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iPod Shuffle Shipping Times Worsen as Retail Stores Run Out of Stock

Revamp!

Apple should do something crazy and revamp the whole iPod line.

Cancel the shuffle, nano and touch and come out with something new and fresh.

Even just one kind of new iPod will do, then all the interests in the iPod will come back.
 
Arcady said:
If your washing machine takes two hours to wash your clothes, perhaps you should replace it instead.
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The sanitize & steam cycles on mine take at least two hours. I use those cycles on bedding, towels & workout clothes to make sure all allergens/bacteria are done away with.
 
Piggie said:
They expect anyone to buy [parts shortage] as a reason?
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Yes. Despite demand, parts do have a practical production lifespan. Production lines for supply chains this big & fast require sufficient demand to warrant continued running, lest need for new lines for larger-demand items prompt replacing the old lines with something more profitable. Apple relies on top-tier suppliers, and won't turn to some 2nd/3rd-tier supplier to build a corner-cutting production line to supply aging technology, while the top-tier suppliers tear out iPod Shuffle parts lines to build far more profitable components for the latest in "insanely great". When the money just isn't there anymore for making the old tech, the product is discontinued.

Eventually it becomes too expensive to build old technology, relative to demand and modern competition. The equipment to build Shuffle parts itself requires ongoing maintenance and supply chains, which are in turn losing demand while increasing costs to maintain them. Eventually Apple is faced with the choice to either completely redesign the device (even to just build "exactly the same thing" from the user's perspective), replace it with something worthy of the nexus of Apple's reputation and what $40 can buy in the general category (why get a Shuffle when you can get a whole tablet shrunk that size?), or just deem the category of one-inch music players infeasible for a company specializing in leading-edge high-dollar technology.
 
Hmm, maybe I should get myself a nice blue or green one before they go extinct.
 
Shadow Runner said:
They need to come out with only one iPod. Storage that ranges from 16GB to 128 or 256, has a small touch screen like 2" or so, and built in clip. This would satisfy the people that get it for exercise and the people that want a simple iPod that holds all their music.
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Only if it's controllable via headphone cable controls, otherwise I can't change songs while running and I sure don't want to have to look at a screen to do so.
 
sshambles said:
Shuffles are great for running, especially given the latest iPhones are too big to run with.

We all know what's happening next here though - extinction.
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Not for nothing but Sony's built in walkman line of headphones are amazing for the gym. I picked up the Sony NWZWS613BLK over Xmas and it's been the most amazing work out headphones and music player I've ever owned. Since it stores 4gb of music and also doubles as a BT headphone/headset... all for $10 less than the retail cost of the Blue Bud X.
 
I can understand there might be a market for nano or shuffle, but I don't see a market for both together (too niche for each of them). lets not forget, ipod nano/shuffle users probably got an iphone with them.

Also, ipod touch costs half of what an iphone new costs? Those LTE/3G antennas must be really expensive
 
Piggie said:
The thing is.

I do not for one millisecond believe this:

"Apple discontinued the iPod Classic due to the difficulty in purchasing parts to manufacture it "

Really? REALLY?

They expect anyone to buy that as a reason?
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I know. Crazy huh. They must take us for being imbeciles.

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Chupa Chupa said:
Sorry, but it's 100% true. You'll have to believe it, like it or not. Toshiba shut down it's Microdrive line and no other manufacture produces them either.

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I'm guessing the Shuffle availability is due to actual parts availability and nothing else. If Apple was going to discontinue it they'd just discontinue it. Unlikely they'd use resources to redesign a low volume, low revenue product.
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I thought it was just a standard 2.5" drive?
 
Keane16 said:
Like so much regarding the watch all up in the air at the moment. I can't imagine much storage though? 8GB, maybe 16GB at a push? And good question about battery life when playing music - looking forward to the next keynote when we find out more.

Without GPS it's really not for me though. I still carry my iPhone 6 (via a holder/strap) when running - not ideal - but at least I get both music and run tracking.
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For me a Garmin 310XT plus shuffle is a more convenient and robust alternative to carrying a phone. Pay the extra for the waterproofed shuffle and that combination will work for swimming as well, which appears to trump the so called 'sports' iWatch.
 
rdlink said:
OMG yes. I can't even make it a block from my house with that humungous iPhone 6 strapped to my arm before my shoulder is throbbing. By the second mile I'm running in right handed circles. Oh the humanity! :roll eyes: Ridiculous statement.
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You're a ridiculous statement.
Run with an iPhone 6+ then get back to me.
 
Pakaku said:
The iWatch can't play music; it's strictly a second screen for iPhones with a bit of extra functionality, but no music. I don't think it even has a headphone jack. How is it going to be an iPod replacement?
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How do you know? It doesn't say that on the website. You might be able to download tracks from your iTunes library onto the Apple Watch. Just because it's a companion device doesn't make it little more than a second screen for the iPhone. It will have it's own apps.

Headphone Jack? Are you serious? Who the hell wants a set of headphones sticking out of their Apple Watch. You would use wireless headphones.
 
JackANSI said:
I think you got that backwards... You're thinking like an engineer (logically). Apple thinks like an "artist" and a "marketeer"
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If Apple was an artist...

eL2Xinf.jpg
 
sshambles said:
You're a ridiculous statement.
Run with an iPhone 6+ then get back to me.
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First of all, way to turn it personal. I hope the moderators see your personal attack and gig you for it.

Second, I wouldn't own an 6+.

Third, it weighs an ounce and a half more than the 6, so I think I'd be able to run with it just fine...
 
rdlink said:
First of all, way to turn it personal. I hope the moderators see your personal attack and gig you for it.

Second, I wouldn't own an 6+.

Third, it weighs an ounce and a half more than the 6, so I think I'd be able to run with it just fine...
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It's the size, not the weight, get the hint from the original post.

Post #4 from https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/1836526/ 10 others agree with me.
Not so ridiculous it seems.
 
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I had one then overror time noticed I really did not need it as I do not listen to music outside of the house or safe zones. I like to hear the world around me in public. It can be good for some things and people have good uses for it so it should stay.
 
JackANSI said:
I think you got that backwards... You're thinking like an engineer (logically). Apple thinks like an "artist" and a "marketeer".
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My degree in illustration would suggest that I'm quite capable of thinking like artist, so I'm afraid not. (That, and the fact that you obviously misunderstood completely what I was saying.)
I fully expect Apple to think their watch will replace a $50 music player, if it can actually play music over BT. Yes, people will go out and get a different mp3 player, then find they can't get songs onto it nearly as easy. They will come back... and buy the watch (and get a HR monitor too!)
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Now you're not thinking like an engineer or an artist, and definitely not like a marketeer, but like a crazy person. And the fact that it turns out Apple is not discontinuing the Shuffle demonstrates that you clearly aren't thinking like anyone in charge there.
 
MacRumors said:



Supplies of Apple's lowest priced iPod, the $49 iPod shuffle, are temporarily dwindling as shipping times on Apple's website drop to 7 - 10 days and Apple Retail Stores run out of stock around the country, reports 9to5Mac.

ipodshuffle.png
The other two iPod lines, the nano and touch, aren't seeing the same dwindling of supplies as they both display 24 hour shipping times and are available now in most of Apple's retail stores. It's unclear why the shuffle is seeing supply problems, but one possibility is that Apple is seeing a temporary shortage of iPod shuffle components, impacting the company's ability to make new iPod shuffles.

New York City appears to be the city mostly suffering from the iPod shuffle shortage, while the San Francisco Bay Area, Los Angeles and Chicago seem to have a sporadic number of stores without any stock.

Apple hasn't updated the iPod shuffle since September 2013. In early 2014, CEO Tim Cook said that the iPod was a "declining business". In September 2014, Apple discontinued the iPod Classic due to the difficulty in purchasing parts to manufacture it and a shrinking audience for the device.

Article Link: iPod Shuffle Shipping Times Worsen as Retail Stores Run Out of Stock
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