Review: iPod Touch 5th Generation

The 5th Generation iPod Touch was announced by Apple at the same event they unveiled the iPhone 5. It quickly got a lot of attention because of the sleek and slim design, 4-inch Retina Display, 5-megapixel iSight camera, A5 Dual-core Chip, and the funky iPod Touch Loop (which is basically a wrist strap). To add more flavour and personality, Apple also announced that the iPod Touch 5th Generation will come in different colors. Coolness.

We couldn’t help ourselves so we ended up buying one, lol. We’ve had it for a couple of days now and we just wanted to share our review. 😀

Skinny Brushed Aluminum is Sexy

If there’s one thing that really makes the iPod Touch such an appealing product, it’s how it was designed! Just like the iPad Mini, this truly is a work of art. The brushed aluminum back screams premium and style which is a far cry from the plastic builds of other portable media players.

The new iPod Touch is also ridiculously thin. As in almost the level wherein you can use it as a bookmark! It just boggles our minds how Apple was able to stick in so much technology in this device. Here are a few photos just so you guys get a feel for how slim it is.

When it comes to the ports and buttons, the iPod Touch only has a few. The sleep/wake button is at the top while the volume controls are at the left side. The headphone jack and the lightning connector are at the bottom. The 5-megapixel iSight camera (it can also record 1080p video) is at the back (there’s also a front-facing iSight camera that can do HD).

At the lower part of the back you’ll find a silverish circular button. If you press on it it will pop up a bit and this is actually where you’ll insert the iPod Touch Loop (comes in the box). It’s a wrist strap that matches the color of your iPod.

Lightning Connector: It’s Not that Bad

One major complaint that a lot of tech bloggers had about the new line-up of Apple devices was the Lightning Connector. They said that the speaker docks that they bought won’t work anymore. In all honesty I don’t see that as a major problem. Most docks these days support Bluetooth connectivity and some are even AirPlay enabled. In fact when you start using the Lightning connector you’ll end up loving it because you don’t have to look anymore if the right side is facing up when you’re plugging it to the port, lol.

4-inch Retina Display is Amazeballs

When it comes to display, the iPod Touch smokes almost any other portable media player in the market. The same Retina Display that you can find in the iPhone 4, 4S, and 5 can be found with the 5th Generation iPod Touch. This results to better, crisper, and more detailed images, animations, text, and video.

App Store is still King of the Hill

The App Store is probably the main reason why the iPod Touch is the best selling iPod. It lets the iPod Touch become more than just a music player. It turns it into a complete portable entertainment device! There are thousands of high quality apps you can get and run on the iPod Touch. There’s literally something for everybody there: casual games, role playing games, news, RSS readers, social networking, videos, music, photo editors, and much more.

For more serious gamers don’t worry about performance because the dual-core A5 chip is more than enough to provide you a smooth gaming experience with the graphics intensive apps like Avengers, Dead Trigger, and Infinity Blade II. A5 Chip combined with the 4-inch screen with Retina Display is just awesome for gaming.

Built-in Apps: Siri, PassBook, FaceTime, and iMessage

Other than the third-party stuff in the App Store, there are also several Apple-made apps that come with the iPod Touch. There’s Siri (voice activated assistant) but you’ll rarely use it since it really is not that reliable. There’s PassBook as well but that’s more for the US-based users of the iPod Touch. Fortunately Pinoys can still maximize two Apple-made apps: iMessage and FaceTime. With iMessage you can send and receive messages from your friends who are on iOS devices (even Macs). You just need WiFi connection. FaceTime, to those who are not familiar with it yet, is the video calling feature of Apple. Definitely a much better experience with it though with the 5th Generation iPod Touch due to the 4-inch screen.

Camera is pretty cool! Not the Best but Above Average

One of the improvements that Apple highlighted when they presented the iPod Touch was the camera. Apparently the iPod Touch has the 5-megapixel shooter of the iPhone 4 but enhanced with the optics that was used with the iPhone 5 (the sapphire thing). We tried taking a few shots with it and it’s definitely above average quality. It puts to shame a lot of the cameras used by other smartphones but it can’t match up yet to the quality of the cameras of the high-end handsets. Here are a few sample shots:

SEE ALSO: iPad Mini Review

As you can see it’s not that bad at all, especially in decent lighting conditions.

Sell the EarPods, lol

Unfortunately Apple still fails when it comes to the bundled earphones. Johnny Ive tried to hype the new EarBuds but they still sound terrible. The good thing though is that a lot of people still think that it is good (because they don’t know better) so you can probably sell it and then use that money to buy good earphones from AKG or Jays. 😛

Initial Verdict: Pricey, but definitely the best-looking and packed with features

Over-all we think that the iPod Touch is a solid portable entertainment device. The bigger screen, faster processor, good camera, and the app store sets it apart from all other portable media players available in the market today. Our only reservation with it is the price. The 32GB model sells for Php16,000+, which is expensive if you compare it to the dual-core Android handsets that recently entered the market (the Cherry Mobile Flare is Php3,999 and the Astra is Php6,999). That’s why we can’t say that the iPod Touch is good value for your money.

If you have the budget and you’re an Apple fan, then this makes sense. If not then save yourself a couple of thousand pesos and go for Android smartphones (that have bigger screens, more storage, call/sms).