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Apple may discontinue two iPod models or entire line soon
Apple could discontinue two products in their dwindling iPod line, perhaps as early as next week’s media event. Some even believe that the entire iPod line could get the axe this year.
During Apple’s most recent earnings call, there was mention of a “product transition” which most assumed likely meant a pending iPhone announcement. TUAW, speaking on a tip they received some time ago but decided to hold off on mentioning, thinks that this transition could mean the end for the iPod shuffle and iPod classic.
Both devices represent polar opposites in the iPod line. The shuffle is the smallest iPod available and doesn’t even include a screen while the bulky iPod classic still relies on hard drive technology for storage. Apple has moved almost all of their other products over to flash memory storage at this point.
If these two products are nixed, the iPod nano would become Apple’s budget iPod and the iPod touch would represent the high-end segment. TUAW doesn’t believe that price cuts would accompany any discontinued news, however.
CNET thinks that the entire iPod line could be in jeopardy. September is traditionally the time when Apple refreshes the iPod line but the media invitation for the iPhone event next week didn’t mention anything about iPods. iPod sales have been in steady decline ever since the iPhone was introduced in 2007. iPods only represented eight percent of Apple’s total revenue in the fourth quarter of last year, a number that is probably lower than that as of writing.
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User Comments (18)
Post a comment|
Guest
on September 28, 2011 12:06 PM |
NNNNNNNNOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO! The iPod Was The ONLY Good Thing From Apple |
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Guest
on September 28, 2011 12:59 PM |
I've always thought this was bound to happen. My guess is that sooner or later Apple will have only one mobile product line. They might call it Ipods, Iphones, Ipads, Islates, or some other Iname. Basically the only difference will be screen size (and maybe ram and cpu but these won't be obvious to the user). So you'll have basically the same device in 2.5, 3.5, 7, and 10 in models that can each be ordered with or without a phone component. They will all run iOS and have WIFI and run all the apps etc. |
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negroplasty
on September 28, 2011 1:07 PM |
Who cares what CNET thinks... they're complete ******. |
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Raswan
on September 28, 2011 1:07 PM |
Guest said: I've always thought this was bound to happen. My guess is that sooner or later Apple will have only one mobile product line. They might call it Ipods, Iphones, Ipads, Islates, or some other Iname. Basically the only difference will be screen size (and maybe ram and cpu but these won't be obvious to the user). So you'll have basically the same device in 2.5, 3.5, 7, and 10 in models that can each be ordered with or without a phone component. They will all run iOS and have WIFI and run all the apps etc. I think you're probably right. |
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KG363
on September 28, 2011 1:18 PM |
So will they make higher capacity ipod touches? |
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MilwaukeeMike
on September 28, 2011 2:57 PM |
I don't have a single reason to own an iPod, and I'm sure many others don't either. My phone can play music just as well, and I'm sure an iPhone is probably better than my andriod at it. And Apple seems to have forgotten about the workout crowd, who won't want to lug a smartphone with them while they run/lift. For us the iPod shuffle was almost perfect, perfect size, perfect capacity, nice strong clip... but oops... no radio. God forbid I listen to something on that thing that didn't come from the iTunes store. So I got a Sansa, which is an iPod shuffle with a tiny screen and a radio. |
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slh28
on September 28, 2011 3:55 PM |
Agree with the above, Apple should probably keep the shuffle or nano for the runners out there, although I guess those are probably lower margin products for them. |
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compdata
on September 28, 2011 7:17 PM |
I love my ipod Touch. As I am avoiding paying $1200 a year for a smart phone (or any cell phone), my Ipod Touch has been used very heavily!. I really hope they keep this as there are almost no other products in that category that are not phones. |
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St1ckM4n
on September 28, 2011 9:10 PM |
Right, and a 160GB flash memory player will cost the same as a 160GB iPod classic.. |
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Guest
on September 28, 2011 9:36 PM |
I live in a large urban city. I always laugh at the ****** who have a smartphone and whip out an ipod next to it, when the smartphone just need an 8-16GB SD card and it will play music as good if not better than the iPod. And with iPhone and awesome Android phones, there is no reason for the existence of the iPod whatsoever. The only niche segment the iPod has is for people who work out at the gym and in developing countries which don't have $199 smartphones on a contract as we do in US. Otherwise, the iPod and iPod touch have been useless for a while. |
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Guest
on September 28, 2011 10:54 PM |
I think they'll keep two ipod products. The ipod touch is seen as a gateway product to the iphone, so I don't see it going away and the nano will stick around for those going to the gym. |
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aj_the_kidd
on September 29, 2011 1:33 AM |
The iPod classic, the product which kick started the Apple insanity, is being discontinued (TBC of course), definitely lasted longer then i thought it would, especially given the way technology has evolved in recent years |
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NTAPRO
on September 29, 2011 6:54 AM |
I at least want to get my hands on one of those classic models. I remember reading it had 200GB+ with a reasonable price. |
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isamuelson
on September 29, 2011 7:01 AM |
I doubt the iPod itself is going away. Also, there is now going to be an Android that is not a phone. In other words, it's the Droid version of an iTouch. It will connect via wi-fi, so you can still download apps, stream content, etc. Not sure how well that will sell, but it's nice to see that someone is going to attempt it. |
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Vanquisher23
on September 29, 2011 7:46 AM |
I'm pretty surprised that the iPod Classic is still selling. Probably it and the Shuffle to go. Anyway, about Android stuff that is not a phone but similar, such as an iTouch, there are many companies already doing that. Archos has done it with the Archos 43 which I have and think is fantastic. Now I don't need a smartphone. |
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Guest
on September 29, 2011 12:28 PM |
This is so disappointing. Im 17/f and I've owned an ipod touch 32G for a few years now, and was planning on saving up for an ipod classic with the biggest capacity available - now I'm reading there's a good chance they'll be discontinued? I have over 200GB worth of music (which isn't a lot compared to some people), so I wanted an ipod that could act as a hard drive, along with having a large capacity. So much for that. >=( |
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Guest
on September 29, 2011 5:05 PM |
Ok but why do you need 200GB of music on a device at one time? There is no way you can listen to 200GB of music in 1 day or even 1 week. 40,000 songs fits into 160GB. Even if you have 20,000 songs @ 3 min in length per song on average, that's 1,000 hours (minimum) of music listening, or 41 days!!!!!!!!!!!! Just put the music you'll listen to that month and next month reload new stuff that you need. For most people that's just common sense. You can't decide what albums you want to listen to this week? It only takes 5-10 min to transfer more music to the smartphone. It just makes no sense for 99% of people to pay $250 for an iPod classic and then deal with the inconvenience of carrying a smartphone and a huge iPod classic in another pocket. 16/32GB smartphone + 32GB microSD card is enough for 99% of the population for music. $65 for 32GB. Next year, this will cost half and smartphones will have even more storage memory onboard. |
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Guest
on September 30, 2011 8:58 AM |
Re: "iPods only represented eight percent of Apple's total revenue" "Only" 8% of how many billions? That's still a mighty nice sum to add to the bottom line. And it's not as if it's stealing from the rest of Apple's product line. |
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