Apple discontinues the iPod after two decades

[Daniel Sims]

What just happened? The iPod is one of the most iconic devices of the 21st century and arguably the product that put Apple on the road to its current behemoth market position. However, it's also arguable that the era of the standalone mp3 player has passed.

On Tuesday, Apple announced that the seventh generation iPod Touch, released in 2019, will be the final iPod model. The company will keep selling the device while supplies last, implying it has discontinued production. The reason is apparent --users can find the iPod's functionality in any of Apple's products that followed it.

Today's users don't view mp3 players as hardware. Instead, it is more like software that can run on many portable devices. Initially, iPods held an edge against the iPhone when it came to storage space. However, this advantage eventually disappeared. The iPod's final iteration, the iPod Touch, is essentially an iPhone without the cellular.

While Apple still wants users to play music on the go with an iPhone, Apple Watch, and AirPods, it also said its other products are better for playing music at home. The iPad is more powerful, and the HomePod is a cheaper alternative.

Apple introduced the first iPod in October 2001, and while it was far from the first portable mp3 player, it most definitely popularized them. The device saw multiple redesigns over its lifespan, including the iPod Nano, iPod Shuffle, and iPod Touch.

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https://www.techspot.com/news/94542-apple-discontinues-ipod-after-two-decades.html

 

[dualkelly]

I have a standalone flacc player that far superior to the locked down ipod. Includes two microsd card slots and the ability to transmit thought bluetooth to any bt device.

 

[QuantumPhysics]

Easier to buy a old iPhone. You have up to 512GB on some - 1TB on newer models.

 

[p51d007]

Didn't know iPods were still a thing. With Apple music, Spotify, Amazon Music, Pandora and others, you'd think it would have gone away by now. I use to keep my music on my phone, but using Spotify, after a few weeks, the playlists pretty much plays what I want to hear, while popping in a new one once in a while. Picked up a lot of new artists that you'd never hear on the radio.

 

[QuantumPhysics]

Didn't know iPods were still a thing. With Apple music, Spotify, Amazon Music, Pandora and others, you'd think it would have gone away by now. I use to keep my music on my phone, but using Spotify, after a few weeks, the playlists pretty much plays what I want to hear, while popping in a new one once in a while. Picked up a lot of new artists that you'd never hear on the radio.

As far as I know, the Applewatch can store music. Seems more convenient to me.

 

[Fearghast]

Easier to buy a old iPhone. You have up to 512GB on some - 1TB on newer models.

Easier to buy old Android phone / dedicated MP3 player, and you have better audio output, usable Bluetooth, support for pretty much every format and ... SD cards for quick transfer of the whole library.

 

[trgz]

I have a standalone flacc player that far superior to the locked down ipod. Includes two microsd card slots and the ability to transmit thought bluetooth to any bt device.

I've got something similar (FiiO X5iii) but I still have a 7th gen Classic and a modded 5th gen (240GB) that complement my main player. Still it's a sad day as I feel, as you probaly do too, that standalone players do still have their place and the bigger iPods lead the way for some considerable time (and I'm definitely not an Apple fan)

 

[Geralt]

Didn't know iPods were still a thing. With Apple music, Spotify, Amazon Music, Pandora and others, you'd think it would have gone away by now. I use to keep my music on my phone, but using Spotify, after a few weeks, the playlists pretty much plays what I want to hear, while popping in a new one once in a while. Picked up a lot of new artists that you'd never hear on the radio.

I thought the same thing.

 

[nismo91]

I'm still surprised ipods are being sold. ipods changed the world but it was the touch that drive people to iphones, at the time when iphones was available in select regions only (iphone 2G and 3G).

when iphones got really popular in the past 10 years, getting a cheaper iphone (remember 5C?) or SE version made much more sense because of telco's plan. in fact I didn't realize apple was still selling ipod touch when they removed headphone jack from iphone 7 in 2016.

technically starting from 5th gen onwards, ipod touch are wifi-only ipad nano.

 

[merikafyeah]

The iPod nano 5th gen is the best iPod! It truly is an impressive piece of hardware. Any player that is functionally superior (including smartphones) is no where close to being as small and portable as the 5th gen nano.

 

[Sausagemeat]

I never had the old iPods back in the day, they were super expensive at the time. I remember buying a creative labs Zen touch which was a lot cheaper and could be plugged into a windows PC allowing you to drag and drop files rather than having to use iTunes. But it wasn’t as pretty or as user friendly though.

 

[okie11]

The only ipod I ever owned was the nano, it was perfect for the gym as it had the clamp built in to attach to your shirt, only issue it had was the screen cracking from a short drop. My first player was the creative zen jukebox. I loved that thing, still have it but haven't powered it on in over 20 years. Now like most apple owners I just use my Iphone with both Itunes and apple music. I own over 200 gigs worth of music on top of apple music so I never worry about having songs repeat.

 

[Theinsanegamer]

Didn't know iPods were still a thing. With Apple music, Spotify, Amazon Music, Pandora and others, you'd think it would have gone away by now. I use to keep my music on my phone, but using Spotify, after a few weeks, the playlists pretty much plays what I want to hear, while popping in a new one once in a while. Picked up a lot of new artists that you'd never hear on the radio.

A lot of people either dont want to listed to ads with their music or are already aware of bands they like and just want good music with no interuption. Like, I know what kind of music I like, I buy it so I can listen to it without an internet connection, subscription, or advertisements. Granted I do this on my phone, the only ones I know that use the iPod or standalone players today are kids who cant have a cell phone yet.

 

[Neatfeatguy]

iPod was my saving grace from keeping me away from Apple and their overpriced junk for all these years. I did use Apple computers at pretty much any elementary, middle and high school I attended and they were always strife with issues and I hated using them, but I wasn't against Apple products until after the iPod.

I was given a 30GB iPod (gen 5, I think) for my birthday and only to have the HDD fail on it after the short warranty ended. Apple wanted more than the iPod sold for to replace the HDD. Screw that and screw Apple, right then and there I found out it was just a con. I wasn't going to buy a new iPod and I wasn't going to pay their outlandish prices for a repair.

 

[Shaitan]

STILL looking for an MP3/FLAC player which supports microSD, has a decent DAC AND, most important, works with some user-replaceable battery, as in "do NOT go the dealer to have the god damn battery changed".
Is there anything like that?
My first choice would have been a pre-Android Sony Walkman, but "can't change your own battery" is a no-go for me.

 

[trgz]

STILL looking for an MP3/FLAC player which supports microSD, has a decent DAC AND, most important, works with some user-replaceable battery, as in "do NOT go the dealer to have the god damn battery changed".
Is there anything like that?
My first choice would have been a pre-Android Sony Walkman, but "can't change your own battery" is a no-go for me.

Not found one with an obviously easily replaceable battery, but I am hoping that when the time comes my FiiO X5iii should come apart with very little effort (and it takes 2x256GB cards at least)

 

[DZillaXx]

The iPod nano 5th gen is the best iPod! It truly is an impressive piece of hardware. Any player that is functionally superior (including smartphones) is no where close to being as small and portable as the 5th gen nano.

I really liked the 3rd gen Nano, the wide but short nano. I still have mine from HS, The library has not changed since then. My Daughter found it in a box last year and rocked it for a couple months listening to my old music. Back when Modern Rock was awesome, Where Bands like Shinedown was actually coming out with good content.

My first iPod was a Photo, I believe that was the 3rd gen. The HDD didn't last too long, hence the 3rd gen nano. But for portability I had won a 1GB shuffle, the 2nd gen that was pretty much a small clip but didn't require special headphones or anything stupid like later models. Good battery, easy to use and hide. Not sure what I did with it, but it really was a perfect device.

Though sadly the best MP3 player easily gets overlooked. I ended up getting a Zune Nano, and it by far was better than anything apple ever made. The controls were great, the UI was perfect, the DAC was great, it hands down was a better device. Even the software to load the media player up with content was better than itunes. It was just little too late, iPod was already established, and apple had zero plans to allow anything purchased from itunes to transfer to any other type of device.

It is a shame apple never kept up on iPod products. There is still market for a device like the 4th Gen iPod Shuffle.... Modernized to work with offline downloaded Spotify or apple music. With built in Wifi for check ins.

 

[Dd663]

The iPod died years ago in all but name. The iPod Touch of recent years has just been an artificially handicapped iPhone.

I really liked the 3rd gen Nano, the wide but short nano. I still have mine from HS,

Eyy, I had one of those in high school too! It went with me everywhere. No idea where it is now; I misplaced it sometime years later.