Using an iPhone and iPod touch on the same iTunes library

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Using an iPhone and iPod touch on the same iTunes library

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Q: I have an iPod touch and am thinking of getting an iPhone, would I be able to use them on the same computer? My friend says you lose everything on your iPod if you add a new one to your computer. I don’t really get it but would this happen with the iPod/iPhone?

- Emma

A: Your friend is mistaken. While it is true that you can only automatically sync an iPod or other Apple media device with one iTunes library, you can easily sync a single iTunes library with any number of iPods or other Apple media devices. In fact, there doesn’t seem to be a realistic upper limit as to how many devices you can connect to the same iTunes library, and you can even connect multiple devices at the same time, subject to the number of USB ports you have available.

When you connect your iPhone for the first time it will be setup as a new device and appear separately in your iTunes Devices list on the left-hand side of your iTunes window in much the same way as your iPod touch. You can even have both devices connected and syncing with iTunes at the same time if you use different USB ports. The iPhone will have its own set of synchronization setting screens, similar to the ones you’re already familiar with for your iPod touch, with each device configured independently of the other. The settings and content you choose for your iPhone will not affect the content that is on your iPod touch.

For example, the image below shows sixteen devices connected to iTunes at the same time: One iPad, four iPhones, an iPod classic, five iPod nanos, two iPod shuffles, an iPod touch and two Apple TVs.

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