Skip to content

Nerd Talk: Goodbye iPod, it was fun

Apple has discontinued two versions of the iPod
7900027_web1_170728-SLN-M-Megan-Roth-2

It is the beginning of the end.

Apple has quietly discontinued the iPod Nano and the Shuffle. And, I mean very quietly.

There was no official announcement ending the lives of once beloved Nano and Shuffle.

Not even an official statement was given by Apple. The only reason the world knows about the end of the single-use device is thanks to some eagle-eyed Apple users.

On July 27, the company removed iPods from the main heading on its website. To even find iPods one has to look under search or music.

When you finally get to the page the only iPod available is the iPod Touch and only 32GB and 128GB storage options available as the smaller 16 GB and 64 GB options have been discontinued.

The last time Apple made any sort of announcement about the iPod was in 2015, and, before that, it was to announce new colour options in 2014.

In fact, there hasn’t been anything new for the Shuffle or Nano since 2012.

Back in 2014 Apple discontinued the iPod Classic, which happened at the same time the iPhone 6 and the Apple Watch came out.

So maybe it isn’t the beginning of the end. Maybe it’s actually the middle.

With the Classic already gone and the Nano and the Shuffle having just left, what does this mean for music systems.

What it means is it won’t be long before music devices that aren’t already multi-purpose, such as any smartphone, will be a thing of the past.

It won’t be long before the iPod Touch is gone.

It starts with the devices that only have one purpose, the iPod Nano, Shuffle and Classic were just music storage and listening devices without capabilities to connect to the internet.

The Touch has apps and an internet connection, but how long will that be enough.

Realistically, iPod sales peaked back in 2008. Since then sales have gone down more and more each year.

With the world’s increasing dependency on smartphones it makes sense. Why carry around two devices when you can carry one?

Not to mention the increase use of streaming services like Spotify. Many artists are even releasing new albums directly onto Spotify now.

Your iPod Touch may be able to connect to Wi-Fi but it doesn’t have a data plan, so no streaming services for you.

Without the apps and the Wi-Fi connection, items like the Nokia cellphone and iPod are obsolete.

It wouldn’t be surprising if in a couple years we see the end to the iPod all together. Not many people are buying the device because it simply isn’t needed.

Just like laptops no longer coming standard with a CD drive, the iPod is a thing of the past.

If you have an iPod, a classic or a Nano, you’ll want to hold on to it and keep it in pristine condition – there will be no replacements. Not unless you want to shell out for a new phone specifically to play music – let’s be real, that sounds just plain dumb.

If you have a iPod keep it safe, you’ll be able to show it to your grandkids one day. You can keep it alongside the Walkman and Discman.

“You see this? This little device was made specifically to hold just digitized music. You weren’t cool unless you had one of these. You kids today wouldn’t understand.”

It isn’t the end of an era, not yet. But it is coming. It is just around the corner.

Megan Roth is a self-proclaimed geek with the Sylvan Lake News.