July 15, 2015: Apple introduces the sixth-gen iPod touch, attempting to prove that there’s still a place for the humble music player in the crazy, crazy world of iPhones and Apple Watches.
Apple calls the device “the best iPod touch yet” in a press release, and touts “a new lineup of colors for all iPod models, including space gray, silver, gold, pink and blue.”
iPhone and iPod merge into iPod touch
Apple introduced the original iPod touch hot on the heels of the iPhone, back in September 2007. Often regarded as a stripped-down iPhone (Steve Jobs once called it “training wheels for the iPhone“), the handheld computer nonetheless established its own fan base and identity — despite not receiving close to the amount of attention Apple’s other product lines did.
At just 6.1mm thick, the sixth-gen iPod touch measured more than a millimeter slimmer than the ill-fated iPhone mini. The music player from 2015 makes an iPhone 15 (7.8mm) seem quite thick.
With a 128GB version available, it was also Apple’s most capacious music player since 2007’s 160GB iPod Classic, the last iPod to include the original 30-pin iPod connector and Click Wheel.
Sixth-gen iPod touch specs
The sixth-gen iPod touch boasted an A8 chip (which first appeared in 2014’s iPhone 6). An M8 motion co-processor enabled better fitness tracking. And an upgraded 8MP iSight camera captured better photographs. The device delivered an impressive 40 hours of music-listening battery life, according to Apple’s figures.
“iPod touch gives customers around the world access to Apple Music, the App Store and iOS, the world’s most advanced mobile operating system, starting at just $199,” said Greg Joswiak, Apple’s vice president of iPhone, iPod and iOS product marketing, in the press release on this day in 2015. “With big advancements like the A8 chip and the 8 megapixel iSight camera, customers can experience next-level gameplay, take even more beautiful photos and enjoy their favorite music, TV shows and movies.”
R.I.P. iPod
Today, the iPod is a dead product. The iPod touch survived for years, with the final model arriving in 2019. However, Apple stopped the music on the last remaining iPod line in 2022.
Did you own a sixth-gen iPod touch? What was the first iPod you used? Leave your comments and memories below.
Luke Dormehl is a U.K.-based journalist and author, with a background working in documentary film for Channel 4 and the BBC. He is the author of The Apple Revolution and The Formula: How Algorithms Solve All Our Problems … and Create More, both published by Penguin/Random House. His tech writing has also appeared in Wired, Fast Company, Techmeme and other publications.
3 responses to “Today in Apple history: Apple debuts its thinnest-ever iPod touch”
We use iPods (about 10 of them) all around our business for order pulling, production management, and other task tracking. There is no way we could go with iPhones as they are too cost prohibitive. The iPod touch is PERFECT for these uses and for kids who do not need a phone yet
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The IPT 6G is great, save for one glaring problem. Its battery life when on wifi is miserable. Turn on wifi and you can just watch the battery drain, the % drops dramatically. Something is terribly wrong with the hardware or software on it. The latest iOS has not improved things, either
Interestingly, the iPod Touch is the only device for which Apple doesn’t give an estimate of its expected time on wifi! No wonder.
There is another, related problem. The device is too thin, and can easily slip out of one’s hand. They could have easily doubled its thickness, likely nearly doubling its battery life, and still had a thin computer in one’s hand.
We’ve been considering getting iPhone SEs, and using them without cell service, but they are more costly.