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macrumors bot
Original poster
Apr 12, 2001
63,194
30,135



163626-ipod_classic_2009_all_sides.jpg


A retrospective piece on the history of the iPod published last week brought fresh attention to the idea that Apple may be looking to discontinue the iPod classic, essentially the direct descendant of the original iPod introduced nearly ten years ago. Concerns over the fate of the iPod classic first arose last September when Apple introduced new iPod models for every line except the iPod classic, even as Steve Jobs referred to the revamp as an "all-new" lineup. The iPod classic remains available, but has not been updated since September 2009.

The possibility of new life for the iPod classic received a jumpstart in late January when Toshiba introduced new hard drives topping out at 220 GB in the form factor used by the iPod classic, which currently offers 160 GB of storage space. In the following weeks, supplies of the iPod classic appeared to tighten at a number of retailers, potentially hinting at either an update or discontinuation, although Apple has made no moves since that time.

With the renewed focus on the fate of the iPod classic, one MacRumors reader let us know that he had emailed Apple CEO Steve Jobs back in September after the device failed to receive an update alongside the rest of the iPod line, inquiring about the fate of the high-capacity music player. Jobs responded, indicating that the company has "no plans" to discontinue the iPod classic.Q: Hello, I've heard a LOT of speculation that Apple is looking to kill the iPod Classic because it wasn't updated on Sept. 1st, and that a lot of people would rather Touch. The iPod Classic is probably the best iPod in the line. PLEASE DON'T KILL IT!!!

A: We have no plans to.

Sent from my iPhoneThe claimed email from Jobs does appear to be legitimate, and while Apple's plans may certainly have changed in the six months since the exchange, it does appear that the company has been intending to keep the iPod classic line alive despite the absence of an update in over 18 months.

With the new 220 GB hard drives from Toshiba now available, Apple could conceivably release an updated iPod classic at any time, although the company may wait until its traditional iPod media event in September for the refresh.

Article Link: Steve Jobs: 'No Plans' to Discontinue iPod Classic
 

Tones2

macrumors 65816
Jan 8, 2009
1,471
0
The chance that the iPod Classic is updated to 220GB is zero. Apple has no plans to ever update a hard drive based non-touch portable device (they would not waste their time), and they've shown even less interest in increasing the capacity of any device beyond even 64GB flash.

Tony
 

Kenso

macrumors newbie
Jan 14, 2011
18
1
They should make brief questions to Steve Jobs the same way he answers:

Q: Apple killing iPod?

Sent from my iPhone

A: We have no plans to

Sent from my iPhone

:D
 

Mattsasa

macrumors 68020
Apr 12, 2010
2,339
744
Minnesota
Do people seriously have that many songs?!!! seriously?!!!

220gb = 50,000 songs?!!!!! That is totally not necessary.

Apple discontinue that dinosaur! It makes you look bad to just have it on your website.
 

Tailpike1153

macrumors 6502a
Aug 31, 2004
655
51
Bellevue, WA
The chance that the iPod Classic is updated to 220GB is zero. Apple has no plans to ever update a hard drive based non-touch portable device (they would not waste their time), and they've shown even less interest in increasing the capacity of any device beyond even 64GB flash.

Tony

Is Apple's 64GB falsh memory ceiling a reflection of the market place or that Apple is now run by profit hungry cheapskates?
 

Macopotamus

macrumors regular
Jun 22, 2010
186
0
an email from SEPTEMBER of last year is relevant now? maybe they didn't have plans then but are killing it now? things change

kind of strange to mention a 9 month old email dont you think?
 

dmcaudio

macrumors newbie
Feb 10, 2010
19
0
Maybe as a media hub?

I wonder if they'd give a revamped Classic Airplay capabilities... in addition to being the pocket media player we all know and love make it an addition to your other devices as a bulk mobile storage capable of pushing audio/video out to Apple TV, iPad, iPhone, etc. I'd buy another one then. I mean, I have a terabyte Toshiba drive that i carry in my laptop case, but that requires the USB cable. Who wants to dongle their drive?
 

Primejimbo

macrumors 68040
Aug 10, 2008
3,295
131
Around
Do people seriously have that many songs?!!! seriously?!!!

220gb = 50,000 songs?!!!!! That is totally not necessary.

Apple discontinue that dinosaur! It makes you look bad to just have it on your website.

just because you don't want it, other people do. I have the 80GB and it's getting close to full. I have less than 10GB left and I know people who have way more.
 

swajames

macrumors regular
Jan 29, 2003
163
257
Do people seriously have that many songs?!!! seriously?!!!

220gb = 50,000 songs?!!!!! That is totally not necessary.

Apple discontinue that dinosaur! It makes you look bad to just have it on your website.

Of course they do - and many people will have even more. Apple offers smaller capacity devices for those with smaller libraries. For those of us with large libraries or store our music in uncompressed or at higher bit rates, the Classic is the only game in town. Why wouldn't you want to be able to take your entire library with you wherever you go? The Classic isn't a dinosaur - it's the best at what it does and it remains the choice of the connoisseur.
 

dustinsc

macrumors regular
Nov 21, 2009
230
52
I wonder if they'd give a revamped Classic Airplay capabilities... in addition to being the pocket media player we all know and love make it an addition to your other devices as a bulk mobile storage capable of pushing audio/video out to Apple TV, iPad, iPhone, etc. I'd buy another one then. I mean, I have a terabyte Toshiba drive that i carry in my laptop case, but that requires the USB cable. Who wants to dongle their drive?

This does make sense. It's also a nice opportunity to add Thunderbolt to a device. Apple would probably make it go through the iPod connector, but I don't really see that as a problem.
 

Rocksaurus

macrumors 6502a
Sep 14, 2003
652
0
California
Either they'll update it so as to keep some distance between it and the inevitable 128GB touch, or they'll discontinue it so that when the touch comes out it won't look too small. ;)
 

hismikeness

macrumors regular
Jun 2, 2009
177
0
Is there an app in which the face of the iPod touch/iPhone has a digital scroll wheel on the bottom half and a screen on the top half to simulate the iPod Classic interface? Maybe that would be enough to satiate the holders on to the classic?
 

Small White Car

macrumors G4
Aug 29, 2006
10,966
1,463
Washington DC
The eMac hung around for a long time.

I'd certainly believe that Apple will keep selling these things online for several years, long after they take them out of the retail stores.

Sales to dance club DJs alone probably makes it worth it to keep making them.

This does make sense. It's also a nice opportunity to add Thunderbolt to a device.

Why?

The big problem with hard drives is that they're slow. How would a faster connection help an iPod Classic in any way?
 

kiljoy616

macrumors 68000
Apr 17, 2008
1,795
0
USA
Rather see an ipad with that size now that be something sweet. :)

Zeppelin Air and ipad 2 will surely rock with that kind of size HD. :D
 

Tears Apart

macrumors 6502a
Jun 10, 2009
564
13
Outside Closer
I used to have a video 30Gb and then a Classic 160Gb and I have to say I love the specificity of this item. It needs a revamp, but I think that storage-wise 160Gb will stay since it's more than enough. My bet is that they'll make it thinner and add some cool feature which I can't guess, although it's easy to argue that the iPhone and the Touch are much more interesting than the Classic right now...
 
Jul 29, 2008
217
0
Do people seriously have that many songs?!!! seriously?!!!

220gb = 50,000 songs?!!!!! That is totally not necessary.

Apple discontinue that dinosaur! It makes you look bad to just have it on your website.

I have way more than 50,000 songs, and even the worst of them is more necessary than your comment.
 

Cougarcat

macrumors 604
Sep 19, 2003
7,766
2,553
The chance that the iPod Classic is updated to 220GB is zero. Apple has no plans to ever update a hard drive based non-touch portable device (they would not waste their time), and they've shown even less interest in increasing the capacity of any device beyond even 64GB flash.

Tony

Flash is still expensive, that's why we haven't seen anything bigger than the 64 GB touch yet.

As for the iPod Classic, the reason it wasn't updated last year was because the 220 GB drive didn't exist. It would require very little effort on their part to swap out the 160 drive with this one, so if they do keep it around I'd be surprised if they didn't upgrade it come september.
 
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