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

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

, 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.

That’s the model that you’ll find in the store with the A10 today. Nothing else has changed. The design and chassis are the same, the color options are the same, it weighs the same, and it offers the same battery life (up to 40 hours of music playback time, up to eight hours of video). It still has a 326ppi, 1136×640, 4-inch display with an 800:1 contrast ratio and a maximum brightness of 500 cd/m². And it still offers an 8-megapixel rear camera with 1080p 30fps video along with a 1.2MP front-facing camera that shoots video at 720p.

The iPod touch starts at $199 for the 32GB model, making it the cheapest entry point to iOS. You can get it with 128GB of storage for $299 or 256GB for $399. Color options include space gray, gold, silver, pink, blue, and a PRODUCT(RED) red.

If you were hoping for a radical redesign, you won’t get it here. But the CPU bump keeps this product viable as an entry point, particularly for kids. The new iPod ships today.

Listing image by Apple