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The new iPod Touch: A 4-inch screen, and Siri too

The new Touch matches the new iPhone with a taller screen, a better camera, and support for Siri.

Lance Whitney Contributing Writer
Lance Whitney is a freelance technology writer and trainer and a former IT professional. He's written for Time, CNET, PCMag, and several other publications. He's the author of two tech books--one on Windows and another on LinkedIn.
Lance Whitney
2 min read
Watch this: Apple iPod Touch makes a comeback with 4-inch Retina Display

The latest iPod Touch sports a 4-inch screen just like its iPhone 5 counterpart.

Unveiled by Apple today, the new Touch measures a thin 6.1mm and weighs in at a svelte 88 grams, making it the thinnest and lightest iPad Touch yet.

Powered by the A5 chip currently found in the iPhone 4S, the new Touch is designed to kick in with a faster performance than its predecessor.

Apple says that the dual-core A5 makes the new Touch seven times faster than the previous model at graphics performance. The new model also boasts a battery life that offers 40 hours of music and 8 hours of video.

Photo and video buffs will find a rear 5-megapixel camera with a host of features, including a microphone, flash, autofocus, a 2.4 aperture, backside illumination, and a five-element lens. The Touch also comes with the new Panorama feature that lets you snap a series of photos to create a 360-degree panoramic picture. And the camera lets you shoot 1,080p video.

A front camera can handle Facetime HD at 720p. And completing the Touch's role as a camera is an "iPod Touch loop" that lets you attach a wrist strap.

The new iPod Touch up close.
The new iPod Touch up close. James Martin/CNET

New iPod Touch buyers will have a choice of silver, black, blue, yellow, or red. The back of the device is no longer shiny as in previous models and now sports more of a brushed metal look and feel.

Also available for the new iPod Touch as well as the new iPhone and iPod Nano are "EarPods," redesigned headphones offering better sound and a more comfortable (and hopefully tighter) fit than the old Apple earbuds.

Apple's new earpods.
Apple's new earpods. James Martin/CNET

Connections include Bluetooth 4.0 w/LE and 802.11 a/b/g/n, just like on the iPhone 5. The Touch also uses Apple's new Lightning dock connector. And it even supports AirPlay gaming through the Apple TV.

Prices and availability? Selling at $299 for the 32GB version and $399 for the 64GB version, the new Touch will reach consumers in October.