iPod Touch “Too Thin” For Light Sensor

One of the bizarre things to come to light with the new 5th generation iPod Touch, is that Apple surreptitiously killed the ambient light sensor. The previous generation had one, the iPhones have one, it’s the technology that allows the device to alter screen brightness based on how light the room around you is. It’s a bizarre thing to have missing, but the reason might be purely practical.

iDownloadBlog has an email that purports to be from Phil Schiller where he explains away the loss of the feature. The email says:

The 5th generation iPod touch does not have a built-in automatic light sensor (it’s just too thin!)

There’s no denying this is a tiny device, but it feels like a step backwards to lose a sensor like this. Though, knowing Apple, I bet the next generation of iPod Touch manages to squeeze it in.