I still think Apple should have better repurposed the iPod touch as a gaming device to take on Nintendo and others.
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Apple Discontinues iPod Touch
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I found my non-working gen 1 iPod touch in a box yesterday. Played quite a few games on it at the time, which is really all I used it for. IIRC Apple did market it towards game play given that it had no phone function. But I feel the lack of dedicated gameplay buttons held it back from that purpose. Ultimately the touch was that forgotten entry in the Apple product line. I wonder how many folks reading this article was amazed the touch was still being sold!
Gads.... the iPod shuffle.... forgot all about that thing. I always thought it was a pointless device, but I loved my first gen nano that exploded and caught on fire. Apple sent me the square version with the clip and $100 from the recall on those, but it was the perfect sized and my favorite iPod model.
I thought it would affect me somehow, but truth be told the iPod has been irrelevant for quite some time now and I just forgot it was still around. I still have a working 30GB iPod with video from 2005, I just need a new cable with that old connector before they completely vanish into darkness.
One day many of us will sit down with our children's children and explain to them what an iPod Touch was.
"There grandpa goes again talking about the good ole days!"
"There grandpa goes again talking about the good ole days!"
Even that specific use-case is a dying one. Almost all cars made in the last 5 or so years support CarPlay and tons of aftermarket head units as well for older cars. You can control the music right from the dash, rather than mess with a separate device.
Yeah but the iPod touch specialized in being an iPhone without the phone, and even sucked at that near the end of its life.
As a strictly media focused device, the battery was so poor that it wasn’t very good at its job.
They estimate eight hours of video playback, and 40 hours of music playback. Those are very, very generous estimations.
Sure, if you’re not using Wi-Fi, not using Bluetooth, have all the music downloaded onto the iPod, have the brightness all the way down at 10%, all the apps closed in the background, have all the music/videos downloaded and for Music have the screen locked the entire time, you might get close to that eight hours of video or 40 hours of music playback.
In reality, you usually got somewhere around three or four hours when the iPod was brand-new before you had to plug it in.
In contrast you can find the iPhone XR for around the same price, and you get double the video playback time and 65 hours of audio.
These were awesome iPods. Plus look at all the colours it offered. I had the green one and it lasted me from 2008 to about 2016. The screen started to lose pixels but otherwise it worked fine. Also the battery was losing the ability to hold a charge. I still have a final gen iPod nano brand new sealed in the case. I know it will never happen but I wish Apple would re-release the iPod Classic with these colours, no easily scratch-able medal back, SSD storage up to 1TB or more, retina display, USB-C, SE and balance headphone jacks on the bottom (jack on the top was dumb). I'd buy one the first day.
wow, I’m very shocked that it took seven pages for one of these comments.
The iPod is what made Apple what it is today, IMO. It transformed the company from a Mac Computer only niche user group, to anyone in the world that likes music will buy an Apple iPod. It also led to the iPhone. A lot of the miniaturization from the iPod made it to the iPhone. In the early 2000's, I used to discuss stocks with a few coworkers. I would always tell them: "Buy AAPL, there is no stopping the iPod." They never listened, ha ha. I, on the other hand, did put all my money where my mouth was
You are describing an Apple Watch.
Also I don’t think it would’ve been as easy as you’re thinking for Apple to just retool the current iPod touch.
It’s clear some future version of iOS is going to discontinue support for the 4 inch display, so they’d have to give iPod touch a new display.
Because of a new display they’d have to give it a whole new design.
Then obviously they’d have to upgrade the processor, and give it its own new battery because obviously they can’t put the tiny one in something with a bigger screen and expect good results, the iPod battery life was already bad enough.
Then they’d have to put this all together in a package, which most certainly wouldn’t cost the same $200.
So yeah, literally this product basically exists, it’s called the iPhone SE. don’t put a SIM in it, and it’s an iPod touch.
Not true, AFAIK. Apple has no other product of its size and capability that doesn’t require a cellular contract. Or can you buy an iPhone and activate it with no cell carrier?
TheYayAreaLiving 🎗️
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You can use an iPhone without a cellular plan. Of course, you'll need a WiFi connection for internet functionality.
When you consider that the original iPod cost $399 over 20 years ago (around $645 in current dollars), $429 for an iPhone SE isn't a bad alternative.
