Teardown Shows iPhone Camera Could Fit Inside iPod Touch
10:20 am, September 11th, 2009, Leander Kahney
A teardown of the new nano throws some light on the two big questions raised by Apple’s new iPod line: Why doesn’t the iPod touch have a camera, and why can’t the iPod nano take still pictures? The teardown by iFixit reveals that a camera would have fit in the iPod touch, but it would be a very tight squeeze.
The iPod touch measures 8.5 mm thick and the iPhone’s auto-focus camera measures 6 mm, giving just 2.5 mm of extra room. By comparison, the iPhone measures 12.3 mm thick, which gives it 6.3 mm of extra wiggle room.
“Unlike the Nano, the iPod Touch could conceivably support an iPhone-sized camera, although it would certainly be an engineering challenge,” said Kyle Wiens, CEO of iFixIt.
The ability of the iPhone’s camera to fit inside the iPod touch calls into question statements made by Steve Jobs after Wednesday’s product event. The exclusion of a camera was primarily for reasons of product differentiation, Jobs told the New York Times.
Prior to the event, an unsourced report said iPods with cameras were being delayed because of technical issues. And now AppleInsider is reporting that the camera was kept out because it wasn’t up to quality. Apple will be adding it as soon as the bad part is fixed, AI says.
The exclusion of a camera in the touch is a real puzzle because there was more evidence than normal to support the rumor. Pictures of prototypes were published, and dozens of case manufacturers were leaked the specs of the camera, which was put in a new position — the center of the back, rather than being offset like the iPhone before it.
The question about the inability of the iPod nano to take still pictures is easier to answer. The iFixit teardown reveals that the the iPod nano is only 6.2 mm thick, leaving no room for the iPhone’s 6 mm camera. When the iPhone camera’s rubber mount is also included, the component is thicker than the entire iPod nano. By comparison, the nano’s VGA (640 x 480) camera is only 2.75 mm thick.
Jobs made a plain statement about this one to the NYT. “The sensors for doing video are fairly thin,” he told the Times. “The sensors for doing a still camera, at much higher pixel resolution — and we’d really like to have autofocus — they are just way too thick to ever fit inside the Nano.”
Posted by Leander Kahney in Apple, News, iPod Touch | Comment on this article
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“camera would have fitted in the iPod touch”
Should be “Would Have Fit”
Aaron, on September 11th, 2009 at 10:27 am
Were your brain Just a tiny bit bigger, it would have fitted the liberating notion that perhaps not every English speaking country in the world writes English the American way… especially the birthplace of English itself…
Elizabeth, on September 11th, 2009 at 11:39 am
Jobs already said the reason they didn’t put the camera in the iPod touch is to make it as cheap and accessible as possible. In fact, I was pretty sure I read that on this website.
brad, on September 11th, 2009 at 1:53 pm
“So what we were focused on is just reducing the price to $199. We don’t need to add new stuff — we need to get the price down where everyone can afford it.” – Steve Jobs, NY Times Interview
Which part of this isn’t clear? If Apple had wanted a camera in the Touch they would have added it. I don’t believe anything about this being a technical challenge. This was a product marketing decision pure and simple. They are prioritizing price, and market penetration, over adding extra gizmos. Period.
GR, on September 11th, 2009 at 2:12 pm
but why is’nt the new nano able to take still pictures?!?
K, on September 16th, 2009 at 12:00 am