iPod iPods Future

[bkar89]

Apple axing the whole line seems imminent... Would be quite sad indeed. I understand that the current line have little to no future, and i don't see apple like company that holds onto something out of sentimentality.

However... with iPhones and phones in general growing larger. I see a comeback of kinds.

I'd like to see a high quality, no compromise music player from Apple. Something that focus in on music and solely music. Forget Video playback, timers, photos... a god damn videocamera (previous iPod nano)

A thin iPod Classic like item, in a useable formfactor. I'd like to see a click wheel, but i think we've seen the last of the click wheels Altough, i don't know how much use a touchscreen would be needed in a one feature item.

Streaming is however a show stopper, unless Apple finds a way to balance offline songs and streaming in some future version of Beats Music or iTMS. The iPod or any music player will only live on as a dark, sad, niche market (compared to what it used to be)

There is certainly room. I don't see my self jogging with the Watch + iPhone 6 Plus combo... Could be a nice GPS equipped companion to an Apple watch too i guess. I'd rather have an invisible GPS feature to a videocamera

 

[Rawkfist]

I believe what you have in mind is a 5.5 generation iPod video with a large SSD. The ideal of many that frequent this forum.

 

[Jessica Lares]

The problem is that it will cost more to prototype, produce, and market such a device than what the resulting profit from it would be.

 

[Rawkfist]

The problem is that it will cost more to prototype, produce, and market such a device than what the resulting profit from it would be.

Yes, but can't a boy dream?

 

[Jessica Lares]

Yes, but can't a boy dream?

Of course. Nothing wrong with dreaming big.

I will say that a lot of people have too much ambition focused on improving existing products though.

 

[lydsie]

Apple Q4 Earnings and iPod future

from an article on the Verge:

"Still in freefall were iPods. Apple sold 2.6 million iPods, down 24 percent from the 3.5 million the company sold during the same time last year. That shouldn't be too much of a surprise though, given that Apple hasn't really updated its iPods since the end of 2012. Speaking to analysts today, Apple noted that the iPod was no longer its own product category. Instead, it will be lumped in with sales of the Apple Watch when it goes on sale, along with the Apple TV and Beats accessories.

"We looked at current revenue and decided that we would lump everything that wasn't a Mac, or an iPad, or an iPhone, or a service in one kind of category," Cook told analysts. "In the future, we might decide something different.""

 

[Scepticalscribe]

I believe what you have in mind is a 5.5 generation iPod video with a large SSD. The ideal of many that frequent this forum.

Exactly. This is indeed the stated and longed for ideal not only "of many who frequent this forum" but of your humble scribe, too.

Yes, but can't a boy dream?

And may I tell you that it is a worthy dream, one which is shared by others (such as myself) who dwell here…..

from an article on the Verge:

"Still in freefall were iPods. Apple sold 2.6 million iPods, down 24 percent from the 3.5 million the company sold during the same time last year. That shouldn't be too much of a surprise though, given that Apple hasn't really updated its iPods since the end of 2012. Speaking to analysts today, Apple noted that the iPod was no longer its own product category. Instead, it will be lumped in with sales of the Apple Watch when it goes on sale, along with the Apple TV and Beats accessories.

"We looked at current revenue and decided that we would lump everything that wasn't a Mac, or an iPad, or an iPhone, or a service in one kind of category," Cook told analysts. "In the future, we might decide something different.""

Sigh. I know. I know. I read this piece, too……..Sign of the times, straw in the wind, imperative of market forces, percentage of sales and so on…….

Nonetheless, one can still regret this turn of events, indicating a further demotion of the entire iPod line…..

----------

Of course. Nothing wrong with dreaming big.

I will say that a lot of people have too much ambition focused on improving existing products though.

Yes. I see your point.

However, if improving an existing product that fulfils our (musical) needs perfectly adequately - which the current iPod does, given that it was designed to serve as an excellent and ultra-portable device with a large memory capacity - already exists, and does what it is supposed to do, why not continue to produce (and - heaven forbid - actually improve it?)

Some of us don't want bells and whistles, The Cloud, phones, cameras and so on as a part of a portable music playing device; we simply want something that can transport and play our (entire) music collection in one elegant, portable device.

 

[12vElectronics]

Just like a few others here, I'm very sad at the demise of the iPod. Those were exciting times. But Apple is a for profit company and they see profits elsewhere.

 

[vinny3101]

What I want is a thin iPod Classic with an iOS 7 look, wifi connection, and an App Store for it on iTunes and colors for it lik the iPod Nano 5th generation.

 

[gooser]

just look to the past. choose a model from a few years ago that does what you want and buy a couple of them off e-bay. (keep a spare) they're repairable, we don't really need to buy new. personally, my current ipod is a 60gb ipod photo. got to keep firewire. and yes, i will buy another one.

 

[questioner76]

Exactly. I just posted this in another thread, but there's room for innovation with iPods too if Apple would invest something into them (maybe they are and it's not ready yet).

One idea that I thought was cool would be to include data in a new iPod but only for music streaming. The iPod would come with Beats preloaded and either a lifetime subscription or 100 mb a month free or something like that.

That way, you'd have the new and the old music business model in a small neat device and the radio/wifi would turn off whenever you were listening to a stored song to save power power. I would totally buy one of these for working out etc.

What I want is a thin iPod Classic with an iOS 7 look, wifi connection, and an App Store for it on iTunes and colors for it lik the iPod Nano 5th generation.

 

[rmsanger]

What they need is an ipod with a redesigned UI, something that accepts FLAC/WAV format, has a better DAC, onboard equilization tools/controls, and large storage SSD drive.

People especially hifiers are willing to pay a premium for a high-end product that interfaces with their existing apple environment hardware. Many people value having high quality on demand storage for their media with the output hardware to reproduce it.

 

[Scepticalscribe]

What they need is an ipod with a redesigned UI, something that accepts FLAC/WAV format, has a better DAC, onboard equilization tools/controls, and large storage SSD drive.

People especially hifiers are willing to pay a premium for a high-end product that interfaces with their existing apple environment hardware. Many people value having high quality on demand storage for their media with the output hardware to reproduce it.

Very well expressed; indeed, as one of the very 'hifiers' of whom you write, I couldn't agree more with you.