iPod Touch: What is the new music player for and who needs one, really?

Apple updated the iPod Touch with new guts and bright new colours – but what place does the once iconic music player have in Apple's modern line-up?

Apple’s first big step out of the world of computing was its MP3 player. The iPod wasn’t the first of its kind but, as so often with Apple, it was better-designed than rivals, and had a user interface that changed how we used every kind of gadget. And since then the company has delivered strikingly different phones, tablet computers and watches.

But nowadays, who needs an iPod? Every smartphone contains a music player (and a camera, satnav and much else) so an iPod is surplus weight. The late Steve Jobs said that some referred to the iPod touch as an iPhone without the phone. He added that it was also “an iPhone without a contract”. Since so many people use their iPhones for everything else, but not so much for making calls, that has even more meaning nowadays. Skype, FaceTime and WhatsApp calls made over the wi-fi network provide an iPod touch with much of the iPhone’s usefulness. And iMessage works on the iPod touch, so provided there’s a wireless signal available text messages are a feature, too.

The latest iPod touch, released in the last couple of weeks, offers something else. It has the same four-inch screen as the iPhone 5s but it boasts the A8 processor found in the iPhone 6. This is a big step up from the last iPod update and makes it the most powerful four-inch screened product the company’s made.

Since this processor includes the M8 co-processor also found on the iPhone 6, it makes the new iPod touch a capable fitness tracker, too. And the Apple App Store has over 1.5 million apps, most of which will work here. These include a wealth of games which have always been a key part of the appeal of the iPod touch, especially to younger gamers. All of which mean it’s a lot more than a music player.

The new model comes in refreshed colours, including the same champagney gold found on the iPhone and iPad. It also comes in blue, pink, silver and space grey. The design is slim, lightweight and feels good in the hand. Design purists will be glad to note that the absence of a 4G antenna means there’s no need for the white rubbery stripes found on the iPhone 6 and 6 Plus.

Of course, it’s not a phone. But if you’re content making and receiving calls and texts over data in wi-fi areas the iPod touch could almost be a low-cost alternative to an iPhone. And it really is much lower cost – the 16GB model costs £159 while an unsubsidised iPhone 5s costs £459, and an iPhone 6 costs from £539.