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OstrichGoose08

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Jan 13, 2016
5
0
Hello, I have a question for you guys should I get the iPod touch or iPod nano?

So here's the story:
I have an iPhone 5s which is brilliant but I don't want to put my music on there because I have little storage so wanted another device to put it on. I generally listen to music a lot so when I home when I walk the dogs and in the car. I'm driving in 8 months and want something to connect my music with something I can listen to music I like in the car without the radio all the time.

Which one should I get? I heard the iPod nano isn't as good is this true?

Thank you :)
[doublepost=1452713731][/doublepost]I also want to get one soon because I have a lot of music at the moment I would like so without putting it on my phone Spotify is the only option
 

cruisin

macrumors 6502a
Apr 1, 2014
962
223
Canada
The nano is good if you just listen to music. The older models had buttons, so they were great for using in a hurry without looking at the screen. Now you have to get by with the headphone buttons.

16 GB is good for about 2,500 songs. This is great for most people, but if you have more and you want to listen without repeating a song you need the Touch.

Realistically, the Touch is better (in my opinion). Up to 128 GB storage available, longer play time, camera, and apps.
 

OstrichGoose08

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Jan 13, 2016
5
0
The nano is good if you just listen to music. The older models had buttons, so they were great for using in a hurry without looking at the screen. Now you have to get by with the headphone buttons.

16 GB is good for about 2,500 songs. This is great for most people, but if you have more and you want to listen without repeating a song you need the Touch.

Realistically, the Touch is better (in my opinion). Up to 128 GB storage available, longer play time, camera, and apps.
Thank you for your detailed response. What do you mean by if "you want to listen without repeating a song you need the Touch." Does that mean if you want to replay one song over again? So the touch is better even though I have an iPhone as well? Really want to make my purchase of whatever I get worth it :)

Any other opinions?
 

sracer

macrumors G4
Apr 9, 2010
10,408
13,293
where hip is spoken
The nano is good if you just listen to music. The older models had buttons, so they were great for using in a hurry without looking at the screen. Now you have to get by with the headphone buttons.

16 GB is good for about 2,500 songs. This is great for most people, but if you have more and you want to listen without repeating a song you need the Touch.

Realistically, the Touch is better (in my opinion). Up to 128 GB storage available, longer play time, camera, and apps.
The newest generation has buttons... volume up, volume down, play/pause. Double-press the play to advance a track, triple-press to go back one track.

I have a variety of iPhones, iPod Touches, and iPod Nanos. I find that intelligent use of playlists and smart playlists can effectively manage the mix of music.

I have way more music in my library (than would even fit on 128GB storage) so I have to find ways to handle my music.

I use my Nano when working around the yard and in colder weather... easy to clip the player anywhere and can operate it with gloves on. :)
 

cruisin

macrumors 6502a
Apr 1, 2014
962
223
Canada
What do you mean by if "you want to listen without repeating a song you need the Touch." Does that mean if you want to replay one song over again? So the touch is better even though I have an iPhone as well? Really want to make my purchase of whatever I get worth it :)
What I meant was if you plan on driving a lot and plan to be far away from a computer, you should get the space you need to not repeat your song collection (unless you don't mind). If you can fit into 16 GB, you don't need to worry. But if you have more than 16 GB of music you need to decide if you want to repeat playlists, albums, etc. or if you would rather have more storage. A 16 GB player is fine if you can swap out your music at any time.

All music players can repeat songs and albums, don't worry.

The newest generation has buttons... volume up, volume down, play/pause. Double-press the play to advance a track, triple-press to go back one track.
This is what I meant by headphone buttons. They don't help if you are using the iPod connected to the aux input when driving.
 

sracer

macrumors G4
Apr 9, 2010
10,408
13,293
where hip is spoken
This is what I meant by headphone buttons. They don't help if you are using the iPod connected to the aux input when driving.
Ah, got it. I've never heard of them referred to as that.

The nano is good if you just listen to music. The older models had buttons, so they were great for using in a hurry without looking at the screen. Now you have to get by with the headphone buttons.
...but how are the buttons on the older models more capable of "using in a hurry without looking at the screen" than the latest Nano?
 

cruisin

macrumors 6502a
Apr 1, 2014
962
223
Canada
...but how are the buttons on the older models more capable of "using in a hurry without looking at the screen" than the latest Nano?
If I am in motion, the buttons on the cable are annoying to find because they move around a bit. The device is in your hand, in your jacket pocket, or in an armband and the buttons are much easier to reach, in my opinion. So play, next song, etc had actual buttons you can feel. The newer devices are onscreen, so you must use the headphone.

Mostly my issue with the headphone buttons is that you need to use specific headphones that have buttons. Some headphones don't have these buttons, especially the bigger over-ear headphones.
 

sracer

macrumors G4
Apr 9, 2010
10,408
13,293
where hip is spoken
If I am in motion, the buttons on the cable are annoying to find because they move around a bit. The device is in your hand, in your jacket pocket, or in an armband and the buttons are much easier to reach, in my opinion. So play, next song, etc had actual buttons you can feel. The newer devices are onscreen, so you must use the headphone.

Mostly my issue with the headphone buttons is that you need to use specific headphones that have buttons. Some headphones don't have these buttons, especially the bigger over-ear headphones.
Now I'm confused again. The 7th Gen iPod Nano has buttons (vol up/down, play/pause) on the side of the device, not on the earpods. :confused:
 

cruisin

macrumors 6502a
Apr 1, 2014
962
223
Canada
Hmm, I didn't realize that the Nano still had play/pause, I thought it just had volume like the Touch models.

I think my point still holds. If you can fit into 16 GB and you just want music, get the Nano. Otherwise you need the Touch.
 

Ffosse

macrumors 68000
Nov 5, 2012
1,827
652
Hmm, I didn't realize that the Nano still had play/pause, I thought it just had volume like the Touch models.

I think my point still holds. If you can fit into 16 GB and you just want music, get the Nano. Otherwise you need the Touch.

It has volume up/down, pause, skip next, previous and voiceover so you can switch playlists with the buttons.

I barely used the touchscreen on mine.
 

dXTC

macrumors 68020
Oct 30, 2006
2,033
50
Up, up in my studio, studio
For your use case, I'd recommend the nano. I've used my 16 Gb 5th gen nano as my primary music player on a 9-day vacation before that featured lots of time behind the wheel, and had more than enough music to avoid repeats. The 7th gen nano is cheaper than any Touch too. if you're a gym member, it's the only choice, as many gyms now prohibit using devices with cameras, so the Touch would be out of the question.

The Touch would be good for you ONLY if you insist on having every bit of your music with you.
 

OstrichGoose08

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Jan 13, 2016
5
0
For your use case, I'd recommend the nano. I've used my 16 Gb 5th gen nano as my primary music player on a 9-day vacation before that featured lots of time behind the wheel, and had more than enough music to avoid repeats. The 7th gen nano is cheaper than any Touch too. if you're a gym member, it's the only choice, as many gyms now prohibit using devices with cameras, so the Touch would be out of the question.

The Touch would be good for you ONLY if you insist on having every bit of your music with you.
Thank you :)
What do you mean by "if you insist on having every bit of your music with you."
 

sracer

macrumors G4
Apr 9, 2010
10,408
13,293
where hip is spoken
Thank you :)
What do you mean by "if you insist on having every bit of your music with you."
He means that if you feel the need to be able to carry your entire music collection with you then unless you have a small music library that would fit in 16GB, then the iPod Touch is the only option since the storage capacity goes up to 128GB.

I have a large music library and since there is no iOS device with storage large enough to contain it all, I make heavy use of smart playlists in order to have a representation of the total collection to accommodate whatever mood strikes me. This allows me to be able to have an intelligent subset of my library with me no matter what the storage capacity of the device being used....

I have an 8GB iPod Nano (6th gen) that I periodically use as a wristwatch. It generally has music in the various genres. My 16GB Nano (7th gen) has a larger subset and includes a few videos. In addition, I have 32GB iPhone 4 (as an iPod only), 64GB iPod Touch 4th gen, and 32GB iPod Touch 6th gen that I use for a variety of purposes. All of them are managed using some "base" playlists (based on the particular device) and smart playlists to round out what gets synced.
 

dXTC

macrumors 68020
Oct 30, 2006
2,033
50
Up, up in my studio, studio
He means that if you feel the need to be able to carry your entire music collection with you then unless you have a small music library that would fit in 16GB, then the iPod Touch is the only option since the storage capacity goes up to 128GB.

I have a large music library and since there is no iOS device with storage large enough to contain it all, I make heavy use of smart playlists in order to have a representation of the total collection to accommodate whatever mood strikes me. This allows me to be able to have an intelligent subset of my library with me no matter what the storage capacity of the device being used....

... All of them are managed using some "base" playlists (based on the particular device) and smart playlists to round out what gets synced.

Yes, that's exactly what I meant. And I also use a series of Playlists to create a subset of music for my 5th gen nanos: one with "essential" or perennial favorites, one with the 25 most recent additions, and another with a random selection of songs from the rest of my library that are not in the first two. I occasionally re-randomize that last one to keep it "fresh", and add a Smart Playlist with the 50 least-recently-played "essentials" which I call Long Time No Hear.

Using playlists instead of manual management has helped keep my iPod ecosystem rather stable for years.
 
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