iPod nano 7th Generation review

Reinvented for 2012, and now with videos... again

iPod nano 7th generation
It's the loveliest iPod nano ever, but is it worth the cash?

TechRadar Verdict

Pros

  • +

    Bluetooth

  • +

    Multi-touch

  • +

    Nike+ Fitness built-in

  • +

    FM Radio built-in

  • +

    Choice of colours

Cons

  • -

    No camera

  • -

    No 3rd party apps

  • -

    No clip

  • -

    Old-style earphones

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Apple seems to completely reinvent its small, slim-line iPod nano with each iteration, and 2012 has been no exception.

The 2010 model, for example, (there were no new iPods in 2011) was square and had a clip, so you could wear it like an iPod shuffle. This latest 2012 version, launching alongside the iPod touch 5th Generation, has a completely different design again; it loses the clip and returns to your pocket.

This time around it looks more like a minaturised iPod touch, complete with a little Home button and multi-touch display.

ipod nano 7th generation

This release also sees the return of video playback, a feature removed, and greatly missed from the last nano, but it hasn't regained its ability to shoot video, which the 2009 model was notable for.

The iPod nano now comes in nine different colours – white, grey, black, green, blue, purple, pink, yellow and Product Red.

ipod nano 7th generation

It's got Apple's new Lightning connector, which replaces the rather large 30-pin Dock connector and as well as a Lightning to USB cable you also get Apple's new improved EarPods earphones in the box.

The new iPod nano runs apps, but it doesn't run a full-fat version of iOS, so you've only got a few basic Apple apps to play with – there's no App Store, and no iTunes Store either. So, what you're looking at here is Music, Videos, Fitness, Podcasts, Photos, Radio, Clock and Voice Memos. We'll go over them all in detail here, and see how they performed in our tests, so read on to find out more.

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Graham Barlow
Senior Editor, AI

Graham is the Senior Editor for AI at TechRadar. With over 25 years of experience in both online and print journalism, Graham has worked for various market-leading tech brands including Computeractive, PC Pro, iMore, MacFormat, Mac|Life, Maximum PC, and more. He specializes in reporting on everything to do with AI and has appeared on BBC TV shows like BBC One Breakfast and on Radio 4 commenting on the latest trends in tech. Graham has an honors degree in Computer Science and spends his spare time podcasting and blogging.