The iPod touch has always been a bit of a poor relation of the iPhone series. It was there for people who wanted iPhone goodies, but couldn't afford the astronomical price of the phone. However, underdog or not, it revolutionised what people expect from a media player.
The iPod touch 5th generation for 2012 doesn't radically change the status quo, but gives the player some of its own new design tweaks, without ruining what was so great about the device in the first place.
IPOD TOUCH 5TH GENERATION DESIGN
Apple's most important design change in the iPod touch 5th generation is that it now features an elongated widescreen display, just like the iPhone 5. It's a little taller than the last generation at 123mm long, but with virtually the same width, it won't cause smaller pockets or hands any issues.
This is Apple's thinnest and lightest iPod touch yet. It's just 88g in weight, 13g lighter than the last model. However, the pedantic variances in weight and thickness are not what defines this version's in-hand experience. It's the build and the player's lines that count.
The new iPod touch is a very slender rectangular brick, less curvy-backed than its predecessors. The well-defined sides lend the device some substance. Without it, this £250 wafer-thin slice of tech might just feel that bit too feather-like.
The cool feel of aluminium helps too. Like the iPhone 5, the 5th generation iPod touch is backed with a sheet of aluminium, and here it snakes around as a single piece to meet the glass layer that protects the display. The only seam on show here is the screen surround's outline. Ergonomically, it's quite excellent.
There are a few parts that are more likely to put a few people off, though. The most obvious is the Loop, and its holder. On the bottom of the back of the iPod touch is a little retractable metal circle designed to hold in place the Loop lanyard that is included.
Apple seems to have introduced the lanyard to make the iPod touch more kid-friendly, although equally this is countered by the ditching of the 8GB and 16GB lower-cost versions of old. The cheapest 5th generation iPod touch you can get is the 32GB edition, which costs £249.99. It's hardly small change.
The other visible design flibble is that the camera lens housing sticks out approximately 1mm from the rear of the player. There is a slight indent to the glass lens covering that should stop it from getting scratched, but the protrusion is sure to annoy some.
IPOD TOUCH 5TH GENERATION CONNECTIVITY
The new 2012 iPod touch borrows a few of the design changes made in the iPhone 5. There's the bevelled edges of the aluminium sides and alongside the 3.5mm headphone jack (which has always been on the bottom on the iPod touch) is the new smaller 8-pin Lightning connector in place of the old 30-pin socket.
Suggestions that the Lightning adapter was introduced to keep the iPhone 5 as slim as possible have been poo-poo'd by some, but here the argument makes complete sense. The Lightning connector is slim and small, and fitting in the larger 30-pin type would gave been a challenge. However, Apple veterans will doubtless experience more than a few frustrating moments when all they can find is a half-dozen 30-pin Apple cables, but not a single Lightning one.
As ever within the Apple ecosystem, to transfer files from a computer to the 5th generation iPod touch, you'll need to do so through iTunes. However, iOS now supports sync over Wi-Fi, and iOS 6 removes the need to setup the player using a computer. All you need now is a Wi-Fi network in order to login to your iTunes account.
Physical connections are limited to the Lightning connector and headphone jack, but with the help of a few Apple accessories they can do more than just transfer files, charge the battery and output sound. An HDMI converter cable is expected, but hasn't yet been released.
Wireless connectivity in the 5th generation iPod touch is respectable, but nothing we haven't seen before in the series. There's Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 4.0 and support for Nike fitness sensors, but location services still rely on Wi-Fi network mapping rather than proper GPS and - like the iPhone 5 - there's no NFC.
IPOD TOUCH 5TH GENERATION ACCESSORIES
The new iPod touch benefits from Apple's redesigned earphones - the Apple EarPods. Apple claims these were in development for four years, and they use a design that's a sort-of hybrid between earbuds and the IEM style.
Sound quality marks a great improvement over the previous Apple earphones, but they're an acquired taste. They feel like they're forever falling out of your ears and the hard plastic bodies can irritate your ears if you fiddle about with their positioning too much. But they are better than the old type. For more, read our full Apple EarPods review.
Two other bits come in the iPod touch 5th generation's box. There's the Lightning connector cable and the Loop lanyard. As usual, you don't get a power adapter here. The official power adapter costs an additional £15 at your local Apple Store.
IPOD TOUCH 5TH GENERATION SCREEN
Like the iPhone 5, the 5th gen iPod touch changes the screen size for the range. All previous iPod touches used 3.5in screens, but this latest stretches the display to 4-inches.
It does so without widening the device, skewing the aspect ratio for a more widescreen look. There's very little not to like in this change. It gives more room for touchscreen gaming controls, is a better size for movie-watching and allows more app icons to be displayed onscreen at once. The redesigned bezel reduces the amount of extra phone length too - 123mm up from 111mm.
Looking further into the iPod touch 5th generation screen, it features the same resolution as the iPhone 5, 1,136 x 640 pixels, supplying 326dpi pixel density. The panel type is similar to the iPhone 5's too, using an IPS display.
IPS stands for in-plane switching, and is a screen architecture that's designed to offer a wide viewing angle. Previous-gen iPod touches suffered from significant contrast shift, where the picture becomes clouded in shadow if viewed form the wrong angle. There are no such issues here, making this one of the very best PMP screens available.
However, the iPod touch 5th generation screen still doesn't quite hold up when compared directly to an iPhone 5 or iPhone 4S. Contrast isn't as good, resulting in less punchy-looking images, and our review sample has a slight yellow (or "warm", if we're being charitable) cast to it. This may vary between batches, though, and previous iPod touches have frequently showed a blue or yellow skew.
Another slight drawback to the iPod touch screen is that it does not allow for automatic brightness settings. Switch from inside to outside and you'll have to manually change brightness from within the settings menu. Apple's Phil Schiller says that it's because the iPod touch is just too slim for an ambient light sensor.
IPOD TOUCH 5TH GENERATION VIDEO PLAYBACK
The latest iPod touch does not stray from the iOS norms in its approach to video. Out of the box, it natively supports just a few formats, and you'll have to hook up to iTunes to get those videos transferred.
Formats on the guestlist from the off include H.264, MPEG4 and motion JPEGs. Transcoding software is readily available, but depending on the source format it can take a while.
Get HD-quality videos prepared, though, and they look superb on the iPod touch screen. Detail is excellent thanks to the pixel-packed screen and colours balance vividness and a natural look well.
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