Apple quietly announced on Thursday that its 5^th generation iPod touch will replace the 4^th generation. The announcement came without much fanfare.

It was placed on Apple's online store and that was it for promotion. This is either an effort to downplay the importance of the iPod touch in Apple's gadget repertoire or the company is trying not to draw too much attention to the 5^th generation iPod touch as it comes with a few downgrades from its predecessor.

The new device comes with a lower price tag of $229, which is $70 less than the 32GB version of the iPod touch.The more expensive version came with 32GB of storage. Prior to now, Apple's iPod touch lineup looked like this: a 5th generation model with 32GB and 64GB of storage memory. The 4th generation was still around offering 16GB and 32GB of storage space. Now, the 16GB iPod touch is a 5th generation and the 4th generation models are now unavailable. 

So far, the 16GB version is only available in silver and black, unlike its more hefty companions which are available in a variety of colors. That's not the only thing the 16GB 5th generation iPod is missing. The biggest absence is the back-facing 5-megapixel iSight camera.

The iPod touch still has the HD front-facing camera to allow users to use FaceTime. Also, the loop, a wrist band accessory that attaches to the iPod to prevent it from falling and getting damaged, is not available for the low-end iPod Touch but is still available on the other versions of the 5th generation.

Things that the new 16GB 5th generation device does have include a dual-core A5 processor and the same Retina display, allowing users to watch HD video on their iPod touch.