AppleInsider Staff
With Apple's new iPod touch now available, the portable media player has been dissected to discover 512 megabytes of Hynix RAM inside its A5 processor, as well as a home button design different from the iPhone 5.
The fifth-generation iPod touch features a home button with a rubber membrane, iFixit found in its teardown. That's weaker than the redesigned home button they found when they took apart Apple's new iPhone 5.
The disassembly also found that the volume buttons, microphone, LED flash and power button are all connected via the same ribbon cable that easily peels from the rear case.
"We've seen this type of design in previous Apple products," the solution provider noted. "The shift to a single ribbon cable is more cost-effective for the manufacturer, but unfortunately it has a negative impact on repairability."
The battery inside the iPod touch was described as a "Plane Jane" component with a rating of 1030 mAh, an increase from the previous model's 930mAh. The battery is advertised to provide up to 40 hours of music playback on a single charge.
iFixit also found that the 4-inch Retina display on the fifth-generation iPod touch is inferior to the screen on the iPhone 5. It characterized the iPod touch screen as "a much simpler, cheaper design."
The teardown also offers a closer look at the 5-megapixel camera Apple has put into the fifth-generation iPod touch. The lens is capable of recording high-definition 1080p video at 30 frames per second.
The full list of parts found in the fifth-generation iPod touch are included below:
- A5 Processor
- Hynix H9TKNNN4KDBRCR 512 MB RAM
- Toshiba THGBX2G8D4JLA01 32 GB NAND flash
- Apple 3381064 dialog power management IC
- Murata 339S0171 Wi-Fi module
- Broadcom BCM 5976 touchscreen controller
- Apple 33831116
- STMicroelectronics AGD32229ESGEK low-power, three-axis gyroscope
- Texas Instruments 27AZ5R1 touchscreen SoC
William Gallagher
Christine McKee
Chip Loder
Malcolm Owen
64 Comments
1) Is the Hynix RAM new for Apple devices? 2) I'm not surprised by the Home Button difference. I am certain the average phone will get used a lot more than the average PMP. I think I did more than a million presses on that Home Button on my iPhone 4. Even though it was getting a little annoying I can't fault it for functioning after so much abuse. 3) This is mostly the setup I would expect an iPad mini to have. Note the rumoured 1024x768 = 786432px and 1136x640 = 727,040px which means no real change to the GPU is required. A bigger battery to power the larger backlight and touch matrix are the only real change to make the iPod Touch an iPad mini. I would expect the same basic case design as the new Touch, as well as colors for a $299-$349 price point.
1) Is the Hynix RAM new for Apple devices?
2) I'm not surprised by the Home Button difference. I am certain the average phone will get used a lot more than the average PMP. I think I did more than a million presses on that Home Button on my iPhone 4. Even though it was getting a little annoying I can't fault it for functioning after so much abuse.
3) This is mostly the setup I would expect an iPad mini to have.
I seriously hope that you are wrong.
It appears a lot of people are comparing it to the iPhone 5 rather than the previous generation iPod Touch.
[quote name="SolipsismX" url="/t/153300/teardown-of-apples-new-ipod-touch-finds-512mb-of-ram-weaker-home-button-than-iphone-5#post_2209088"]1) Is the Hynix RAM new for Apple devices? 2) I'm not surprised by the Home Button difference. I am certain the average phone will get used a lot more than the average PMP. I think I did more than a million presses on that Home Button on my iPhone 4. Even though it was getting a little annoying I can't fault it for functioning after so much abuse. 3) This is mostly the setup I would expect an iPad mini to have. Note the rumoured 1024x768 = 786432px and 1136x640 = 727,040px which means no real change to the GPU is required. A bigger battery to power the larger backlight and touch matrix are the only real change to make the iPod Touch an iPad mini. I would expect the same basic case design as the new Touch, as well as colors for a $299-$349 price point.[/quote] If that's what Apple has planned for a smaller iPad why bother?
Given the income Apple gets on an iPod is roughly half what it gets for an iPhone, it stands up pretty well. The iPod gets more of its 512mb of RAM dedicated to the apps, as there is no phone overhead. Same goes with the battery, with no 3G/LTE overhead, it doesn't need to be as strong. You get a lot for your cash, that's for sure.