Expert’s Rating
Pros
Cons
Our Verdict
Along with a new iPhone and a new iPod trace , September ’s Apple upshot take with it a raw iPod nano , the first in two years . ( 2011 saw anotable software program update for the 2010 modelling , but no new hardware . ) As has been the case withso many iPod nano poser over the years , theiPod nano ( 7th generation)is a dramatic re - imagining of Apple ’s most - popular traditional iPod . But unlike the sixth - generation iPod nano , this one is mostly an advance over its predecessor . In fact , for most economic consumption , it just may be the best nano yet .
Something old, something new
When Ireviewed 2010 ’s iPod nano ( sixth generation)(3.5 out of 5 military rank ) , I was in many style disappoint by the direction Apple had take the iPod nano line . That mannikin had its share of fan — indeed , thanks to its built - in clip and follow - sized trunk , an intact industry sprung up around the idea ofusing the 2010 nano as a wristwatch . But its tiny screen intend its iOS - like Multi - Touch interface was hard to use and a stone’s throw backward from physical button . If I were range it today , after a couple years of manipulation , I might give it an even lower rating than I did back in 2010 .
Did Apple get interchangeable feedback from user ? The company will never tell , but the 2012 iPod nano , usable only in a 16 GB capacity for $ 149 , ditches the midget - straight - with - a - clip pattern in favor of one closer to that of thefifth - generation model : At 3.0 inch marvelous , 1.6 column inch panoptic , and an incredibletwo tenths of an inchthick — thinner than the plug on a 30 - pin dock - connexion cable — the new model is essentially as tall and wide as two sixth - multiplication nano model stack on top of one another , but half as thick . At 30 grams , the newfangled nano is 8 gramme heavier than last year ’s simulation — just obtrusive in unremarkable use .
In that bombastic expanse Apple has fit a 2.5 - inch ( diagonal ) Multi - Touch display , about an inch orotund than the one found on the previous nano . ( In term of pixels , this yr ’s screen is 240 by 432 pixels , compared to 240 by 240 on the former model . ) The pixel density is more or less lower this time around , at 202 pixels per in compared to 220 for the 2010 nano , and it does n’t match the Retina displays on Apple ’s iOS twist , but the new display is still readable and easy to read , even for humble type .
The new plan ’s changes do n’t end with a larger screen . The 2012 iPod nano also necessitate a number of cues from the iPhone and iPod trace . The body of the nano is made of Al — in your choice of contraband , purple , puritanic , silver , green , scandalmongering , pinkish , or ( Product ) Red — with smooth , rounded sides and chamfer edge at the top and bottom . The front is lily-white charge plate with a strong-arm , iOS - style Home release . On the left - hand edge is a three - button comptroller ( more on these controls below ) , and on top is a Sleep / Wake button . Apart from the squared - off nook and the deficiency of a tv camera golf hole on the front , the new nano looks very much like a miniature version of the new iPod tinge .
Along the bottom edge of the nano are a 3.5 mm headphone diddly on the left and aLightning - connectorport on the right . Those enquire why Apple has trade from the sure-enough 30 - tholepin dock connective to the Lightning connecter canlook to the nanofor rationale : The new nano simply could n’t have accommodated the sr. connector . You ’ll also detect , between the two ports , a white - charge plate area that extends slightly up the back of the nano . That plastic pass over the feeler for the new nano ’s Bluetooth feature , discussed below .
Let’s get physical
The 2012 nano ’s bigger exhibit has obvious reward for the instrumentalist ’s touchscreen user interface , which I ’ll talk about in a here and now , but the new model also gains some much - needed physical buttons . In my review of the old nano , I wrote , “ As useful as the Multi - Touch screen can be , it ’s no substitute for physical playback controls when , say , the iPod is in your pocket , or when you ’re trying to skip runway while run or driving . ” And like the old nano , the fresh one comes with headphones — specifically , Apple ’s newEarPods — that are missing the exceptionally useful inline remote - ascendency faculty . Butunlikeits harbinger , the new nano sports a relative teemingness of physical buttons .
First , instead of a unsubdivided set of mass buttons , the Modern nano sports a three - button accountant on the side . This controller is superposable in functionality to the inline remote find oneself on Apple ’s iPhone - clump headphones ( and on many third - political party earphone design for usage with Apple products ): It has a mass - up clit at the top , a volume - down button at the bottom , and a slenderly recessed playback - mastery button in the middle . Press this center clit once to toggle play / pause , quickly press it twice to skip forward a rails , and rapidly press it three clip to skim back a running .
These button are n’t quite as upright as dedicated back and forward button , but it ’s easy to observe any of the three button by feel , and for the million of people who are intimate with Apple ’s three - button - remote pattern , it ’s right away recognizable — and a welcome gain . ( If you have headphones with a similar inline remote , you could continue to use that remote control , as well . )
If you ’ve used an iPhone or an iPod skin senses , the Home button will find familiar , and it ’s ahugeusability melioration for the nano : Instead of having to right - swipe many times , or rap - hold on the display , to reelect to the family screen , you just press the button . There ’s still a dear amount of left - and - right swiping when navigating the nano ’s menus and screens , but it feel much less force now than when it was theonlyway to pilot .
Multi-touch makes sense
Speaking of tapping and swiping , the biggest advantage of the 2012 nano ’s big screen is that it dramatically better upon many of the problems I had with the premature version ’s interface . As I drop a line back in 2010 :
The big query , for me , is why the nano ’s screen had to be so small . Given the existence of the iPod shuffle , there does n’t seem to have been a compelling need for another as - small - as - we - can - make - it iPod , and a slightly larger design would have allowed for a enceinte cover . For case , a orthogonal nano — perhaps the same breadth , just a bit longer , with a concealment interchangeable in size of it to that of the [ 5th - generation ] nano — would have been considerably more utilitarian , allow you to view at least five particular on the screen at a time , instead of three and a one-half , perhaps with enough room left over for more onscreen navigational help .
The new nano ameliorate my suggestion with a screen that ’s even larger than that of the 2009 model . And as predict , the boastful screen makes the 2012 nano ’s Io - exhort interface much more available . For representative , instead of point only three item in a list view , the raw nano prove seven , making browsing lists much less thwarting ; you now see six “ app ” icons on the screen at at clip , rather than four ; and the status - ginmill clock , drop from the previous nano due to the deficiency of screen space , is back — you no longer have to pilot to the Clock filmdom to correspond the sentence .
The Now Playing screen is also much improved : Instead of a square cover - art screen with all controls overlaid — requiring multiple swipe to cycle through all the option — the novel nano exhibit the cover art in the centre of the cover , with track info at the top and playback and bulk controls at the bottom . Tap the screen once , and you get repeat , Genius , shuffle , and runway - tilt push , along with a onward motion scrub brush and , if usable , lyric . ( When listen to an audiobook , the shuffle push button is replace by a playback - speed clit . ) phone familiar ? It ’s closer to the aspect of the iOS Music app than to last class ’s iPod nano interface .
( One place Iwouldlike to see Multi - Touch used that it is n’t : As with the iOS Music app , you ca n’t purloin the Now play screen to vamoose to the next or former rail . At least here there ’s a intellect for it : You use the left - to - right wing swipe to return to the Home projection screen — although that gesture is n’t purely necessary anymore , pass on that the plate button does the same matter . )
Other “ apps ” also benefit from the larger display . The Radio silver screen offers a much - larger absolute frequency video display , as well as large path information , and it ’s well-fixed to get at radio set - playback options and special radio feature ( local stations , favorites , tagged vocal , and recent songs ) . The Clock screen can show the hour , minutes , seconds , day , date , and twelvemonth without looking push ; lap time in stopwatch mode ; and timekeeper selection without having to switch to a different prospect . The Voice Memos features shows the recording prison term in large digits . The Fitness ( Nike+ ) screen shows more options at once . And while the Photos feature lose some passage options compare to the former version , take in photograph is something you might in reality do with this nano — the orthogonal display means pic use nearly the full screen , and you could whizz along in and out using conversant pinch gesture .
Overall , the larger projection screen means less swiping , less scrolling , and more information . Similarly , because more controls and pick fit on each screen , I found myself frustrated much less oftentimes while using the nano — there were fewer times when I swiped blindly , wonder if an expected option was yet another screen aside . This is what last year ’s nano should have been .
queerly , while the young nano looks and feel more like an iOS twist overall , its onscreen icons front muchlesslike iOS . you’re able to still tap - hold picture to rearrange them , but the icons themselves are now round with simple , white iconography rather of rounded - corner square with more - realistic images . I personally do n’t like the anatomy of the raw icons , but the overall user interface is so much good that it find petty to complain .
That allege , there are a few options omit on this nano compared to its predecessor . For case , you no longer get the option to use larger ikon . And whereas the late iPod nano let you prefer exactly which icons appeared on the Home screenland — include alternative for poor boy - family such as Playlists and Artists — the new nano does n’t get you incapacitate picture , and it does n’t offer the option to show pigboat - family . ( The exceptions are icons for features that are n’t always uncommitted . For case , the Voice Memos picture appears only if a microphone is tie in , and the iTunes U icon appears only if you have iTunes U content synced to the player . )
The new nano also offers only six clock faces , rather than the 18 of the previous framework , and the offer are n’t nearly as fun as theMickey , Minnie , and Muppetsoptions usable on the sixth - genesis nano . ( On the other paw , you may now switch between clock faces properly on the clock screen , rather than get to make a stumble to options . ) Finally , there are only five wallpaper alternative , with four of the five color - fit to your nano ’s own color — if you ’ve commence a pinkish nano , your choices are limited to one gray background and four pinkish ones .
But , again , it says a flock about how much dear the 2012 nano ’s overall user experience is that my biggest complaints refer to icons and clock aspect .
The return of video
Of course , the larger filmdom also has other benefit . Primary among them — as you might distrust given the roughly 16:9 aspect ratio — is that the nano line has retrieve the potentiality to roleplay video recording , and the new model ’s screen and iOS - corresponding interface make it the right video - look on nano yet . To be perfectly vindicated , this is n’t saying a lot , as the screen is still too lowly for anything more than occasional video viewing . But it works in a pinch , and my kids did n’t complain when watchingWall - Efor the seventeenth time . ( The new nano does n’t underpin television - out to a TV , for either telecasting or photos . )
According to Apple , the new nano supports H.264 and MPEG–4 video at size up to 720 by 576 pixels at 30 skeletal frame per second with AAC - LC audio up to 256 Kbps and 48kHz ; Stereo audio in supported .m4v , .mp4 , and .mov file data formatting . For H.264 , the thespian supports Baseline , Main , and High - Profile level 3.0 ; for MPEG–4 , you’re able to utilize up to 2.5 Mbps , Simple Profile . I synced several compatible video to the new nano and had no problems play them . If you manually synchronize incompatible TV to the nano , they appear in the Videos screen , but when you seek to play them , you see a sinister projection screen and then the nano retrovert back to the Home silver screen .
This is the first telecasting - playing iPod nano with Multi - Touch , and the feature makes knead with videos a much better experience than with older TV - playing nano models . For lesson , pink once on the screen and you see an iOS - same overlay with controller for adjust the volume , call off through the video , and accessing a chapter carte . you’re able to also double - dab to zoom in and out : When watching a 16:9 widescreen movie with the nano orientate horizontally , you’re able to either see at full breadth ( which result in thin letterboxing at the top and bottom ) or zoom in to fill up the screen vertically ( and chop off a bit of the left and right sides ) . Overall , the new nano ’s Videos feature is much like the Videos app in iOS .
In terms of caliber , the Modern nano ’s screenland is n’t quite as sharp as the gamey - tightness ( but small-scale ) screen on the 2010 iPod nano , but its much larger size more than make up for the slight difference of opinion in clarity . Color accuracy is n’t slap-up , but it ’s penny-pinching enough for insouciant observation . When consider video recording in landscape orientation , off - angle carrying into action is good in the vertical plane , though it ’s not nearly as good on the horizontal plane — particularly from the side opposite the Home button .
You wo n’t require to determine a lot of telecasting on the iPod nano , and you certainly wo n’t buy a nano just because it can play video , but it ’s nice that the choice is there . And you may be certain that if Apple had n’t included the feature , given the raw screen size of it and dimension , the great unwashed would have complained .
Bluetooth wireless…
Those who loved the previous nano ’s build - in clip , specially for exercise habit , will certainly lament its red in the raw model . But I foretell that many of those same multitude will be won over by one of the 2012 nano ’s biggest fitness - bear on additions : Bluetooth . ( Yes , ultimately . ) Specifically , the nano has gainedBluetooth 4.0 with LE ( low energy)for connect wirelessly toBluetooth A2DPheadphones and loudspeaker as well as to Nike+ sensors and Bluetooth heart - rate monitors . ( If your earpiece or speakers includeAVRCP - compatiblecontrols , you could use those buttons to see to it playback . )
Pairing Bluetooth earphone or speaker system is a simple process . You tap the options icon on the nano ’s silver screen , tap Bluetooth , and then become Bluetooth on if it is n’t already . When the name of your headphones or speakers appears in the list , tap it , and enter a twin code if necessary . ( In my testing , most did n’t require a code , and those that did used 0000 . ) Your earphone or speakers then come along as Connected in the Bluetooth projection screen . The process is , again , nearly identical to the elbow room you pair with Bluetooth devices in iOS . You switch over between Bluetooth output and the built - in headphone jackstones by tapping a little Bluetooth ikon on the Now play sieve and then choose either iPod or the Bluetooth equipment ’s name .
I tested the new nano with a smattering of Bluetooth earpiece and speaker unit , and all paired immediately . Over several days of testing , I did n’t hear any dropout or static . ( I was n’t able to try the new nano with a Bluetooth heart - charge per unit monitor . ) I was also impressed by the nano ’s Bluetooth range , as I was able to hear through Bluetooth earpiece from over 20 feet away . Note that one drawback of Bluetooth phone and verbaliser is that you ca n’t apply them when listening to the nano ’s FM radio set , as the radio requires pumped-up headphones — it uses the earpiece cable television as an FM feeler — and connecting wired earpiece shift audio output from Bluetooth to the phone jack .
…but no Wi-Fi
On the other hand , the new nano does n’t get the other common build of wireless communicating : Wi - Fi . Just a couple short years ago , I would n’t have cite this as a drawback , but with Apple ’s late emphasis on cloud features , and especially considering that many Apple customers have iTunes lucifer accounts that make their music approachable from anywhere with an Internet connectedness , Wi - Fi would be a handy feature in the iPod nano : bury to synchronise your updated exercising playlist ? If your gymnasium has free Wi - Fi , you could just get at your iTunes Match account to download the latest trail additions . It ’s potential the Wi - Fi circuitry and antenna could n’t conform to in the nano ’s wafer - slight body , or that adding Wi - Fi would have impact the player ’s battery life considerably , or that adding Wi - Fi would bring the nano one step closer to the iPod ghost . But I call up a wireless data point joining of some sort is the obvious next footstep for the nano and other consecrated media player . Next twelvemonth ?
This, that, and the other thing
The nano continue to offer a good deal of underage feature that are sure to be used heavily by certain people and completely ignored by others — but that pick out together make the nano an impressively well - rounded gadget . As with all late nano framework , the late version offer a voice - recording feature . you may still use the nano as a newsflash crusade by check the Enable Disk Use box when connected to iTunes . A built - in pedometer tracks your steps and space when walking , and the seventh - coevals nano bear out Nike+ andNikeFuelfor tag your exercise when paired with a Nike+ detector or a Bluetooth - enable heart - rate varan . ( As with the iPod speck , you do n’t ask an iPod - attach dongle to link up to the detector — the sensor can pair directly with the nano . )
As mentioned above , the nano stay to offer an FM tuner for listening to the wireless ( or for listening to broadcast audio from the television at many gyms ) . In my examination , the fresh nano seemed to getslightlybetter response than the old generation . It offers the sameRDS ( Radio Data System)display and the same capableness to pause live radio for up to 15 minute , bound off back in 30 - indorsement increments , skip forrard in 10- or 30 - second increments , scrub through soften audio , and chase song for latter synchronize and purchasing through iTunes .
Apple claims the Modern nano offer up up to 30 hours of music playback on a full charge ( the longest ever for an iPod nano ) or up to 3.5 hour of video playback ( brusque than the fifth - propagation nano ’s claimed 5 hours ) . Apple also says you’re able to charge the nano to 80 - percent capacity in only 1.5 hour ; it takes 3 hours to get a full charge . I ’ve spent much of the retiring few Day link up and disconnect the new nano to and from various computers , so I have n’t yet had a chance to do any controlled battery - life examination .
calculate backtwogenerations , compare to the 2009 iPod nano , the latest model is overleap a video camera and a built - in speaker system , but given the downright miserable quality of those feature , they were n’t a self-aggrandising loss with the 2010 model and I do n’t deplore their deletion here . Other iPod feature that still have n’t found their way back from 2010 excreting admit games , alarms , and data syncing ( note , calendars , middleman ) . Again , with the potential exceptions of alarms and games — and possibly not even those — I think it ’s dependable to say that these features were n’t wide used .
lastly , the audio buffs out there are for sure curious about how the new nanosounds(and they ’re cursing me under their breath that audio character has been relegate to “ finally ” condition ) . The iPod nano is n’t an audiophile gadget , so I did n’t do by it as such . But I did test the new nano over several 24-hour interval with a range of headphone , including several higher - end models that work well with low - business leader headphone outputs . Overall , I found no rank issues with effectual timber . Compared to the 2010 iPod nano , I noticed only very minor differences when comparing the same uncompressed medicine data track played through the same headphone . The new model seemed to sound ever - so - somewhat clearer with slightly good basso response , but the conflict were pocket-size enough that I ca n’t make a authoritative claim .
In terms of audio data formatting , Apple aver the iPod nano supports AAC ( 8 to 320 Kbps ) , Protected AAC ( tracks purchased from the iTunes Store ) , AIFF , Apple Lossless , hearable ( data format 2 , 3 , 4 , Audible Enhanced Audio , AAX , and AAX+ ) , HE - AAC , MP3 ( 8 to 320 Kbps ) , MP3 VBR , and WAV .
Bottom line
Those who bonk the previous iPod nano ’s built - in clipping and substantial shape — peculiarly folks who used the nano as a magazine - on workout companion or a makeshift wristwatch — will lament the latest model ’s magniloquent , clipless innovation . But as handy ( or , if you will , hand - costless ) as that clip was — and for many citizenry it might be useful enough for Apple to consider a standardized production separate from the nano air — throw away it let Apple make the new iPod nano remarkably thin and light . In addition , the larger screen door and forcible buttons dramatically meliorate the nano ’s usability , and the increase of Bluetooth functionality is a big win for active usage . Clip away , it feel like this is what last year ’s iPod nano wanted to be : conversant , but better in almost way than the one before it .
This twelvemonth ’s mannequin , in fact , treat most of the major complaints I had about the 6th - generation iPod , taking what was respectable about that model and incorporating features and design element from both Apple ’s iOS devices and the 2009 iPod nano . The consequence is , in my opinion , the good iPod nano yet — as long as you do n’t desire to wear it on your wrist or lop it to your workout wearing apparel . It ’s still missing a few feature present in sometime models , and Wi - Fi — along with iTunes Match — would in truth mark the nano apart from other media player on the grocery , but the 2012 iPod nano is an telling twist that ’s easier to apply than any nano before it .
That said , the big question facing the iPod nano line of credit these days is a simple one : Why ? If you ’ve got an iPhone or an iPod touch ( or a similar non - iOS smartphone ) , you ’ve already fuck off a substantial music - mind twist , and there ’s a good prospect you carry that gadget with you most of the meter . If you do n’t already have such a machine , for $ 50 more ( $ 199 ) you could get theprevious - contemporaries iPod touchwhich , though not as small , is more adequate to in every way . At $ 99 , the nano would be easy to advocate , but at $ 149 , it ’s a tougher sell . If you ’re looking for a dedicated medium participant to keep your smartphone ’s battery for call and apps , or if you require something little and light while work out , or if you ’ve got a child who just want a media player , the nano is a solid choice . But the iPod touch is encroaching on the nano ’s territorial dominion , and the day when you need a separate iPod are fleet fast .
