Recommended Free Tools
The iPod. It’s a product that is reminiscent of older days, back when it was used simply as a music-storing device for iTunes users. With each passing year, “the death of the iPod” has been proclaimed as the next step in the road for Apple’s music product. We’re told that with growing iPhone sales, what reason is there to continue the iPod as a product?
Despite the question about its utility, Apple continues to have faith in the iPod lineup. The latest information regarding the years-old product line says that Apple will refresh the iPod Nano, iPod Shuffle, and iPod Touch with a new look and “under-the-hood” operation this week. The iPod Touch is set to get some new colors (and thus, model numbers) with the addition of “electric blue and fuschia pink in addition to new classic black, pink, and gray colors,” said the French site iGen.
There could be a new gold color in the works as well, seeing that Apple’s gold-colored iPhone 6 has been so popular. The iPod Nano and iPod Shuffle will come with the support of Apple Music, Apple’s latest attempt to compete with the likes of music streaming giants Spotify and Pandora. Apple Music provides a three-month trial, followed by a $9.99 monthly fee and updating the perfect music devices in Apple’s lineup shows the company is still on its “music kick.”
If you want to hear Taylor Swift’s red-hot “1989” album, only Apple Music has it at the moment. The major hit country music star recently pulled her album from Spotify due to her belief that free music-streaming services, in principle, deprive well-deserving artists of their hard-earned income.
Shopping ad
- REBUILT FOR COMFORT — AirPods 4 have been redesigned for exceptional all-day comfort and greater stability. With a refined contour, shorter stem, and quick-press controls for music or calls.
- PERSONALIZED SPATIAL AUDIO — Personalized Spatial Audio with dynamic head tracking places sound all around you, creating a theater-like listening experience for music, TV shows, movies, games, and more.*
- IMPROVED SOUND AND CALL QUALITY — AirPods 4 feature the Apple-designed H2 chip. Voice Isolation improves the quality of phone calls in loud conditions. Using advanced computational audio, it reduces background noise while isolating and clarifying the sound of your voice for whomever you’re speaking to.*
- MAGICAL EXPERIENCE — Just say “Siri” or “Hey Siri” to play a song, make a call, or check your schedule.* And with Siri Interactions, now you can respond to Siri by simply nodding your head yes or shaking your head no.* Pair AirPods 4 by simply placing them near your device and tapping Connect on your screen.* Easily share a song or show between two sets of AirPods.* An optical in-ear sensor knows to play audio only when you’re wearing AirPods and pauses when you take them off. And you can track down your AirPods and Charging Case with the Find My app.*
- LONG BATTERY LIFE — Get up to 5 hours of listening time on a single charge. And get up to 30 hours of total listening time using the case.*
The iPod Touch may also be set for a 64-bit renovation, seeing that Apple hasn’t updated the current iPod Touch, the fifth-generation model, since 2012. Apple has been given developers the green light to create apps that take advantage of the new computing architecture under the hood of the iPhone 6, and making the iPod Touch 64-bit would increase use of the product due to the 64-bit gaming experience via Apple’s Game Center. The fifth-generation iPod Touch runs with an A5 processor currently, which is three generations behind the A8 chip found in the iPhone 6.
The date rumored for Apple’s new announcement is Tuesday, July 14th, but iGen says that Apple could debut the new iPods “next Monday or Tuesday,” implying that the announcement could arrive in the next day or two.
Shopping ad
- WORLD’S BEST IN-EAR ACTIVE NOISE CANCELLATION — Removes up to 2x more unwanted noise than AirPods Pro 2* so you can stay fully immersed in the moment.*
- BREAKTHROUGH AUDIO PERFORMANCE — Experience breathtaking, three-dimensional audio with AirPods Pro 3. A new acoustic architecture delivers transformed bass, detailed clarity so you can hear every instrument, and stunningly vivid vocals.
- HEART RATE SENSING — Built-in heart rate sensing lets you track your heart rate and calories burned for up to 50 different workout types.* With iPhone, you will have access to the Move ring, step count, and the new Workout Buddy,* powered by Apple Intelligence.*
- LIVE TRANSLATION — Communicate across language barriers using Live Translation,* enabled by Apple Intelligence.*
- EXTENDED BATTERY LIFE — Get up to 8 hours of listening time with Active Noise Cancellation on a single charge. Or up to 10 hours in Transparency using the Hearing Aid feature.*
Apple’s decision to update the iPod line seems a bit out of place for the company, but the iPod lineup does have its fans. After all, Apple wants to bring in any customer it can, no matter the age, and the iPod line has always been popular with the teenage crowd. Parents who want to introduce their children to the wonderful world of mobile tech with some boundaries in place may be more willing to buy their child(ren) an iPod Touch instead of an iPhone 6, for example, and children who download Jott, one of the fastest-growing apps in the teenage sector right now, can text their friends without needing a cellular data plan or Wi-Fi connection – making the iPod perfect for even the least of us.
Quick Recap
Shopping ad
- Brilliant 4- Inch Retina display with Multi-Touch IPS technology
- Front-Facing FaceTime camera with 1.2MP photos & 720p HD video recording.
- iOS 7 features - Siri, Apple Designed Maps, Integrated Facebook, Shared Photo Streams, Passbook & more
- Earbuds / Headphones are not included.
Shopping ad
- REBUILT FOR COMFORT — AirPods 4 have been redesigned for exceptional all-day comfort and greater stability. With a refined contour, shorter stem, and quick-press controls for music or calls.
- ACTIVE NOISE CANCELLATION — AirPods 4 with Active Noise Cancellation help reduce outside noise before it reaches your ears, so you can immerse yourself in what you’re listening to.*
- HEAR THE WORLD AROUND YOU — The powerful H2 chip comes to AirPods 4. Adaptive Audio seamlessly blends ANC and Transparency mode — which lets you comfortably hear and interact with the world around you exactly as it sounds — to provide the best listening experience in any environment.* And when you’re speaking with someone nearby, Conversation Awareness automatically lowers the volume of what’s playing.*
- IMPROVED SOUND AND CALL QUALITY — Voice Isolation improves the quality of calls in loud conditions. Using advanced computational audio, it reduces background noise while isolating and clarifying the sound of your voice for whomever you’re speaking to.*
- MAGICAL EXPERIENCE — Just say “Siri” or “Hey Siri” to play a song, make a call, or check your schedule.* And with Siri Interactions, now you can respond to Siri by simply nodding your head yes or shaking your head no.* Pair AirPods 4 by simply placing them near your device and tapping Connect on your screen.* Easily share a song or show between two sets of AirPods.* An optical in-ear sensor knows to play audio only when you’re wearing AirPods and pauses when you take them off. And you can track down your AirPods and Charging Case with the Find My app.*
