Remember the iPod? Apple just released the first new one in four years

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  The (old) new iPod touch. [credit: Apple ]

Apple has updated the iPod touch for the first time since July 2015. Today, the company refreshed the device with its A10 system-on-a-chip (which includes a CPU, GPU, and more), providing a big step up in performance from the A8 in the prior model.

The A10 has come to be Apple's entry-level CPU. Originally introduced in the iPhone 7 (which is no longer available except in the refurbished store), it currently ships in the entry-level iPad and, now, the iPod touch. The CPU is just over half the speed of the A12 in the latest iPhones for multi-threaded tasks, though the gap is much smaller in single-core performance. The A10's built-in GPU delivers about 56 percent the performance of the A12. It was the last Apple system-on-a-chip to use Imagination Technologies' PowerVR chip. (Apple now designs its own graphics silicon for iOS devices).

The iPod launched a new era for Apple after Steve Jobs' return in 1998, but these days, you'd be forgiven for forgetting the company even still sells the product. Gone is the traditional-hard-drive-equipped iPod with the iconic click wheel. For the past few years, Apple has only offered the iPod touch, which is like a smaller, lighter iPhone without the cellular guts. It's a niche product, but it's still there.

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