Connect with us

Apple

Is the iPod Finally Dead?

Published

on

The iPod has been slowly slipping away into obscurity, but it recently might have been the last straw, as the iPod category was removed from the top of Apple’s website.

Taking the iPod’s place at the top of Apple’s website in the navigation bar is Apple Music, which is a new music streaming service that the company announced earlier this week at WWDC. Of course, if anything was going to dethrone the iPod from the navigation menu at the top of Apple’s website, Apple Music is more than deserving of it.

However, it does make us wonder what the future holds for the iPod, and whether or not this recent move is a sign that the iPod is finally dead.

Now, it’s important to note that Apple is still selling iPods on its website, and if you go to store.apple.com, you’ll see that “Shop iPod” is still featured at the top of the page. The iPod Touch, iPod Nano, and iPod Shuffle are still up for sale, with the 2GB iPod Shuffle being the cheapest non-accessory product that Apple sells at $49 a pop.

The iPod Touch, though, is Apple’s flagship iPod, if you will, and too many times we’ve heard rumors about a possible 6th-generation model releasing at some point, but we have yet to see that happen.

The last time the iPod Touch was updated was almost a year ago when Apple improved the camera, added more color options, and lowered the price by $30 for the 16GB model to just $199. That’s not a huge refresh by any means, but most likely just a lazy attempt by Apple at trying to keep the iPod relevant in some way. Other than that, the iPod Touch hasn’t received a major overhaul since 2012.

The iPod has always been thought of as the iPhone for frugal users, giving owners the experience of an iPhone without the hefty service charges required for a monthly data plan. The $199 price tag is certainly feasible for a lot of users and you can even get them for pretty cheap on eBay, with some models selling for less than $100 used.

ipod-touch-review-1

However, it seems like many consumers are still going for the iPhone, which isn’t too surprising considering the yearly hardware updates and the overall support that it’s getting from both Apple and third-party app developers. And since many users would be paying for a monthly cell phone bill anyway, they might as well use an iPhone with it.

Still, the iPod Touch is the cheapest touch screen iOS device that you can buy, making it great for kids to play games on during road trips.

As for the iPod Classic, it was quietly discontinued last year after Apple announced the iPhone 6, but if there’s any proof that the high-capacity iPod is still loved and cherished by the community, it’s that shoppers were buying them up on eBay for hundreds of dollars.

iPod-touch

The truth is, there’s no mobile device from Apple that offers more storage than the iPod Classic. The device could fit 160GB worth of music, while the iPhone and iPad are currently maxed out at 128GB.

The iPod Classic was launched in 2005 as simply just the 5th-generation iPod, but it was also the first iPod that could play video, which was a huge milestone for Apple at the time, as this was before the iPhone even released.

In any case, it’s really no surprise that the iPod is becoming obsolete, and I’m sure Apple expected it to happen eventually as the iPhone became more and more popular. Apple sold an insane 51 million iPhones during the holiday season last year, while only selling 6 million iPods. That’s a roughly 50% decrease compared to the same time period a year before that, which was one of the biggest drops in sales that the iPod has seen in the last several years.

Apple certainly knows this, but I don’t think the company is afraid to kill the iPod once and for all. It’s just wants to milk it for all its worth.

7 Comments

7 Comments

  1. Jill Marie Young

    06/12/2015 at 2:06 pm

    I think Ipods are obsolete. I have not seen them in stores for a long time, everyone is buying tablets or phones.

  2. Larry

    06/14/2015 at 2:02 pm

    Good!!! Apple should too with it

  3. avmphb

    06/15/2015 at 8:21 am

    I’m still an iPod lover and I will always be. I love my iPod Touch cause it’s yellow, and I have the same things of an iPhone withuout actually paying the overrated price tag of an iPhone. I would never have one ’cause I think there are better handsets with a price that actually worth paying it. My iPod though it’s just perfect: it’s yellow, I can turn off all the connections and just relax and listen to music without the annoying notifications of the phone. Plus, it’s thinner and lighter than an iPhone 6, and it fits perfectly on my pockets. But it does make sense that Apple kills it: if they want to focus on the streamming music business, they need handsets with a permanent internet connection, so unless they’re doing an iPod touch with a 3g/4g connection, which is actually an iPhone, the iPod touch is dead. And pretty much all of the iPods.

  4. Jackie Jormpjomp Curran

    06/15/2015 at 2:42 pm

    So the numerous reports that they are launching an updated iPod touch in September…….

  5. Some guy who likes Tech

    06/28/2015 at 4:03 pm

    All the comments saying that the iPod (Touch) is useless and should not be sold clearly don’t know how good it is.
    Smartphones these days are definitely the main device for media consumption, but you need to know that most of these smartphones are becoming less portable, or in other words, they are turning more into phablets.

    Having an iPhone 6 Plus in your pocket while listening to music when working out is really not ideal, because it hardly cannot fit in your pocket. Having a much more smaller device like an iPod in your pocket makes it much easier to fit in your pockets and doesn’t stop your mobility because it is free to move in your pocket.

    So in the end, the iPod line-up should not be killed because it is the only unique media consumption device that has the advantage of portability, unlike smartphones (or should I say phablets).

    P.S. I guess my opinion also leads into the fact that if they do release the next gen of the iPod Touch, they should at least make it the same screen size as before, or that whole portability advantage that I was talking about will be completely gone.

  6. Prince Ulmer

    07/07/2015 at 11:05 am

    I apprechciate the new ipods but i think there ca
    n be better than that!!!!

  7. Bertie James Fitchett

    02/28/2017 at 5:05 pm

    I hope they go broke… Again I visited one of your stores. The young gentleman said my ipod was vintage and gave me an example… If your power to your house changes to a new more efficient style.. You will need to upgrade all your appliances and such. This is what has happened with your ipod.

    First of all, I was insulted for this example … I have 4 Electricians in my family and I’m an Electronic Engineering Technician.. So the dynamics of this scenario ever happening is way.. way out there.

    I came back with the example.. Your car is from 2005 and now emits too many emissions. As a responsible car company, I’ll just disable all the computer electronics remotely, call it vintage and needs to be replaced. Ohhh.. and I won’t tell you I’m doing this.

    I had 2 experiences with Telus mobile in the past.. Once my phone was obsolete they gave me the option of a free phone replacement or a significant discount to others.

    A phonograph is vintage. Digital media available to the public is 40 years old. This is music.. Not computers. Music purchase should be able to be played on the player the company made for it.

    I was offered a 10% discount on a trade in. My ipod still works great. I can get a 20% employee discount at the store my wife works at on a new ipod. So this discount was insulting as well.

    Bait and Switch.. Apple sold me a product and baited me to buy it.. I did.. Then decided to disable it 12 years later with no warning or suggestion upgrade.. So I would buy a new one? Is this what your company is about? Bad Apples.

    Not fair selling practices.

    I would like to resolve this issue to come up with a solution to my situation.

    I’m open to ideas or suggestions.. I personally would like to hear my purchased music on my purchased player purchased in 2005.. “All Purchased at Apple” Or.. Supply me with a player that works today.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published.

As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.