Earlier today, we reported that Apple is no longer selling its iPod Shuffle or iPod Nano on its website. While not officially confirmed, attempting to purchase either products on Apple’s website sends you to a “Page Not Found” page.
This is significant because the iPod was one of the revolutionary products of its time. Before the iPod, MP3 players were hard to use and weren’t that popular. However, the iPod was easy to use and quickly became popular. Over the years Apple iterated and tried a slew of different things such as capturing video or adding a touch screen.
While the iPods were a commercial success and Apple truly had a revolutionary product, it started to show its age, especially when the company itself cannibalized the iPod with the iPhone. “An iPod, a phone, an internet communicator. An iPod, a phone… are you getting it?” is what Steve Jobs touted back at MacWorld in 2007. The iPhone could do everything an iPod could, and even more. The company tried to keep the iPod product line alive with the iPod Touch, which is still available today. The iPod Touch, while not seeing a major update since 2012, runs the latest version of iOS, and is one of the last remaining 4-inch devices in Apple’s lineup (aside from the iPhone SE, which is not getting an update any time soon according to rumors). The Touch does not support Touch ID fingerprint recognition, has an outdated camera, and lacks a constant cellular connection which is essential to any device in the modern age.
It’s been clear sine 2012 that Apple wants to kill the iPod. We’re in an era where a connected device is essential to our daily lives. And as technology evolves, the legacy syncing with iTunes method of getting music is only used by a small subset of users. Most users will play music via Spotify, YouTube, SoundCloud, or even Apple’s own Apple Music service. That’s something that’s lacking with the current (or rather, former) iPod lineup. It would come to no surprise that Apple will continue to support the latest iPod Touch until it can no longer be supported by iOS. From there, Apple’s focus should be on its new media player product, the HomePod, which comes out later this year for $349.
With that being said, rest in peace iPod, you served us well.
What's next for the iPod? originally posted at http://phonedog.com
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