Apple's iPod touch reaches 100 million sales milestone

The milestone was revealed to Jim Dalrymple of The Loop on the same day that Apple launched a new low-end model for $229. The latest entry-level iPod touch features a 4-inch Retina display and dual-core A5 chip, but lacks a rear-facing iSight camera and "loop" wrist strap

Apple's announcement is particularly interesting because the company has not historically offered a breakdown of sales among different iPod models. The iPod touch is the only iPod that runs Apple's iOS platform, with access to the App Store and built-in iTunes download support.

The company has routinely said during its quarterly earnings reports that the iPod touch accounts for more than half of all iPod sales. But market watchers have been left to speculate just how many iOS device sales the iPod touch has represented.

But total iPod sales continue to dwindle as the iPhone cannibalizes Apple's portable media player lineup. In addition to the iPod touch, the company's current lineup includes the iPod nano, iPod shuffle, and the iPod classic.

The iPod touch lineup was last refreshed in October of 2012, when the higher-end 32- and 64-gigabyte models were given the same size 4-inch Retina display as the iPhone 5, as well as Apple's new, smaller Lightning connector. With Thursday's update, those features are now available on the $229 16-gigabyte model as well.

The first iPod touch was released on Sept. 14, 2007, following the launch of the first-generation iPhone.