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macrumors bot
Original poster
Apr 12, 2001
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Apple today removed the link to the iPod classic from the sidebar of its U.S. and Canadian refurbished stores, perhaps offering an indication that the ancient hard drive-based MP3 player is finally on its last legs. Though the link is gone, the actual page for the refurbished iPod classic remains on Apple's website.

The sidebar link is still present in Apple's international refurbished stores for the time being, but it is greyed out, indicating that no units are available to purchase. It is not entirely clear when Apple's refurbished store last had iPod classic models in stock, but it seems to have been quite some time ago and today's removal of the sidebar link suggests that Apple has no plans to bring them back to the store.

ipod-missingB.jpg
The iPod classic is the successor to the original iPod introduced in 2001 and is the only remaining MP3 player in Apple's lineup that uses a hard disk drive for music storage. As highlighted in our Buyer's Guide, Apple hasn't updated the iPod classic since 2009, and no further updates are expected given the device's age and the fact that hard drive manufacturers are no longer producing the 1.8-inch hard drives used in the iPod classic. Seemingly every year, a new crop of rumors claims Apple is discontinuing the device, but the venerable iPod classic has hung on year after year as an option for those looking to carry larger music libraries on the go. Speculation has suggested that once the iPod touch becomes available in a 128 GB option, Apple may finally choose to retire the iPod classic, but the company has elected not to increase the maximum capacity of the iPod touch since 2009 when the third-generation model became the first to offer up to 64 GB of storage.

Sales of Apple's iPod lineup have been declining as customers turn to the iPhone to meet their music needs. In its latest quarterly earnings for Q2 2014, iPod net sales contributed only 1 percent to Apple's overall revenue, while the iPhone accounted for 57 percent. The iPhone may have crippled iPod sales, but the iWatch may be the death knell. According to analyst Christopher Caso of Susquehanna Financial Group, sales of the iPod will continue to decline precipitously as consumers choose the wrist-watch device instead of a stand-alone player.
While we don't expect AAPL to discontinue iPod for some time, we also don't expect an iPod refresh this year, and believe iPod could post Y/Y unit declines as a result as consumers purchasing iWatch as a substitute.
Besides the iPod classic, Apple also recently removed the 17-inch MacBook Pro from its refurbished store after discontinuing the notebook in 2012.

(Thanks, Max!)

Article Link: Apple Removes Sidebar Link to iPod Classic in Several Refurbished Stores
 

cube

Suspended
May 10, 2004
17,011
4,972
Apple has heard loud and clear that the future is subscriptions.

That does not mean low capacity, just that they need to support rental DRM.
 

DeanL

macrumors 65816
May 29, 2014
1,297
1,237
London
I seriously hope that they will release new iPod Classic with at least 128gb of flash storage... well at least an iPod Nano with 64gb! If they really plan to sell lossless music on the iTunes store, they need an iPod (besides the Touch) with more than 64gb of storage...
And they could to an iPod Nano with 128gb of storage on a single chip since the iPad use that design.
 

nerdAFK

macrumors 6502
Apr 24, 2014
343
901
I miss clickwheel! Give me a new iPod Classic and take my money!

ClickWheel + MultiTouch would be perfect
 

Parasprite

macrumors 68000
Mar 5, 2013
1,698
144
I know I'm in the minority here, but I could never stand the click wheel. Sad to see it go for everybody else though.

Who knows, maybe Archos will come out with a 4 TB flac player with a click wheel and then everyone can be happy. :p
 

ValSalva

macrumors 68040
Jun 26, 2009
3,783
259
Burpelson AFB
Isn't this just for the refurbished store? It must reflect the dwindling purchase numbers. The few people that are still buying the classic iPod must know exactly what they want and are not returning them.

Of course the iPod won't be sold forever but this may not be the portent of doom some think it is.
 

Rawkfist

macrumors regular
Jul 4, 2010
112
0
Texas
I love my Classic iPods. But at 1% of the profit I guess we should be thankful it hung around this long. What would be hard to calculate is how much of iTunes sales are purchased just because someone has an iPod to listen to it.
 

ArtOfWarfare

macrumors G3
Nov 26, 2007
9,544
6,042
There's no 2013 MacPro in the Refurbished store either. I'm pretty sure this must mean they're discontinuing it in favor of the 2012 model.
 

nikicampos

macrumors 6502a
Jul 23, 2011
818
330
Apple has heard loud and clear that the future is subscriptions.

That does not mean low capacity, just that they need to support rental DRM.

Well, I don't know where they heard that, but I don't think subscriptions are the future, maybe for some users yes.

Spotify has 10 million of paying subscribers worldwide, that's not a lot, and it's the biggest out there, it will be a nice alternative to get music, but as far as I can tell, buying music has a long way to go.
 

cube

Suspended
May 10, 2004
17,011
4,972
Spotify has 10 million of paying subscribers worldwide, that's not a lot, and it's the biggest out there, it will be a nice alternative to get music, but as far as I can tell, buying music has a long way to go.

If you want lossless (and offline, of course), you can subscribe to Qobuz.
If you want high resolution, then you have to buy.
 
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