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vinny3101

macrumors member
Original poster
Jul 19, 2014
94
10
Honestly it's been a while since we saw an iPod Touch update. So maybe at the October event we will see an iTouch 6. Any comments? Questions?
 

SlCKB0Y

macrumors 68040
Feb 25, 2012
3,426
555
Sydney, Australia
Honestly it's been a while since we saw an iPod Touch update. So maybe at the October event we will see an iTouch 6. Any comments? Questions?

iPod is a dead product

Apple-earnings-chart-Q2-2014.0011.png
 

Hrududu

macrumors 68020
Jul 25, 2008
2,299
627
Central US
I think the graphs showing iPod revenue in 2014 are a little hard to trust entirely. It has been so long since anything in the iPod lineup as been updated that sales are adversely effected. Even people who might be interested in a new iPod don't like the idea of paying full price for severely outdated tech. Even I would love a new iPod touch, but even a year ago I was hesitant to buy just because it was already really old. If new iPods come out this month, the Q4 chart will look a lot different.
 

Breaking Good

macrumors 65816
Sep 28, 2012
1,449
1,225
Just my $0.02 on the issue, dropping the iPod line would be foolish for Apple because it would open the space for potential competitor to enter.
 

Cojm

macrumors member
Sep 19, 2014
80
1
I had this exact "iPod" thought, it has been way too long since they changed the iPod line, it needs to be revolutionized... again.
 

Rawkfist

macrumors regular
Jul 4, 2010
112
0
Texas
The ONLY thing in Apple's product that has been way too long since an update is the iPod line. With the disappearance of the Classic and the upgrade to 128gb iPhones I think something has got to be up. But I honestly don't know if a 128gb or larger Touch would sell because of the probable high price point.
 

12vElectronics

macrumors 68040
Jul 19, 2013
3,947
1,246
California
Hmm. I have a couple of things to say.

  1. It's crazy that Accessories make more of Apples revenue than the iPod.
  2. Percentages don't paint the entire picture. Last I heard, the iPod is a $77 million dollar a year business for Apple. Even at only 1% share, 77 million dollars is nothing to scoff at. Why discontinue it? Why not keep selling it and make minor upgrades which make customers happy?!
 

mgipe

macrumors demi-god
Oct 6, 2009
675
145
CA
Take a look at the iTunes 10% contribution. How much of that would disappear if the iPod disappeared?
 

na1577

macrumors 6502a
Jan 20, 2008
899
88
Percentages don't paint the entire picture. Last I heard, the iPod is a $77 million dollar a year business for Apple. Even at only 1% share, 77 million dollars is nothing to scoff at. Why discontinue it? Why not keep selling it and make minor upgrades which make customers happy?!
Exactly. I highly doubt it costs more than $77 million to design and market the iPod. Discontinuing it is just throwing revenue away.
 

sracer

macrumors G4
Apr 9, 2010
10,287
13,021
where hip is spoken
Take a look at the iTunes 10% contribution. How much of that would disappear if the iPod disappeared?

That's a good point. In alot of wayts, iTunes and iPod are intertwined. Taking away one would surely affect the other.

I think that a negligible amount would disappear... unless iPod Touch owners disproportionately purchase iTunes music.



Exactly. I highly doubt it costs more than $77 million to design and market the iPod. Discontinuing it is just throwing revenue away.
$0 went into the design and marketing for the iPod Classic and yet Apple saw fit to kill it.

There are reasons for Apple to kill the iPod... especially since Apple makes a greater profit on iPhones vs. iPods. If they believe that they can get people to switch to iPhones instead, then they'll do it. Because after all, where are iPod owners going to go if Apple kills the iPod?

It is not a small matter that Apple produced a 128GB iPhone. For years Apple defenders claimed that the reason for the lack of a 128GB option was because of Apple's push for iCloud. Well, here we are with a 128GB option. Now what? I think killing the Classic was the first shoe to drop.

Personally, I would've loved to see Apple keep the iPod line (including the Classic) but I think that they may kill it entirely to push people to the iPhone (and to a lesser extent, the aWatch).
 

12vElectronics

macrumors 68040
Jul 19, 2013
3,947
1,246
California
^ I don't think that logic will translate into the real world. There are alot of teenagers (13-17) that are unemployed and are students. This segment wants Apple products. Either iPhone/iPod/iPad etc, they want it just like us adults do. The problem is their parents are much more likely to make a one time purchase of $149-$199 on an iPod over buying them an iPhone with a monthly contract and cost as well as deal with overages.

That being said, I understand family plans have gotten cheaper and are being pushed by the carriers.

Ultimately, the iPod being a $77 million dollar a year business is still a very healthy profit for Apple. Why kill it?
 

sracer

macrumors G4
Apr 9, 2010
10,287
13,021
where hip is spoken
^ I don't think that logic will translate into the real world. There are alot of teenagers (13-17) that are unemployed and are students. This segment wants Apple products. Either iPhone/iPod/iPad etc, they want it just like us adults do. The problem is their parents are much more likely to make a one time purchase of $149-$199 on an iPod over buying them an iPhone with a monthly contract and cost as well as deal with overages.

That being said, I understand family plans have gotten cheaper and are being pushed by the carriers.

Ultimately, the iPod being a $77 million dollar a year busine
ill a very healthy profit for Apple. Why kill it?

All that I've been hearing is that it is not only teenagers who buy ipods but you're saying that there is a significant percentage of ipods being sold to teens. My personal experience is that every teen and I do mean every teen owns an iPhone and none own ipods. That's not hyperbole. So I guess it remains a mystery. :D
 

12vElectronics

macrumors 68040
Jul 19, 2013
3,947
1,246
California
All that I've been hearing is that it is not only teenagers who buy ipods but you're saying that there is a significant percentage of ipods being sold to teens. My personal experience is that every teen and I do mean every teen owns an iPhone and none own ipods. That's not hyperbole. So I guess it remains a mystery. :D

I guess times have changed. Free iPhones (with contract) haven't been around forever and are sort of a new thing.
 

vinny3101

macrumors member
Original poster
Jul 19, 2014
94
10
I guess times have changed. Free iPhones (with contract) haven't been around forever and are sort of a new thing.

Not really. The only free iPhone with a contract I've seen is an 8 gig 5C. That's like crap. Plus people like me CANT afford a monthly contract.
 

12vElectronics

macrumors 68040
Jul 19, 2013
3,947
1,246
California
Not really. The only free iPhone with a contract I've seen is an 8 gig 5C. That's like crap. Plus people like me CANT afford a monthly contract.

I understand the 5C is very small on storage. I also understand there are many who cannot afford the monthly fee. That's why I still believe there's a market for the iPod..
 

MacDarcy

macrumors 65816
Jul 21, 2011
1,011
819
I think it will be the iPod touch as well. I believe Apple will announce a 4.7" & 5.5" iPod touch, and re-market it as an ipad nano...cause that's what it really is.
Its so much more than a music player. Its for gaming, web surfing, emailing, texting, etc etc....sounds more like an ipad to me.

Anyway. This is my theory. Makes sense that Apple didn't update the iPod touch along with the iPhones as they usually do.

So on the 16th I expect ipad updates along with iPod touch update/rebranding and new retina iMacs. :)
 

sracer

macrumors G4
Apr 9, 2010
10,287
13,021
where hip is spoken
I guess times have changed. Free iPhones (with contract) haven't been around forever and are sort of a new thing.

Not really. The only free iPhone with a contract I've seen is an 8 gig 5C. That's like crap. Plus people like me CANT afford a monthly contract.
I didn't say that these iPhones need to be "free". I simply said that every, not virtually every, but actually every teenager I know owns an iPhone instead of an iPod. Most are on their family's plan, the rest are on prepaid... $35-45 a month.

I understand that my corner of the country may not be representative of everywhere else, but it is not an affluent area.

I don't see teens flocking to iPods. Neither are the adults, they use Spotify on their phones.

But we'll see soon enough. :)
 

12vElectronics

macrumors 68040
Jul 19, 2013
3,947
1,246
California
I didn't say that these iPhones need to be "free". I simply said that every, not virtually every, but actually every teenager I know owns an iPhone instead of an iPod. Most are on their family's plan, the rest are on prepaid... $35-45 a month.

I understand that my corner of the country may not be representative of everywhere else, but it is not an affluent area.

I don't see teens flocking to iPods. Neither are the adults, they use Spotify on their phones.

But we'll see soon enough. :)

No I mean you're right. The numbers don't lie.

I guess some of us still remember how great the iPod is and don't want to lose it.:eek:
 

sracer

macrumors G4
Apr 9, 2010
10,287
13,021
where hip is spoken
No I mean you're right. The numbers don't lie.

I guess some of us still remember how great the iPod is and don't want to lose it.:eek:
I'm with you on that!!!

I've been using a 6G iPod Nano as a watch (with a very nice Lunatik band)... very handy for listening to podcasts and music. I had completely forgotten that at one time iPods had built-in support for crossfading. That was a nice surprise.

The other thing that I've noticed is how the nano sounds better compared to my iPod Touch and iPhone 4.... playing the same files. But maybe it's nothing more than psychological.
 

12vElectronics

macrumors 68040
Jul 19, 2013
3,947
1,246
California
I'm with you on that!!!

I've been using a 6G iPod Nano as a watch (with a very nice Lunatik band)... very handy for listening to podcasts and music. I had completely forgotten that at one time iPods had built-in support for crossfading. That was a nice surprise.

The other thing that I've noticed is how the nano sounds better compared to my iPod Touch and iPhone 4.... playing the same files. But maybe it's nothing more than psychological.

ALOT of people report the Nano sounding better than any other iPod or iPhone.

As someone who really cares about how music sounds, this is the one department I'm disappointed in Apple with.. they just don't give us great hardware to make our music listening experience better..
 

iHenry

macrumors member
Feb 27, 2012
50
1
As someone who really cares about how music sounds, this is the one department I'm disappointed in Apple with.. they just don't give us great hardware to make our music listening experience better..

I absolutely agree.
With the change from the Wolfson (warm sounding) chip to the Cirrus-Logic (more analytical, cold and flat), the quality and fun-factor of the music listening experienced has decreased.

I truly didn't, and still don't understand that change, except for maybe business related reasons. People still claim the 5.5G iPod as the best sounding of them all.

I love my iPod Classics, but it's more for having the possibility of carrying my music Library around with me in such a small size, than for the quality of the sound.

After a number of years, I am still trying to figure out, which EQ setting works fine with most types of music.

I believe Apple today is more business-centered than anything else, they have great competitors out there launching audiophile-level products, and they don't seem to react to that line of business or public, not anymore.
 

12vElectronics

macrumors 68040
Jul 19, 2013
3,947
1,246
California
I absolutely agree.
With the change from the Wolfson (warm sounding) chip to the Cirrus-Logic (more analytical, cold and flat), the quality and fun-factor of the music listening experienced has decreased.

I truly didn't, and still don't understand that change, except for maybe business related reasons. People still claim the 5.5G iPod as the best sounding of them all.

I love my iPod Classics, but it's more for having the possibility of carrying my music Library around with me in such a small size, than for the quality of the sound.

After a number of years, I am still trying to figure out, which EQ setting works fine with most types of music.

I believe Apple today is more business-centered than anything else, they have great competitors out there launching audiophile-level products, and they don't seem to react to that line of business or public, not anymore.

I agree with everything you said.
 

Rawkfist

macrumors regular
Jul 4, 2010
112
0
Texas
I absolutely agree.
With the change from the Wolfson (warm sounding) chip to the Cirrus-Logic (more analytical, cold and flat), the quality and fun-factor of the music listening experienced has decreased.

I truly didn't, and still don't understand that change, except for maybe business related reasons. People still claim the 5.5G iPod as the best sounding of them all.

I love my iPod Classics, but it's more for having the possibility of carrying my music Library around with me in such a small size, than for the quality of the sound.

After a number of years, I am still trying to figure out, which EQ setting works fine with most types of music.

I believe Apple today is more business-centered than anything else, they have great competitors out there launching audiophile-level products, and they don't seem to react to that line of business or public, not anymore.

I'm gonna jump on the Wolfson bandwagon. My first iPod was a 5.5 Video. It still sounds great. I thought all iPods sounded that good until I bought a 6th generation. The change had to be because of money because it sure wasn't sound quality.
 

iHenry

macrumors member
Feb 27, 2012
50
1
The change had to be because of money because it sure wasn't sound quality.

What I don't get is that every single portable Apple product carries that Cirrus Logic chipset now.

I wish they introduced a line of the actual (or future) products carrying the Wolfson chip. I think there is market for that.
 
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