iLoungeiLounge
  • News
    • Apple
      • AirPods Pro
      • AirPlay
      • Apps
        • Apple Music
      • iCloud
      • iTunes
      • HealthKit
      • HomeKit
      • HomePod
      • iOS 13
      • Apple Pay
      • Apple TV
      • Siri
    • Rumors
    • Humor
    • Technology
      • CES
    • Daily Deals
    • Articles
    • Web Stories
  • iPhone
    • iPhone Accessories
  • iPad
  • iPod
    • iPod Accessories
  • Apple Watch
    • Apple Watch Accessories
  • Mac
    • MacBook Air
    • MacBook Pro
  • Reviews
    • App Reviews
  • How-to
    • Ask iLounge
Font ResizerAa
iLoungeiLounge
Font ResizerAa
Search
  • News
    • Apple
    • Rumors
    • Humor
    • Technology
    • Daily Deals
    • Articles
    • Web Stories
  • iPhone
    • iPhone Accessories
  • iPad
  • iPod
    • iPod Accessories
  • Apple Watch
    • Apple Watch Accessories
  • Mac
    • MacBook Air
    • MacBook Pro
  • Reviews
    • App Reviews
  • How-to
    • Ask iLounge
Follow US

News

News

Notes and Pictures: The 4GB Fourth-Generation iPod nano

Last updated: May 15, 2021 1:37 pm UTC
By Jeremy Horwitz
Notes and Pictures: The 4GB Fourth-Generation iPod nano

It’s here! Okay, it’s not really exciting by comparison with the 8GB and 16GB versions of the fourth-generation iPod nano, but it’s great to finally have our hands on the considerably rarer 4GB model. (Thanks, Alicia Bankhofer, for making this happen!)

Advertisements

Notes and Pictures: The 4GB Fourth-Generation iPod nano

As you may or may not have heard, something weird was going on with the capacities of the fourth-generation iPod nano. On September 9, Apple announced that the device would come in 8GB and 16GB capacities, with the 8GB ones available almost immediately and the 16GB ones to follow soon thereafter. Then, some 4GB units started showing up in a handful of European cities. An Apple representative conceded that a small number of 4GB nanos were being sold in select countries, but oddly declined to say where, or why. They also showed up in Canada, where our editor Jesse Hollington says that they’re being sold on a “one-per-household limit” through third-party retailers such as Best Buy, and according to a report, U.S.-based Apple Stores received them, too, before being instructed to quietly return them.

Advertisements

They were made in every color of the new nano’s rainbow.

 

Notes and Pictures: The 4GB Fourth-Generation iPod nano

Our previously mentioned best guess was that Apple was taken off-guard by Microsoft’s decision to sell $199 16GB flash-based Zunes and moved—a little late in production—to counter these with same-priced iPod nanos. Stuck with already-made 4GB units, Apple needed to decide whether to try and quietly sell them, bury them, or hold onto them for some later date. A semi-plausible alternative explanation was that Apple was so desperate to win over some countries’ budget-conscious customers that it made versions just for them, an explanation that seems unlikely if the U.S. Apple Stores in fact received and returned these units. It’s also possible that Apple was preparing to sell $129 4GB nanos and $149 8GB nanos—the sort of product transition-related price drop that it seemed to be hinting at in an earlier conference call—but changed its mind at the last minute.

Advertisements

Notably, the purple 4GB model number MB657 is numerically much closer to the purple 8GB model MB739 than the higher 16GB model MB918. The second-generation 32GB iPod touch has an earlier model number of MB533, and the 120GB classic a model number of MB562. This seems to suggest that Apple internally prepped the new touch, then the classic, then the nanos, with the 16GB model coming much later than the others, but there may be another explanation.

 

Notes and Pictures: The 4GB Fourth-Generation iPod nano

What’s noteworthy about the 4GB unit we received is that the packaging is a little different from the 8GB and 16GB U.S. models. Instead of an Apple logo on the back of the box, there are content descriptions and system requirements in three languages, none English.

Advertisements

Latest News
The AirPods Pro 2 is $80 Off
The AirPods Pro 2 is $80 Off
1 Min Read
tvOS 26 Apple Music Sing Adds iPhone Karaoke Feature
tvOS 26 Apple Music Sing Adds iPhone Karaoke Feature
1 Min Read
Photos Tabs to Make a Comeback in iOS 26
Photos Tabs to Make a Comeback in iOS 26
1 Min Read
tvOS 26 Users to Have Automatic Sign-In for Apps
tvOS 26 Users to Have Automatic Sign-In for Apps
1 Min Read
The Beats Pill is $50 Off
The Beats Pill is $50 Off
1 Min Read
iOS 26 Users Will Have Storage Reserve Option for Software Updates
App Store Developers May Soon Offer Redemption Codes on iOS
1 Min Read
Apple Silicon Support Added to Steam Client Beta
Apple Silicon Support Added to Steam Client Beta
1 Min Read
M2 Mac Mini Gets Repair Program
M2 Mac Mini Gets Repair Program
1 Min Read
The Powerbeats Pro 2 is $50 Off
The Powerbeats Pro 2 is $50 Off
1 Min Read
Apple Puts iPhone XS on Vintage List
Apple Puts iPhone XS on Vintage List
1 Min Read
iOS 26 Users Will Have Storage Reserve Option for Software Updates
iOS 26 Users Will Have Storage Reserve Option for Software Updates
1 Min Read
iOS 26 to Bring eSIM Android Transfer Support
iOS 26 to Bring eSIM Android Transfer Support
1 Min Read

iLounge logo

iLounge is an independent resource for all things iPod, iPhone, iPad, and beyond. iPod, iPhone, iPad, iTunes, Apple TV, and the Apple logo are trademarks of Apple Inc.

This website is not affiliated with Apple Inc.
iLounge © 2001 - 2025. All Rights Reserved.
  • Contact Us
  • Submit News
  • About Us
  • Forums
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms Of Use
Welcome Back!

Sign in to your account

Lost your password?