The iPod in 2012: Year in Review
One event, a new connector
Most of 2012's iPod news arrived on 12 September, when Apple presented the iPhone 5 together with new iPod touch and iPod nano models. All three used Lightning, a connector that Apple said was smaller and more durable than the 30-pin dock connector iPods had used since 2003; a Lightning-to-30-pin Adapter was offered for older accessories. Both new iPods came with EarPods, Apple's redesigned earphones, and Apple put total iPod sales at more than 350 million.
The fifth-generation iPod touch
The iPod touch moved to a 4-inch Retina display, the dual-core A5 chip, a 5-megapixel iSight camera and Siri, and for the first time came in five anodised aluminium colours, each with a colour-matched wrist strap. Pre-orders opened on 14 September at US$299 for 32 GB and US$399 for 64 GB, with availability in October; the new model went on sale on 11 October. The fourth-generation iPod touch stayed in the range at US$199 for 16 GB and US$249 for 32 GB, in black or white.
The seventh-generation iPod nano
The iPod nano was redesigned again, this time around a 2.5-inch multi-touch display, the largest Apple had fitted to a nano. It added Bluetooth for wireless headphones, speakers and car systems, played widescreen video and kept its FM radio, pedometer and Nike+ support. It cost US$149 for 16 GB and, like the touch, was due in October.
The rest of the range, iTunes 11 and sales
The iPod shuffle stayed at US$49 for 2 GB and was offered in seven colours: pink, yellow, blue, green, purple, silver and slate. iTunes 11, previewed at the same event with a redesigned interface and promised for October, was delayed and released on 29 November. iPod sales were falling: in the quarter that ended on 29 September, Apple sold 5.3 million iPods, 19 per cent fewer than a year earlier.
Models introduced in 2012
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