'iPod Father' Tony Fadell Comments on Discontinuation of iPod Classic

[manu chao]

I should get one for later when the internet and power are all gone

But you know that you cannot crank it by spinning the wheel?

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Maybe iPod sales is a 'declining industry' due to lack of updates and high prices. I'm not saying that the iPod is likely to be a large part of Apple's market, but to expect consumers to pay 2014 prices for 2010 tech and then claim people aren't buying them for another reason is a little insulting.

iPod sales are declining because fewer and fewer people want to spend on and carry a second device for tasks that their iPhone (or iPod touch) fulfils in a good enough manner. And fewer doesn't mean nobody, it means fewer.

And it is not as if the iPod competition has brought out new devices that take much market share away from the iPod. It's declining market and new investment into it would change the numbers much (otherwise third-parties would have invested in it if there really was much money in it).

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The fact they never updated it is what killed it. Everyone who wanted one had one, and had no reason to upgrade. I would love a 250Gb one with wireless syncing, etc. We can only hope the upgrade the iPod touch to a decent size at some point. Either that or someone else fills the gap in the market, Pono?

Mine just sits in a dock all day and plays music, so i don't need apps, etc.

(a) You can probably count the number of people who would get a 250 GB iPod classic with WiFi synching with two hands.
(b) Third parties have not stepped in exactly because the market is too small. Storage size extensions for smartphones have a much, much bigger market (easy with SD cards where possible, via a big case either connecting via WiFi or the Lightning port for other models).
(c) For dock playing tasks, an iOS device either using library sharing or via third-party apps playing of other external storage (be it directly connected or wirelessly to a smallish NAS) can work as well (and old iOS devices aren't very expensive by now).

 

[codewrangler]

It's not streaming that killed the iPod.
Sorry, but when you have a 20GB library like me, stream it over 3G would cost an enormous amount of money.

What killed it, is Apple not renewing them. If Apple didn't stick with a 6+ years old iPod Classic and had added flash memory or bigger storage on the iPod Nano, features like Bluetooth to the iPod Classic, the iPod business wouldn't be declining like it is right now because I can't be the only one with a 20GB+ library that wants a new device with enough flash storage.

I hear people saying "Well buy a 64GB or 128GB iPhone".
Well guess what: there's also people like me who prefer a device dedicated to music.

You can buy an iPod Touch on the AppleStore.com right now, for $249.00 to handle your small 20GB library.

 

[Elbon]

The 128 GB iPhone 6/6 Plus essentially replaces it now.

Not really. The total cost of ownership for an iPhone is WAY higher than that of an iPod. The device itself costs $650 or more, plus (typically) 2 years of monthly carrier charges.

 

[Brenster]

Slowly transitioned from using my 60GB 5th gen iPod over the years as capacities have increased on the phone side. Whoever said the 128GB has essentially killed the iPod line was correct from a functional point of view. Still keeping my product red 8gb 4th gen nano though. Still fill it with music and listen. Click wheel, no notifications. All bliss!

If this is end of the classic iPod than goodbye and thank you. It freed this pre-existing music addict from clanking around the place, pockets filled with minidiscs to the ability to mainline my favourite vice anywhere, anytime.

An awesome product from people you really felt designed it for themselves to facilitate their own love of music. Never got that sense from any other line of players.

 

[b_scott]

Not everybody wants to spend $900 on a device that they'll replace in a couple of years.

I don't understand buying phones outright. Just get a contract like a normal person.

 

[Colpeas]

The 128 GB iPhone 6/6 Plus essentially replaces it now.

With its $800 pricetag and ridiculous battery life? No it doesn't.

I use my 4 y.o. Classic daily and it needs recharging only like once a week or so. Cost of a new one is... well, used to be $250 and you had a device that will never become obsolete for its task and it's got 149GB of space for you music.
Now, you take an iPhone 6 with roughly 110(?) gigs of available memory. You put some apps in it, shoot a couple (hundred) of pics, etc, etc. How much is left for music? 60? 70 gigs? What a joke. If you use it the way I use my iPod, I guarantee you, you'll have to recharge it every day. Plus, 3 years from now, your $800 tech jewel will be performance-wise heavily out of date and probably as valuable as my old Classic.
Luckily, I don't need any computing power for playing music, so the iPod is fine for me for as long as it works, but I could still use a harddrive with more capacity. Adding bluetooth would be a nice touch, too.

 

[scorpio333]

Vinyl killed the iPod.

 

[b_scott]

With its $800 pricetag and ridiculous battery life? No it doesn't.

I use my 4 y.o. Classic daily and it needs recharging only like once a week or so. Cost of a new one is... well, used to be $250 and you had a device that will never become obsolete for its task and it's got 149GB of space for you music.
Now, you take an iPhone 6 with roughly 110(?) gigs of available memory. You put some apps in it, shoot a couple (hundred) of pics, etc, etc. How much is left for music? 60? 70 gigs? What a joke. If you use it the way I use my iPod, I guarantee you, you'll have to recharge it every day. Plus, 3 years from now, your $800 tech jewel will be performance-wise heavily out of date and probably as valuable as my old Classic.
Luckily, I don't need any computing power for playing music, so the iPod is fine for me for as long as it works, but I could still use a harddrive with more capacity. Adding bluetooth would be a nice touch, too.

I have over 300GB of music. So, my 160GB classic never held it all. That makes you whittle down what you actually need to carry with you. Then you realize you can stream all your music through apps anyway. I have a Diskstation server at home and all my music is on it. So, I now carry zero music with me.

If I'm in the car, I plug in my phone. If I'm at work, I plug in my phone. Battery life doesn't matter.

 

[DudeDad]

When it dies you just replace whatever part it needs. The iPod classic has a replaceable battery, screen, click wheel, hard drive etc. My 5th gen has a 128gb compact flash card in it and a new battery. Still going strong for the foreseeable future.

True....I have an 80GB as well, so I could replace the drive with a larger one!

Still, pretty sad....

 

[MiltonThales]

iPod Touch still runs iOS 7

In the Apple Store, the iPod Touch you can buy still advertises iOS 7. That means, IMO, that in October the line will be re-vamped. The Nano's may get a storage bump, but not much else will change. The iPod Touch will move to iOS 8, and may see a few other improvements, probably to iPhone 5S cameras. And a storage bump to 128 GB. The big question is whether it will get a 4.7" screen.

If there is an iPod Touch with a 5.5" inch screen, will they call it an iPod Macro ?

 

[poe diddley]

Sad, but i don't see the rationale about streaming. Not for every situation. Driving on a long trip, for example. Honestly the last thing i want to worry about when listening to music while driving is whether my signal will be strong enough during the entire trip, or how much data im using up. Streaming is not a viable replacement for an iPod in all scenarios.

 

[G4DP]

Music in the cloud killed the need for massive amounts of local device storage for music. The iPod classic provided that massive local storage at a reasonable cost in terms of price and portability. With cloud services, it's easier to have a smaller, cheaper device with less storage, knowing that you can browse, stream, and selectively download virtually any song you want while on the go.

Apple seem to think everyone lives in the of a major city, with unlimited data plans.

None of the devices are cheaper.

 

[baryon]

No the iPod was not "killed" by anything. The iPod merged with the iPhone. The iPhone does everything the iPod did and much more, people will not carry a phone AND an iPod around anymore simply because all phones are now music players, and for Apple people like us, all iPhone are iPods.

Just like point and shoot cameras are being replaced by smartphones. It doesn't mean we no longer use point and shoot cameras, it means that they are now part of a device that does more.

 

[b_scott]

Apple seem to think everyone lives in the of a major city, with unlimited data plans.

None of the devices are cheaper.

I didn't realize only large cities had wifi.

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Sad, but i don't see the rationale about streaming. Not for every situation. Driving on a long trip, for example. Honestly the last thing i want to worry about when listening to music while driving is whether my signal will be strong enough during the entire trip, or how much data im using up. Streaming is not a viable replacement for an iPod in all scenarios.

true, but if you're on a long trip that's what..... 8-12 hours? Which is maybe 15 albums if you're on the long end. Anyone can sync some faves and go, you don't need every single album you ever owned in a situation where you wouldn't want to stream data over cell.

 

[belbri]

I am one who likes a dedicated music player to hook up to the usb in my car. That said, the last 2 cars I have purchased support playing music from either a usb memory device/stick or SD Card. I purchased a 64G SD card for $49 and it works perfectly and is replacing my iPod Classic. Like people are saying, too expensive for outdated tech and memory. IMHO.

 

[FaustsHausUK]

The 128 GB iPhone 6/6 Plus essentially replaces it now.

I wish I could fit all my music into 128GB.

 

[Pakaku]

This is what a progress bar is supposed to look like...

I always did have a feeling iOS 7 was supposed to look nostalgic...

 

[ajahn5]

The 128 GB iPhone 6/6 Plus essentially replaces it now.

That might be true, but lots of kids don't need an iPhone and want to listen to music. But alas, can't keep them around if it is only 1% of their sales. And come to think of it, most tweens already have phones... I still have my 2nd gen iPod. Still works.

 

[pubwvj]

"music in the cloud"

The cloud is pretty useless. Much of the world has no connection. Connections cost money and have data caps. The cloud is inherently insecure and a waste of resources. Far wiser to store resources locally.

 

[katewes]

As others have said, Apple has a blind spot.

Now, there are 500GB SSDs selling for around $260. Build an iPod around an SSD that has that capacity, or even 250GB.

I've seen Apple's same blind spot elsewhere. First they remove matte screens, and then hide it away as an build option, they don't advertise it on their main web pages. Then Apple has the temerity to say no one wants matte screens.

 

[rGiskard]

The iPod will be discontinued. Apple thinks if we're not moving, we should stream from phone. If jogging, etc, we should stream from watch. That's their vision, I think. It's not mine. I now have moved to a Fiio X5 and will also be checking out the pono player. The iPod classic had pretty good sound for the price and storage. And ease of use was the best. If they want to discontinue in, a lot of musicians ( moi ) and audiophiles are going to move to non apple music. I've already begun. to Apple

Just curious, why is the iPod touch not a good replacement? Does it have inferior audio quality?

 

[mrgraff]

I had an Archos Jukebox back in 2001 or so. I thought 5GB of music in my pocket was incredible back then.

I had an Iomega HipZip back in 2000. I thought the 40MB swappable mini-discs were incredible.

 

[kaellar]

keeping in mind that some audiophile-quality portable players are quite popular these days, I'm not sure why Apple couldn't do this. iPod Classic with 128GB flash, nice battery and serious audio stuff inside would be the win, if you ask me.

 

[Svirchev]

ipod classic

There are several issues:
-ipod classic is old design.
-loss of business to streaming.
-targeting kiddy-pop, not jazz, classical, world and other forms of "serious music."
-ipod is a disc drive not a flash drive.
-many people want a dedicated music player in the same way that many people want a dedicated camera: not a cell phone.
-but many more seem to want everything in a phone or an ipad.
-apple didn't buy Beats for no reason other than a business investment

So, lots of negatives and unknowns in the ipod in relation to the market.

But mass economy dictates. Apple is sure to find a new option. they always do to stay ahead of the opposition.

In the mean time, there are lots of options in portable players for those who want to store their entire collection and in HIGH DEFINITION.

 

[exodiusprime]

I had an Iomega HipZip back in 2000. I thought the 40MB swappable mini-discs were incredible.

When I FIRST got into using MP3 players, I bought this 16MB player from Walmart that said I could store a ton of WMA-quality songs on it. That's like one 320Kbps MP3 these days. Even back then, I used it for a few days before returning it for an MP3 CD player till eventually getting the Archos.

Those were the days