It's probably to Apple's credit that it's not averse to tinkering with its most popular products. It's not a strategy that always pays off, however -- the third generation iPod shuffle had us tearing our hair out with its headphone-cable navigation system and distinctly easy-to-lose size. The fourth-generation Apple iPod shuffle looks to remedy some of those gripes and, available for just £40, it's surely a tempting proposition...
Put the buttons back on the box
One thing we weren't counting on was Apple introducing more buttons. But contrary to the Cupertino company's longstanding less-is-more philosophy, they've reintroduced the circle of navigation keys that adorned the second generation shuffle. On the off chance you never laid eyes on that particular specimen, let's review the new shuffle's design and layout.
Firstly, this shuffle is tiny. Really tiny. Almost a perfect square, the whole thing measures just 29 by 32 by 9mm. On the front, you'll find a play/pause button surrounded by a tasteful ring of buttons -- volume up and down, and track-skip. Along the top of the shuffle, you'll find a 3.5mm socket for plugging in your headphones and charging (via the included USB cable), and a three-way switch that cycles between shuffle play, repeat play and uh... off. There's another button that triggers the VoiceOver feature, too.
The fourth-generation shuffle is incredibly tiny and light. You won't even notice you're carrying it.
This shuffle is extremely light at 12.5g -- if you're carrying it around you won't even notice it's there. That said, it doesn't feel cheap. With an aluminium body, this miniature marvel feels sleek to hold, and the build quality is very impressive.
Push for the burn
The shuffle is very much aimed at those who want to listen to a few tunes while pumping some serious iron. To that end, Apple has attached a helpful clip to the back of the shuffle, so you can fasten the MP3 player to your microfibre-weave sweat-absorbent jogging gear before burning those calories.
Indeed, we're impressed with the shuffle's usefulness as an exercise buddy. The clip on the back grips tightly -- we can't see it flying off your clothes and into the treadmill's inner mechanism, causing a catastrophic gear failure that propels you head first through the gym's mirrored wall (for example). Additionally, the lightweight build and incredibly simple interface means you can keep your eyes on your heart rate monitor without getting distracted.
One of our major gripes with the previous shuffle was that it forced you to use the infamously shocking earbuds that Apple bundles with every iPod. The reason was that there were no buttons on the shuffle -- instead, they were built into the headphone cabling.
A super-strong clip on the back of the lightweight shuffle makes it the perfect choice for gym bunnies.
Luckily that's not a problem anymore. With the buttons happily reinstated on the shuffle's body, you're free to plug in your more upmarket earbuds and retain control over what's playing. That said, while it'll suit most people just fine, the sound quality from this shuffle probably won't satisfy audiophiles, even with a stonking pair of cans attached.
miRobot
Apple has kept the VoiceOver feature that it first introduced with the third-generation shuffle. Assigned to the middle button on top of the device, when you activate this feature an eerie robotic voice will inform you of exactly what you're listening to. Tap once for the track name and artist, double-tap for the battery status and hold the button down for a moment to cycle through playlists using the track-skip buttons. The music fades into the background while the disembodied voice speaks, so it's easy enough to hear what's being said.
To be honest, with just 2GB of storage (not a great deal of space by anyone's standards), we imagine most people will recognise the tracks they've loaded as soon as they start playing. Still, it's a neat workaround and makes the lack of a screen a little more palatable -- and a little less alienating. The option to skip back and forth between playlists is probably the most useful function VoiceOver provides.
To get VoiceOver working you'll have to install it via iTunes. Installation is very quick -- when you first plug the shuffle in you'll be prompted to install the feature, so it's not too much hassle. Apparently, VoiceOver understands more than 25 languages. We weren't able to properly test this claim, but we can't imagine the shuffle stumbling over its words too often.
As for battery life, Apple reckons you'll get 15 hours of audio playback before needing to recharge. Generally, we don't expect any product to live up to its manufacturer's battery-life claims. But, since there's not much else the shuffle could be doing to put additional stress on its battery, we think you can expect a playback result close to the quoted duration.
Conclusion
The fourth-generation Apple iPod shuffle is a definite improvement on the last shuffle. We're glad Apple has decided to go back to buttons -- they make navigating your tunes much simpler and, crucially, mean you're able to use your own headphones rather than the appalling pair that come bundled. You'll find other MP3 players with a similar capacity for less money, but we reckon it's worth shelling out the extra few quid for the range of features and impressive build quality on offer here.
If you simply can't get over the lack of a screen, check out the new iPod Nano, which sports similar dimensions and a tiny touchscreen to boot. Bear in mind, though, that it's more than twice the price.
Edited by Emma Bayly
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sonymad 11 March 2012
Good: usefull clip its very small and portable good for comuters long battery life High build quality VoiceOver a useful feature Buttons make for simple navigation
Bad: average sound quality quite fat nothing has really changed
Comment: Thankfully, Apple has seen sense. The latest Shuffle has all the usual playback control buttons located on its body that you would expect. It greatly resembles the second generation Shuffle, but is smaller than that model. It's only slightly thicker than two £1 coins and weighs just 12g. It feels sturdy thanks to its aluminium construction and the integrated clip allows it to be securely fastened to your clothing.
As with previous Shuffles, the standard 3.5mm headphone socket also doubles as a USB port for charging and data transfer using the included adaptor cable. A small indicator light glows orange when the battery is charging and turns green when fully charged. In our tests, the battery lasted just over 17 hours when playing music, which is very impressive for such a small audio player.
The power button doubles as a switch for choosing either random or repeat playback modes. As with the last generation Shuffle, this model supports playlists. Since there's no screen, you have to press and hold the VoiceOver button. A computer generated voice then reads out the names of the playlists you've transferred over from your computer using iTunes. When it gets to the name of the playlist you want to play, release the VoiceOver button and press Play. If you've enabled the option in iTunes on your computer, the voice can also read out the name and artist info for each of your tracks. It works well, and it's arguably no less fiddly than the tiny screens on other budget MP3 players.
mpolifdhj 20 February 2012
Good: he is very small , and he can fasten in anything
Bad: The cable of load(responsibility) which is in the package is too too small, 2nd problem it is that one we load(charge) in the jack 3.5mm, but that in preques all the products apple we load(charge) with that: The picture hereThe cable of load(responsibility) which is in the package is too too small, 2nd problem it is that one we load(charge) in the jack 3.5mm, but that in preques all the products apple we load(charge) with that: The photo here---but with the iPod shuffle we load with thatThe cable of load which is in the package is too too small, 2nd problem it is that one we load(charge) in the jack 3.5mm, but that in preques all the products apple we load(charge) with that: The photo here---but with the iPod shuffle we load(charge) with that---------but with the iPod shuffle we load(charge) with that---
Comment: sorry i dont have very good english because im tunisian
James 'Gefahren' Atkinson 26 October 2011
Good: Design, Sound Quality (Superb), Value for Money, Battery etc
Bad: Not much capacity, at 2gb.
Comment: I bought this from ASDA for £37, and I'm already suitably impressed with the shuffle.
Literally the only problem I have with it is the potentially small storage space, but I've still got just over 350 songs on it, and re-syncing is a short process (around 10 minutes to finish), so I'll never be too far away from a different handful of tunes.
The design is simple, but pleasing none the less, and doesn't feel cheap like its competitors inevitably do, due to it's aluminium body and other various "Apple parts", such as the circular control interface and the sliding off-sequential-shuffle switch, as well as voice over.
The battery is good, and does last around about 15 hours, which is pretty impressive for it's compact size.
The sound quality is literally next to nothing I've ever heard before (even at 126 kbps AAC), people who are complaining have obviously not invested in a better pair of headphones than the crap Apple ones (I use a pair of Skullcandy).
The value for money, in my opinion, is outstanding. Some would argue that other MP3 players do the same thing and are cheaper, and yes, thats true. But they're made of plastic. And aren't even half as nice to look at. And you don't get the same kudos as an Apple product grants to you. And you can't use iTunes with other mp3 players, which in this case is very useful due to the low storage capacity, because it will automatically lower the storage size of each song, without really effecting the sound quality (I compared a 256kbps MP3 and a 126kbps AAC, and there is almost no audiable difference, at least not that you'll really notice) - allowing you to store a shed load more songs than other mp3 players would.
Sorry that this review is a bit long winded, and complicated due to my poor ability to construct a completely understandable paragraph, but I'm sure you'll deduce something useful from it.
... If you can't. just take my advice; buy this.
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