Forget The iPhone 5 For A Moment, New Touch And Nano Detailed
The iPhone 5 will quite rightly take the lion's share of coverage from Apple's feverishly-anticipated conference earlier today, but that isn't all that is new.
Because as is a yearly tradition coming from the world's now most valuable company of all time, a new line-up of iPod's have been unveiled. At least one of which is more than worthy of your attention.
iPod Touch (5th Generation)
Taking its design cues from the iPhone 5 itself, the new iPod Touch really looks to be a nice piece of kit. Transplanted from the iPhone 5 is that 4-inch multi-touch display that has been speculated for months – reports of manufacturers falling behind on production might have been a tad premature – and so, too, is the brushed metal effect that the 5 favours, replacing the quite hideous chrome finish that its predecessors boasted.
Running iOS 6, also making the jump from iPhone-to-iPod is Siri (with improved intelligence) and everything you'd come to expect from the latest version of Apple's flagship operating system – new row of App icons and all. The new Touch also boasts a dual-core Apple A5 processor that purportedly offers 7x faster graphics than the old Touch, a 5-megapixel iSight rear-facing HD camera with backside illumination, a smaller dock connector fit for 'Lightning', and the same sapphire crystal lens cover as found on the new iPhone (another meaningless attachment masquerading as hardware innovation!?). The front-facing camera, meanwhile, gets a slight upgrade to 720p.
Frighteningly thin at just 6.1mm, weighing only 88 grams and with a battery life of around 40 hours of music playback, the fifth generation of the iPod Touch is the most alluring yet.
iPod Nano (7th Generation)
Even tinier (even by Nano standards) is the new iPod Nano, now into its 7th generation. 5.4mm thick, it's apparently an extra 38% smaller than the Nano that came before it, but still fits a 2.5-inch multi-touch screen display onto its face. No excuses if you've spotted the pattern of the night, as the new Nano is slightly stretched and noticeably taller, with the familiar 'Home' button still taking up valuable Apple screen real estate.
Interestingly, it'll also feature an FM tuner and a built-in pedometer that ought to be a worthwhile add-on for regular joggers. Wireless music streaming over Bluetooth is introduced to the range – available in seven colours, including black, blue, green, yellow, red, purple and aluminium – and Apple is proposing 30 hours of music playback on a single Lightning-induced charge. A refresh of the Shuffle was mentioned briefly, though the only marked changed is new colours.
EarPods
And then, Apple began talking about ears.
“The shape of the EarPod is actually defined by the geometry of your ear, but they don't create a seal the way other in-ear headphones do.”
Lifting the curtain on a new pair of earbuds, the Earpod's are designed with comfort in mind first and speakers second, directing sound directly to the ear canal. Coming packed with iPod Touch, iPod Nano and iPhone's, Apple says they're the most comfortable earphones around.
No pricing or release date information has yet been revealed, though as expected Apple reveals its line-up will be out in time for “the holidays”.
Richard Birkett
