Apple iPod touch (preview)

It may not have received the fanfare of the shiny iPhone 5, but the refreshed iPod touch is just as new.

With a redesigned body based around a new 4-inch, 16:9 widescreen, the iPod touch mirrors the design of the iPhone 5 in the same way that the previous touch matched the iPhone 4 and 4S.

It's the thinnest iPod touch yet, measuring only 6mm thick. It weighs a barely-there 88 grams. It's available in five bright colours.

Inside, a lot has changed from the previous model. Apple's dual-core A5 processor (from the iPhone 4) makes an appearance, giving the touch twice the processing power and seven times the graphics power of the fourth generation mode.

Eight hours of playback for video and 40 hours of music playback means the iPod touch is no battery hog.

The new iPod touch scores a 5-megapixel iSight camera with autofocus on the rear, and a 720p-capable Facetime HD camera on the front. The rear camera can record 1080p Full HD video, and has an LED flash for extra lighting help. Like the iPhone 5, the touch can capture panoramic photos with its rear camera.

On the software side of things, the iPod touch gets an upgrade to the latest iOS 6 operating system. It also gets Siri — Apple's speech-processing assistant — and AirPlay Mirroring, letting users stream media content to a wirelessly-connected Apple TV set-top box.

We'll have our hands on the iPod touch as soon as possible for a full review. Until then, you can make pre-orders from the online Apple Store from September 14, with a tentative release window set for some time in October.

In Australia, the 32GB iPod touch will be $329, and the 64GB model will be $439.