Apple possibly canning iPod, Shuffle

[mmntech]

The rumour mill says the iPod Classic and Shuffle are on their last legs. Reports say Apple plans to discontinue them soon, according to TUAW.
http://www.tuaw.com/2011/09/27/apple-may-discontinue-the-ipod-shuffle-and-classic/

I doubt anybody who follows Apple is surprised by this. Sales of all iPods have been on the decline as all-in-one smartphones take over. The Classic hasn't been updated in years. Still, it's death would mark the end of an era.

 

[IronWing]

That would suck. I have the iPod Classic and have no need/desire for a smart phone or iPad. I just want a music player.

 

[alfa147x]

iPod nano with 60 gb 😀

 

[Bateluer]

I just want them to make the Nano into a non-touchscreen device again. 🙁 The current touchscreen only model is useless for running, too hard to control, can't stand up to the punishment.

 

[Emulex]

zune!!

 

[mmntech]

That would suck. I have the iPod Classic and have no need/desire for a smart phone or iPad. I just want a music player.

Apparently nobody wants those anymore. It's actually been a long time since I last saw someone listening to music with a dedicated player.

I have a broken fifth gen I'm fixing. I'd get a sixth if Apple had a fire sale on them. $250 ($279 here) is a bit much for a hard drive based player. Though it would be awesome to carry my entire collection in a lossless format.

 

[Anubis]

it does suck because it means the no one will be making a large capacity MP3 player anymore

which in turn means ill never own a new mp3 player

the only way i see using my smartphone for it is if 200GB+ SD cards become super cheap and phone battery life improves by an order of magnitude

 

[MotionMan]

Everyone in my family has an iDevice, but, when my daughter went to camp this past summer, we did not want to send her with a $250 Touch.

We had a 4th gen Nano that was perfect for such things, but it disappeared last year.

I went to the Apple Store and settled on a Shuffle for $50. I liked the Nano, but I could not justify the extra $100. It worked out great for her.

I hope that Apple keeps some sort of (relatively) inexpensive music-player-only option for those times that a $250 phone-sized mini-computer is more than you need.

MotionMan

 

[umrigar]

i use my 80 GB 5.5 gen (pre-"Classic") all the time. in fact, i just picked up a used 60 GB as a backup. the 80 GB is almost full; i rotate music off as needed.

i'll probably buy a 160 GB before they're truly gone, which will be a while if the discontinue them. currently at $209 in the Apple refurb store. I see them on craigslist for $150 and up regularly.

i'm a music nut, and i don't want a touch device in the car; i can change songs, volume, etc with hardly any looking at a click-wheel (Classic) iPod.

 

[SlitheryDee]

I don't understand why phones are taking the place of dedicated players already. From what I've seen of today's smartphones, the battery life just isn't there yet. I'm used to my nano, which can go close to a week without charging. Then there's having to go through the process of switching off anything that might interrupt what you are listening to on your phone when you want to use it as a player only. It just seems like more of a hassle in general when a decent non-touch ipod is so small as to be insignificant in terms of pocket space, doesn't have to be plugged in every time you're anywhere near a wall socket, and won't cut in on your music while you're in the middle of a run because aunt Thelma wants to tell you about her new drapes.

Maybe everyone else has different listening habits than I do though. *shrug*

 

[MotionMan]

Maybe everyone else has different listening habits than I do though. *shrug*

Nope. Everyone is exactly like you.

😉

MotionMan

 

[alkemyst]

many parents do not want their kids to have cell phones...they don't mind music devices.

 

[MotionMan]

many parents do not want their kids to have cell phones...they don't mind music devices.

I don't see the Touch going away any time soon.

MotionMan

 

[TheStu]

I don't understand why phones are taking the place of dedicated players already. From what I've seen of today's smartphones, the battery life just isn't there yet. I'm used to my nano, which can go close to a week without charging. Then there's having to go through the process of switching off anything that might interrupt what you are listening to on your phone when you want to use it as a player only. It just seems like more of a hassle in general when a decent non-touch ipod is so small as to be insignificant in terms of pocket space, doesn't have to be plugged in every time you're anywhere near a wall socket, and won't cut in on your music while you're in the middle of a run because aunt Thelma wants to tell you about her new drapes.

Maybe everyone else has different listening habits than I do though. *shrug*

I think it is a matter of only wanting to have 1 device instead of 2. It is the same reason why phones are taking the place of dedicated point and shoots, and calculators, and notepads, and everything else.

If I did run, I would get a shuffle or older Nano though, easier to press a button than try to swipe a screen.

 

[LOL_Wut_Axel]

They probably will be killing the 160GB iPod classic and the iPod shuffle, but the iPod touch is here to stay. If they replaced the 8GB model for a 16GB one for the same $230, lower the 64GB model to $300 and make a new 128GB model for $400 that would make a lot of sense.

 

[gevorg]

If they do this, they better lower the Nano prices and bump the storage of the Touch.

 

[modestninja]

This is too bad because the classic's internals are so much higher quality than the Touch/Nano series especially if you made a few tweaks to them. Sadly, no one seems to care about audio quality (outside of a few small communities) so these things tend to get worse and worse...

 

[alfa147x]

This is too bad because the classic's internals are so much higher quality than the Touch/Nano series especially if you made a few tweaks to them. Sadly, no one seems to care about audio quality (outside of a few small communities) so these things tend to get worse and worse...

You can get a line out from ANY apple dock connector. ASFAIK Apple uses decent DACs so put your own amp after it.

 

[mmntech]

This is too bad because the classic's internals are so much higher quality than the Touch/Nano series especially if you made a few tweaks to them. Sadly, no one seems to care about audio quality (outside of a few small communities) so these things tend to get worse and worse...

High quality internals don't make a lick of difference if the source material is crap. Music today is over processed to make it louder. The tradeoff is sound quality, as punchy parts of the track get clipped as volume is increased. Doesn't matter what medium you use to play it, be it vinyl or MP3. They all use the same garbage masters.

 

[Kadarin]

Don't really care, so long as Apple continues to make an ipod with high storage capacity that can hold my entire library with room for expansion. I want my entire library accessible from my car.

 

[LOL_Wut_Axel]

Don't really care, so long as Apple continues to make an ipod with high storage capacity that can hold my entire library with room for expansion. I want my entire library accessible from my car.

Well, that's the thing. Unless they release a 128GB iPod touch, there won't be a high capacity option. If they do release it, it'll be $400, which isn't too bad considering it uses Flash memory.

What I don't like about the touch is the horrible back. Why the hell couldn't they make it in aluminum?

 

[manly]

as the OP said, the Classic has been all but dead since it's largely unchanged from the ancient 5th gen iPod video. And the nano is the new shuffle. ;(

Well, that's the thing. Unless they release a 128GB iPod touch, there won't be a high capacity option. If they do release it, it'll be $400, which isn't too bad considering it uses Flash memory.

What I don't like about the touch is the horrible back. Why the hell couldn't they make it in aluminum?

Skyrocketing flash memory demand has kept prices high, but that won't last forever. Even if doubling capacity isn't feasible yet, something like 16/48/96GB models could be around in 2012. A reason they haven't even tried to move up from 8/32/64GB is the iPod touch has a worldwide monopoly; hopefully the new Samsung units give it some competition.

 

[LOL_Wut_Axel]

as the OP said, the Classic has been all but dead since it's largely unchanged from the ancient 5th gen iPod video. And the nano is the new shuffle. ;(


Skyrocketing flash memory demand has kept prices high, but that won't last forever. Even if doubling capacity isn't feasible yet, something like 16/48/96GB models could be around in 2012. A reason they haven't even tried to move up from 8/32/64GB is the iPod touch has a worldwide monopoly; hopefully the new Samsung units give it some competition.

I'm pretty sure the opposite happens due to economies of scale and lower manufacturing costs. It's also been two years since the 64GB model has been at $400. If Apple is still interested in having people with tons of media buying iPods, they'll release a 128GB model. Given how much Flash memory prices have decreased in two years, it should be feasible for them to release a new 128GB model for $400.

 

[Don Vito Corleone]

I need a Classic for the glove box of each of my cars. Cars with dedicated iPod connections are still a good application for the Classic.

 

[manly]

I'm pretty sure the opposite happens due to economies of scale and lower manufacturing costs. It's also been two years since the 64GB model has been at $400. If Apple is still interested in having people with tons of media buying iPods, they'll release a 128GB model. Given how much Flash memory prices have decreased in two years, it should be feasible for them to produce a new 128GB model for $400.

I'm by no means an expert, but the capital costs to significantly increase production are pretty high. The iPad has only been around 18 months but has gobbled up a lot of production. Also look at SSDs. Strong growth amongst the AT Forums set and other early adopters (now even the mainstream MBA) but the cost curve isn't bending down quickly.

Apple is extremely protective of its market-leading gross margins. When the 4th gen touch arrived, they even raised the base MSRP from $199 to $229! With a virtual monopoly in DMPs, they've had no business reason to raise iPod touch memory capacities.

Seems like the main way for flash memory prices to go down is process shrinkage, which happens over time. Meanwhile demand in smartphones and tablets is still growing.