Ask HN: What Happened to the iPod Lineup?

3 points by tronium 11 years ago | 3 comments

For the past many years, Apple has released new iPods every other year... But this was the year for that to happen again, and for anyone who watched their Special Event, you know that didn't happen. Now, their iPod Shuffle and Classic haven't received upgrades for 4 years or over each, which I can understand (who wants to pay 50 bucks for 2 gigs of storage and no screen?), and I can understand if they discontinue both. However, I was honestly expecting an iPod Touch 6th gen this year, and am VERY surprised that Apple hasn't released one. I can see if perhaps the Apple Watch replaces the iPod Nano to some extent, but I know the both the iPod Touch and iPod Nano are huge sellers for Apple, and I really don't understand why they haven't received upgrades. Does anyone have an answer to this question that's bothering me? I would hate for the legacy of the iPods to die.

shogun21 11 years ago |

As more people are getting smart phones, the need for a dedicated music playing device is dying off.

I loved my iPod and for a long time used that in lieu of a smart phone (and monthly data plan). I'm sad to see the line go, but from a business point of view, I'm not surprised they're phasing them out.

xkcd-sucks 11 years ago | |

I agree, but smartphones' battery life is crappy and one relies on a smartphone for more important stuff like its phone functions.

An old-style hdd mp3 player would play loud music for ~12 hours, and I'd still be able to receive texts if I ignored battery life.

With a smartphone I can only listen to music for 2-4 hours tops, and usually miss important communications when I stop paying attention and allow the battery to run out (yes, Tasker etc would prevent this but why add additional complexity?). Also, inside any heavy building/underground my signal is spotty at best.

I reverted to using a Sansa Clip + Rockbox + 64gb SD card which is suboptimal but at least better than a phone.

skorecky 11 years ago |

iPhone is taking over the roll of the iPod. People don't want to carry around two devices, especially when it has redundant functionality. I bet the iPod line will probably die in the next few years.