iPod Nano 4th vs 5th Generation: Difference and Comparison

The iPod Nano series was one of the most famous series of the decade. The iPod Nano was a portable media player series.

This portable media player was designed and manufactured by one of the most famous electronics brands, Apple Inc. There are many generations of this series.

Here are the differences between the iPod Nano 4th and 5th Generation, which will make clear the changes made in both models.

Key Takeaways

1. The 5th generation iPod Nano features a built-in video camera, which the 4th generation lacks.
2. The 5th generation has a larger screen size and a built-in FM radio tuner, unlike the 4th generation.
3. Both iPod Nano generations offer music playback, but the 5th generation provides more features and enhancements.

iPod Nano 4th vs 5th Generation

The iPod nano 4th generation was released in 2008 and had a 2-inch QVGA display, accelerometer, FM radio tuner, pedometer, and battery life of up to 24 hours. The iPod nano 5th generation had a larger 2.2-inch QVGA display, built-in video camera, microphone, speaker, VoiceOver, and battery life of up to 24 hours.

iPod Nano 4th Generation is the most changing version in the series. In this Generation, many significant changes were made to the iPod series. Many new colours emerged.

The model was made more elegant, and many new features were introduced in this version. There were also some changes in the internal disk of this model.

There were no major changes in the iPod Nano 5th Generation, but there were some updates in the models keeping some of the features intact as in the previous Generation.

The look of the product was more polished and elegant. There was the introduction of pedometers and video cameras in the newer models.

Comparison Table

Parameters of Comparison	iPod Nano 4th Generation	iPod Nano 5th Generation
Display pixels	240*320 pixel	240*376 pixel
Battery life	Maximum 4 hours	Maximum 5 hours
Display screen	2 inches	2.2 inches
Audio processor	Cirrus Logic CS42L58	Cirrus Logic CLI1480A
Onboard RAM	32 MB	64 MB

What is iPod Nano 4th Generation?

The iPod Nano 4th Generation first emerged in the market in 2005. iPod became one of the most famous portable media players at that time. The iPod nano was designed and manufactured by Apple Inc.

There was a total of seven generations of iPod Nano. Some features like an accelerator, video recording feature, and new colours emerged in this new generation model.

iPod nano’s fourth generation was available in seven bright colours. They are silver, purple, blue, black, green, orange, yellow, pink, and red. The red colour variant became one of the most popular colour variants of all.

There were two types of media players based on memory. One was 8GB, and the other was 16 GB. 

There were some critical improvements made in Generation four of the iPod nano. The audio processor was upgraded to Cirrus Logic CS42L58. The Display pixel was improved to 240*320.

The “shake to shuffle” feature was added to this upgraded model. An integrated mic was absent in this version.

The display screen size of this media player was 2 inches, and the product’s weight was nearly 1.3 oz. This was discontinued from the year 2017.

What is iPod Nano 5th Generation? 

The iPod Nano fifth generation emerged in the market one year after that of the fourth Generation in 2009. This was also designed and manufactured by Apple Inc.

This model was upgraded with many more outstanding features keeping some of the parts intact to that of the fourth-generation media player.

The model’s look was more elegant and beautiful than the previous Generation.

The mode of connection of this model is USB type. This Generation iPod has a battery life of 5 hours for video and 24 hours for audio usage.

The display screen size was increased to 2.2 inches, and the display pixel was also improved to 240*376. The weight of the product was 1.28 oz.

 iPod nano’s fifth generation was also available in seven bright colours. They are silver, purple, blue, black, green, orange, yellow, pink, and red.

The onboard RAM for this portable media player was 64MB. Two models of iPod nano fifth generation were available in the market. One was 8GB memory, and the other 16 GB memory.

The 8 GB model was capable of storing 2000 songs and 7000 photos, and the 16 GB had the capacity of storing 4000 songs and 14,000 images.

Main Differences Between iPod Nano 4th and 5th Generation

1. The display pixels of the iPod Nano 4th Generation were 240*320 in comparison to the display pixels of the iPod Nano 5th Generation was 240*376.
2. The battery life of the iPod Nano 4th Generation was a maximum of 4 hours; on the other hand, the battery life for the iPod Nano 5th Generation was a maximum of 5 hours.
3. The display screen size of the iPod Nano 4th Generation was 2 inches; on the other hand, the display screen size of the iPod Nano 5th Generation was 2.2 inches.
4. The audio processor of the iPod Nano 4th Generation was Cirrus Logic CS42L58. On the other hand, the iPod Nano 5th Generation audio processor was Cirrus Logic CLI1480A.
5. The onboard RAM of iPod Nano 4th Generation was 32 MB; on the other hand, the onboard RAM of the iPod Nano 5th Generation was 64 MB.

References

1. https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/0261436052000330447
2. https://link.springer.com/content/pdf/10.1007/1-4020-4097-0_7.pdf
3. https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/1354856506066522

Last Updated : 01 July, 2023