In 2015, new Avengers and Star Wars movies opened in theaters and Apple released an updated iPod Touch. Four years later, there's new Avengers and Star Wars movies and Apple released an updated iPod Touch. But while it looks like history is repeating itself, and indeed both iPods look nearly identical, Apple's seventh generation iPod Touch is twice as fast and can run iOS 13 because of its A10 Fusion processor -- the same one found in its step-brother the iPhone 7 ($739 at Walmart).

But why did Apple update the processor on a 4-year-old iPod? How does that new hardware affect the iPod's performance and battery life? And should you buy one?

Despite really enjoying the petite device (it truly is, dare I say, a "cute" gadget), I wouldn't buy one. It's not that the iPod Touch isn't good, it's just that it has a narrower appeal than, say, the iPhone XS. Imagine if Apple re-released an iPhone 6S with an updated processor, 32GB of storage and kept the original 2015 price of $650. That wouldn't be the greatest deal.

It would be a different story had Apple updated the iPod with a new battery and camera as well as brought the overall design into the iPhone X era -- even if that meant a higher price. But the new iPod Touch is about bridging the old and new.

There are several situations where updating the iPod makes perfect sense, like as a kid's mobile gaming system (especially once Apple Arcade is out) or for hospitals to track medical records and translate different languages or in retail and food service as a mobile register. Keeping the new iPod the exact same size as the previous one makes it easier for businesses to swap out devices without the need of replacing those special mobile register cases.

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If you do decide to grab one, I recommend the 32GB model for $199 which puts 4,000 songs in your pocket (after you figure iOS takes up 10-12GB of space). That price makes it the most affordable iOS device you can buy new from Apple. If you are tempted by one of the pricier options, grab a new iPhone 7 instead for just a bit more. Apple sells the top of the line iPod Touch for $399 and the iPhone 7 for $449. 

Despite its niche target audience, the iPod Touch is still a solid device, but I'd recommend really thinking about how you'd use it before you buy one.

Back in the day, using an iPod was all about playing music from iTunes. But at the company's 2019 Worldwide Developer Conference (WWDC), Apple announced that it will dismantle iTunes with the next MacOS release. It's odd that Apple kept the iPod and not iTunes, though. They're like peanut butter and jelly.

Really the loss of iTunes will only be felt by those who upgrade to MacOS Catalina and even then Apple Music and syncing via Finder will become the conduit to your iPod Touch for any MP3 files you have amassed anyway.

But I have a secret: I downloaded Spotify onto the iPod. Even though at first it felt wrong, it was actually a delight to use. The tiny iPod was more manageable on a workout or to carry on the train than my iPhone XS Max ($1,113 at Amazon). The iPod Touch lacks a cellular antenna, which meant I could only stream music when I was on WiFi. Other times I had to use Spotify Premium to download songs before a journey through a WiFi free zone.