designed and formerly marketed by Apple Inc. It was the smallest model in Apple's iPod family, and was the first iPod to use flash memory. The firs ...

on July 27, 2017, after which Apple revised the storage and pricing for the iPod Touch with 32 and 128 GB of storage. On May 10, 2022, Apple discontinued the iPod Touch, effectively ending the iPod product line. The last iOS version to support the seventh-generation iPod Touch is iOS 15, except for ongoing OS maintenance.

Features

Software

The iPod Touch ran on

, the same

operating system An operating system (OS) is system software that manages computer hardware and software resources, and provides common daemon (computing), services for computer programs. Time-sharing operating systems scheduler (computing), schedule tasks for ...

as the iPhone. It included Safari, Google Maps, a Mail app, apps for Music and Videos, and several more. Users type on a

virtual keyboard A virtual keyboard is a software component that allows the Input device, input of characters without the need for physical keys. Interaction with a virtual Computer keyboard, keyboard happens mostly via a touchscreen interface, but can also take p ...

displayed on the screen. Apple operates online stores, allowing users to buy and directly download music, videos and third-party software. From launch, the iPod Touch was described by journalists as an "iPhone without the phone," and each succeeding iPod Touch model was introduced with the same

release Release may refer to: * Art release, the public distribution of an artistic production, such as a film, album, or song * Legal release, a legal instrument * News release, a communication directed at the news media * Release (ISUP), a code to i ...

of iOS as the contemporary iPhone model. On April 8, 2010, Apple announced iPhoneOS 4.0 in the Apple Special Event, covering seven main new features, such as multitasking, folders, mail enhancements, iBooks, better enterprise features, Game Center, and iAd. It supports both the iPod touch second, third and fourth-generation models, and this marks the first iOS release that drops the iPod touch first-generation. Prior to the release, iOS 4 was mostly criticized for the second-generation iPod Touch for not having multitasking and Home Screen wallpapers due to poor performance and lagging icon animations, while both the third and fourth-generation iPod Touches fully support all of the main seven and other hidden features covered in the Special Event. iOS updates to iPod Touch models prior to iOS 4 were required to be purchased by their owners. Apple received criticism for this decision and for excluding certain iPhone features from the iPod Touch software. Apple's position was that they could add features for free to the iPhone because it realizes revenue via subscription, rather than as a one-time payment (as iPhones at the time were typically sold with a carrier contract). At WWDC in June 2010, as of iOS 4, Steve Jobs announced that Apple had "found a way" to make subsequent OS upgrades available free to iPod Touch owners. In June 2011, iOS 5, the fifth major release of iOS software, was announced at Apple's

WWDC 2011 The Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC) is an information technology conference held annually by Apple Inc. The conference is currently held at Apple Park in California. The event is used to showcase new software and technologies in the macO ...

, adding notification, messaging, and reminder features. Apple limited some features, such as the voice control system

Siri Siri ( , backronym: Speech Interpretation and Recognition Interface) is a digital assistant purchased, developed, and popularized by Apple Inc., which is included in the iOS, iPadOS, watchOS, macOS, Apple TV, audioOS, and visionOS operating sys ...

, which was only exclusive to the iPhone 4S on launch, and like the iPhone 4 and 3GS, it was absent for both the third- and fourth-generation iPod Touches. The following year,

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 ...

, which was released on September 19, 2012, for the fourth- and fifth-generation iPod Touch models, contains 200 new features, including

Passbook A passbook or bankbook is a paper book used to record bank or building society transactions on a deposit account. Traditionally, a passbook was used for accounts with a low transaction volume, such as savings accounts. A bank teller or postm ...

Facebook Facebook is a social media and social networking service owned by the American technology conglomerate Meta Platforms, Meta. Created in 2004 by Mark Zuckerberg with four other Harvard College students and roommates, Eduardo Saverin, Andre ...

integration, and

Apple Maps Apple Maps is a web mapping service developed by Apple Inc. As the default map system of iOS, iPadOS, macOS, tvOS, visionOS, and watchOS, it provides directions and estimated times of arrival for driving, walking, cycling, and public trans ...

. The fifth-generation iPod Touch gained the ability to take panoramic photos, a feature shared with the

iPhone 4S The is a smartphone that was developed and marketed by Apple Inc. It is the List of iPhone models, fifth generation of the iPhone, succeeding the iPhone 4 and preceding the iPhone 5. It was announced on October 4, 2011, at Apple's Cupertino ...

and

iPhone 5 The iPhone 5 is a smartphone that was developed and marketed by Apple Inc. It is the List of iPhone models, 6th generation iPhone, succeeding the iPhone 4s, and preceding both the iPhone 5s and iPhone 5c. It was formally unveiled as part of ...

. On June 8, 2015, it was announced at the WWDC that the fifth-generation iPod Touch would support

iOS 9 iOS 9 is the ninth major release of the iOS mobile operating system developed by Apple Inc., being the successor to iOS 8. It was announced at the company's Worldwide Developers Conference on June 8, 2015, and was released on September 16, ...

, along with other A5 chip devices, becoming the first iPod Touch to support four major versions of iOS.

Setup and synchronization

iPod Touch units running iOS 4 or earlier were required to be connected to a Mac or PC for first-time setup. Downloading apps or media from the iTunes Store and App Store does not require a computer, though media not purchased through the iTunes Store still has to be added through a computer. iPod Touch units produced since October 12, 2011 have iOS 5.0 or later preloaded; they can be set up wirelessly, without the need of a PC or Mac.

Purchasing content

To purchase content on the iPod Touch, the user must create an

Apple ID Apple Account, formerly known as Apple ID, is a user account by Apple for their devices and software. Apple Accounts contain the user's personal data and settings, and when an Apple Account is used to log in to an Apple device, the device will ...

or have an existing account. With this account one may download music and videos from the iTunes Store, apps from the

, or books from the

Apple Books Store Apple Books (known as iBooks prior to iOS 12 and macOS 10.14 Mojave) is an e-book reading and store application by Apple Inc. for its iOS, iPadOS and macOS operating systems and List of iOS devices, devices. It was announced, under the name iBo ...

. An Apple ID account created without a credit card can be used to get free content, and gift cards can be used to pay for apps instead of using a credit card.

Third-party applications

The only official way to obtain third-party applications for the iPod Touch is through Apple's

, which is a branch of iTunes Store. The App Store application, available in all versions of iOS from 2.0 onwards, allows users to browse and download applications from a single online repository (hosted by Apple) with the iTunes Store. Sideloading apps outside the App Store is done through the

Xcode Xcode is a suite of developer tools for building apps on Apple devices. It includes an integrated development environment (IDE) of the same name for macOS, used to develop software for macOS, iOS, iPadOS, watchOS, tvOS, and visionOS. It w ...

application. It is intended for developers and enterprises, though tools for sideloading outside of Xcode exist, and are mainly used for applications not allowed in the App Store.

Design and hardware

The iPod Touch is generally similar to the

models prior to the iPhone X (excluding the second- and third-generation iPhone SE). Compared to a same-generation iPhone, an iPod Touch is thinner, lighter, and less expensive, while lacking some hardware and software features.

Steve Jobs Steven Paul Jobs (February 24, 1955 – October 5, 2011) was an American businessman, inventor, and investor best known for co-founding the technology company Apple Inc. Jobs was also the founder of NeXT and chairman and majority shareholder o ...

once referred to the iPod Touch as "training wheels for the iPhone." All iPod Touch models lack biometric authentication, 3D Touch, NFC, GPS, an earpiece speaker, and a noise-cancelling microphone. Depending on the generation, the iPod Touch may have a smaller or inferior display and camera(s) compared to the iPhone. Newer models (fifth, sixth, and seventh generation) lack the ambient light sensor that makes automatic brightness available. The first-generation iPod Touch lacks a built-in speaker, and all iPod Touches prior to the fourth generation lack a microphone, a camera, and a flash. Starting with the 4th generation iPod Touch, a camera and microphone were added, and starting with the fifth-generation iPod Touch, an LED flash was added. The iPod Touch has no cellular modem, and therefore cannot directly make phone calls on the

public switched telephone network The public switched telephone network (PSTN) is the aggregate of the world's telephone networks that are operated by national, regional, or local telephony operators. It provides infrastructure and services for public telephony. The PSTN consists o ...

. However, it can make

VoIP Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP), also known as IP telephony, is a set of technologies used primarily for voice communication sessions over Internet Protocol (IP) networks, such as the Internet. VoIP enables voice calls to be transmitted as ...

calls such as

FaceTime FaceTime is a proprietary videotelephony product developed by Apple. FaceTime is available on supported iOS mobile devices running iOS 4 and later and Mac computers that run and later. FaceTime supports any iOS device with a forward-facin ...

, and send

iMessage iMessage is an instant messaging service developed by Apple Inc. and launched in 2011. iMessage functions exclusively on Apple platforms – including iOS, iPadOS, macOS, watchOS, and visionOS – as part of Apple ecosystem, Apple's approach t ...

s to other iPhones, Macs,

iPad The iPad is a brand of tablet computers developed and marketed by Apple Inc., Apple that run the company's mobile operating systems iOS and later iPadOS. The IPad (1st generation), first-generation iPad was introduced on January 27, 2010. ...

s, and iPod Touch models with an

. The fifth-generation iPod Touch and later can forward and receive standard phone calls through a separate iPhone (a feature introduced in iOS 8), with the Wi-Fi Calling feature. The two devices must be linked to the same Apple ID, and the iPhone's carrier must support this feature.

Connectivity

The iPod Touch can communicate with a computer through Wi-Fi or USB using a cable and a dock connector. iPod models released before 2012 feature a 30-pin dock connector (known colloquially as the iPod dock connector), which carried analog signals. The fifth, sixth, and seventh generations of the iPod Touch feature a new digital

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 ...

, called

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 ...

, which was introduced alongside the

, fourth-generation iPad and first-generation iPad Mini, and the seventh-generation iPod Nano models. This new connector is smaller than the previous one allowing for a slimmer form factor, and is reversible. Various accessories are available to connect the Apple Lightning connector to the older 30-pin dock connector or

USB Universal Serial Bus (USB) is an industry standard, developed by USB Implementers Forum (USB-IF), for digital data transmission and power delivery between many types of electronics. It specifies the architecture, in particular the physical ...

, although not all old accessories will work, because the Lightning connector cannot handle analog signals.

User-made modifications

Like all of Apple's iOS devices, the iPod Touch is a tightly controlled or

closed platform A closed platform, walled garden, or closed ecosystem is a software system wherein the carrier or service provider has control over applications, content, and/or media, and restricts convenient access to non-approved applicants or content. This ...

. Communication between apps is limited and controlled, and Apple is the only authorized software vendor for firmware and applications. Hackers have attempted to " jailbreak" all iOS devices to enable forbidden or unsupported features, such as multitasking in iOS versions before 4.0, themes for the home screen, and enabling the battery-percentage indicator (limited to the iPhone prior to the seventh-generation iPod Touch). Jailbreaks for the iPod Touch first surfaced a month after the original model was released in September 2007, when hackers released JailbreakMe 1.0 (also called "AppSnapp") to jailbreak iPhone OS 1.1.1. This allowed users to install third-party programs on their devices before Apple permitted this with iPhone OS 2. Apple's warranty statement implies that, after jailbreaking or other modification made by unofficial means, an iPod Touch is not covered by Apple's warranty. Jailbreaking is a violation of the

terms and conditions A contractual term is "any provision forming part of a contract". Each term gives rise to a contractual obligation, the breach of which may give rise to litigation. Not all terms are stated expressly and some terms carry less legal gravity as ...

for using iOS. While the jailbreaking process can normally be undone by performing a restore through iTunes, there is a risk of rendering the device unusable.

Models

Supported OS releases

Timeline of iPod touch models

Sources:

Apple An apple is a round, edible fruit produced by an apple tree (''Malus'' spp.). Fruit trees of the orchard or domestic apple (''Malus domestica''), the most widely grown in the genus, are agriculture, cultivated worldwide. The tree originated ...

press release library,

Apple press release library
Retrieved September 17 July 2015. Mactracker Apple Inc. model database Mactracker
mactracker.ca
,

model database, version as of 17 July 2015.

Reception

Upon launch in 2007 the first generation iPod Touch received mostly good reviews for its display, its full Web browser, and YouTube support. However, it was also criticized for being a "stripped down" iPhone, for lacking external volume buttons on its initial models, and for having a lower-quality display. Notable competing products as of 2009 included Creative's ZEN X-Fi2, Sony's Walkman X Series, and Microsoft's Zune HD; and as of 2011, the

Samsung Galaxy Player The Samsung Galaxy Player (known as the Samsung Galaxy S WiFi in Europe) is a line of discontinued Android-based all-purpose pocket computers produced by Samsung. The product was debuted on 2 September at the 2010 IFA in Berlin, and was showcas ...

and Sony Walkman Z Series. Later models received a more lukewarm reception, with reviewers questioning whether an iPod Touch made sense as a product in a time where smartphones had become more affordable.

Discontinuation

In May 2022, Apple announced that after over 20 years, the iPod Touch, and the iPod line as a whole, were to be discontinued; the iPod Touch would remain available only while supplies last.

Notes

References

External links

* * – official site
Technical Specifications (all models)
on

{{Authority control

Touch The somatosensory system, or somatic sensory system is a subset of the sensory nervous system. The main functions of the somatosensory system are the perception of external stimuli, the perception of internal stimuli, and the regulation of bo ...