Apple has certainly came a long way with it’s iPhones and other handheld devices. However, in the mid-2000s, before these devices existed, society settled with the iPod touch. At the time, the features of the iPod Touch were considered devastating and many consider the original iPod Touch the device that truly started Apple’s career. However, are the features of this “ancient” device still relevant today? Let’s take a look:
Form Factor: The original iPod Touch came as a simplistic form factor. The packaging was portable, and the device came as one unit-no different from today’s Apple devices. The biggest difference, especially in the set-up process, was that its battery needed to be charged up to 24 hours before using it the first time. Newer devices have a quicker recharge time, but the form factor/set-up remains relatively the same. The original iPod Touch was also noticeably thicker than the newer devices, but that hardly affects it’s handling.
Apps/Games: Surprisingly, the original iPod Touch shares many applications as newer devices such as Contacts, Weather, News, Mail, Safari, and the app store. The biggest difference, of course, was that there was no camera nor could you screen record. This feature alone truly makes the device outdated as polls have shown that over half of Apple users rely on the Camera feature to conduct their daily routines. In fact, the only cameras available in the 2000s were digital cameras, some of which needed to be processed to produce a quality picture. Also, Siri did not exist making conducting daily tasks slightly more inconvenient.
In terms of games, the original iPod Touch excelled as its games are still cherished as some of the greatest Apple games of all time: Temple Run, Subway Surfers, Fruit Ninja, Doodle Jump, Jetpack Joyride, and many others. Even if the controls are fundamental, the game’s gimmick was addicting and usually involved traversing an endless loop to get high scores. Today’s Apple games are considered “inferior” and “unfulfilling” and were certainly a step down from the older games. The iPod games were likely the most stellar feature of the original iPod Touch.
Interface: The display of the iPod Touch was also similar to current devices. The apps and games appeared on a black screen and a swipe of the finger can switch between screens to view more apps. However, the apps themselves appeared a bit larger than on newer devices and required more storage to use. To gain more storage or to improve the interface, the device needed to be “jailbreaked” which had a chance of crashing the system completely. Without a jailbreak, however, the interface is similar to current devices and not particularly bothersome.
With all things considered, is the original iPod Touch still relevant today? We would answer: yes, it is. Despite the lack of camera, the device runs similar to current devices and any other difference is very slight and negligible. The apps and games hold up incredible well and the form factor is still considered convenient. If the original iPod Touch were to launch today, society would think just as highly of it as with newer devices and it’s no surprise that the original iPod Touch had begun Apple’s career for the amazing (and controversial) company we know of today.
