Apple hasn’t forgotten iPod touch lovers: On Tuesday it released the first new iPod since 2015.
Although the iPod may seem outdated to some, its smaller size and cheaper price help Apple attract a different market segment than customers who buy its premium iPhones. Apple’s iPhones are mired in a sales slump, and CEO Tim Cook has said price increases had played a role in slowing growth.
At the iPod’s peak in 2008, Apple sold more than 55 million units. Apple stopped releasing its iPod sales figures in 2013 after it sold fewer than 20 million of the music players. They’re no longer prominently listed on the company’s website or showcased in Apple Stores. But they still attract a niche audience. The new iPod touch is getting a slight hardware upgrade. It will run on the A10 Fusion chip, which is a little older than chips found in the latest iPhones. The iPhone 7 also runs on the A10, so it’s about three years old. But the A10 is faster than the A8 chip that the 2015 version ran on.
The upgraded chip means the iPod touch is “twice as fast as before,” Greg Joswiak, Apple’s product marketing vice president, said in a statement.
more ar: cnn
