iPod touch iPod Line Dead. What next?

[Jzo]

The iPod Touch as a gateway device may have been true a few years ago, but it has been replaced by older iPhones and the iPad mini as gateway devices. Sales figures don't lie. iPod Touch sales are down, way down.

Contrast this consistent reduction in iPod Touch sales with monstrous growth in iPhone 6 sales, it is painfully obvious that the Touch is dying.

I agree. It kinda comes down to this:

Old iPhones make better (or at least equal to) iPods than iPod Touches.

 

[940272]

The problem is that iPod Touches are still cheaper than old iPhones, and actually run the latest OS. If the iPhone 5C is a replacement for the Touch, that's ridiculous. £319 for an 8GB iPhone 5C, with a iPod Touch 16GB for £159 :/

I can see the iPod line-up looking like this in the future:

• iPod Shuffle - given new colours, with no change from the 2010/2012 model. It's sold as a sport iPod.
• iPod Touch - repurposed as the budget iOS device, with a tiny price.
• Apple TV - it's already part of the iPod line-up on Apple's site, and so it's part of my line-up. It would have a focus on the App Store.

 

[Ray Brady]

It's a difficult question to answer, because I suspect that whatever is going to eventually replace my iPod Touch isn't on the market yet. Given the length of service I've been getting from my Apple devices, my expectation is that my current 5th gen Touch will still be going strong for another three to four years at least. Who knows what the options will look like then?