Hi, there.
My son has been through several iterations of dexcom and iOS devices. I’ll share my thoughts.
Caleb started using an iPod in school to text me when he was in fourth grade - this was before Share of any sort existed. It was a FABULOUSLY AMAZING improvement in his care. However, it had limitations bc he could only use it when connected to wifi. It was a great help to us, but as he got older and more independent, we were finding him out of reliable wifi range more and more. It is what led us to getting him a phone when he entered 6th grade (he always had a flip phone for emergencies, but we decided a full time use phone was appropriate at this time).
At this time he still had no ability to share data, but having constant access to text was another big step in his autonomy. None of this directly answers your question, but hopefully provides some context on how an iPod or phone can be as important a medical device as a pump or CGM. It’s certainly dependent upon your personal circumstances - just sharing ours. It was a critical component of ours, so much so, I had it included in Caleb’s 504 plan.
At about the same time, Nightscout became available. We set Caleb up with a Nightscout rig using an android device. His android phone used a cheap data plan from Ting that was used exclusively to share data. This is a possible option - the phone was inexpensive and the data plan was inexpensive and it was less like having a “phone” and more like having a medical device. At the time you needed a receiver for this. Is Dexcom share now compatible with Android?
Shorty after that, Dexcom share became available. Caleb ran Nightscout and Share concurrently for a while - Nightscout has an amazing Care Portal which allows for seamless communication bt caregivers - this was a great asset with the School Nurse - however, at Caleb’s age this wasn’t really necessary, and carrying the extra rig wasn’t necessary, so we ditched is reluctantly bc we lost some great features with losing Nightscout.
After that, the app became independent from the receiver and again, Caleb continued to carry both for a while (alerts more reliable/audible as @daytona mentions) but that became unnecessary and Caleb has used the phone exclusively for quite some time now. His receiver crapped out at one point. I’ve only recently replaced it bc he’s going on a trip and I want to be sure he has data on the plane and doesn’t have to worry about phone battery running out if he’s not able to charge his phone. (In those situations he won’t be able to share, but at least he’ll be certain to have CGM info for himself).
Again, none of that answers your question directly. I will say that Caleb got a phone at a younger age than his older brother. That was just the way it was bc of what we considered a medical need to keep him safe. I’m trying to think of the drawbacks of having an iTouch v a receiver. Battery life is one, warranty is another. If texting is something that you want to have while she’s in wifi, the iTouch has the advantage.
Hopefully something in here is useful for you if only it’s a point of reference.
