Unless Apple wants to make a niche product, there is a snowballs chance in hell that they reintroduce a discontinued product.
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iPod chance of a new iPod (ever again)
- Thread starter deaglecat
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Count forward the days in my original post and see where you land.
ok see you later...about 2 week.
of course as Aprile Fools' Day it will be perfect, too bad we won't even see it as an Aprile Fools' joke.
I feel like a lot of people on this forum don't understand that apple isn't in the business of making consumers happy, but are in the business of making their shareholders happy. Niche products don't tend to make shareholders happy.
The iPod has been incorporated into the iPhone. The iPhone does everything an iPod does, and it does it better. The only aspect missing is the management of hi-res files on wireless headphones and earphones, but it doesn't pose a problem and could come with future updates. At most, they might come up with an AirPods case with an integrated display to manage music files.
Only thing it doesn’t do well is allow users to use high impedance headphones to listen to hi res tracks.
If the Nano ever came back I'd be first in line. Small, light, fits in pocket, AAC music, FM radio... everything that I miss. I don't want to carry a bulky iPhone on long walks and hikes nor be connected to and dependent on a cell phone tower. FM radio is a great source of music and information without using up cell phone data. Apple probably wanted to steer iPod users to their iPhones for the profit margin.
I'm not quite so cynical. Certainly they'd rather people buy an iPhone than an iPod, but I'm also pretty sure people were already choosing to do that on their own or they wouldn't have discontinued it. Honestly, if someone really wanted "just an iPod" they could find a cheap older model iPhone somewhere and just not activate it on cellular and not put any apps on it other than Music.
I don't think I'm being cynical, only factual. I think there's still a segment that doesn't want or need an iPhone simply to play music from the device (or listen to FM Radio which none ever had), and doesn't want the extra bulk and weight. But as mentioned, that segment has likely gotten smaller over the years to the point Apple pulled the plug and couldn't make enough profit.
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That segment got smaller because that is what Apple wanted. For example: the 3.5mm headphone jack is gone, not because customers demanded it be removed, but because Apple wanted it gone.
In a nutshell, the iPod had to die because there was no reasonable way to get it to be a standalone device that directly connects to Apple Music (without the need for a computer).
I repurpose older iPhones to use as media players (or dedicated cameras), but they are far from ideal. The thing they are missing are physical buttons for controlling playback. Thankfully, I still have my iPod Nano, iPod Classic, Creative Zen Vision:M and Zune 30 with physical controls.
Excellent points which I hadn't considered. Business strategy rules the day. It is a shame, though. I treasure my 4 Nano's more than ever, and fortunately their batteries are still in good health.
👍 That is the golden rule of tech... NEVER part with older tech. I've never said, "why am I still holding on to 'x'?". I've lost count of the times that I've said, "why did I ever get rid of 'x'?" 😂