Say goodbye to the iPod: Apple announces discontinuation of the device

Apple iPod Contact, backside, iPod Nano, heart, and iPod Shuffle, high, are displayed throughout an Apple occasion on Wednesday, Sept. 1, 2010, in San Francisco. Apple has introduced that it's discontinuing the iPod contact.

Paul Sakuma, Related Press

Earlier this week, Apple introduced that will probably be discontinuing its iPod contact, the final accessible iPod mannequin. The product will proceed to be accessible via Apple retailers whereas provides final.

A conveyable music pioneer

The iPod has been seen as a pioneer of the modern-day smartphone, paving the way in which for Apple’s present success. “Whereas the iPod lives on no extra, its legacy lives on. You may draw loads of strains from the iPod lineup to what Apple’s doing efficiently in the present day,” reported The Verge.

Historical past of the iPod

Apple launched its first iPod 20 years in the past. The primary mannequin of the system hit the market in 2001, with 5GB of storage — as much as 1,000 songs — for the worth of $399. The iPod modified the world of moveable music, providing a purposeful and trendy different to the MP3 gamers that got here earlier than the system, in accordance with PCMag.

The iPod shuffle was launched in 2005. It was the smallest of Apple’s music gadgets and didn’t include a display. Apple continued to launch totally different variations of the iPod through the years, such because the nano, till it will definitely launched the iPod contact in 2007.

“The iPhone’s launch in 2007 modified all the pieces. It allowed folks to make calls, take heed to music and extra, all from one system,” The Wall Avenue Journal reported.

iPod gross sales peaked at $9.2 billion in 2008, shortly after the discharge of the iPhone. By 2014 Apple had stopped reporting iPod gross sales as its personal class, with gross sales having dropped to $2.3 billion, in accordance with The Wall Avenue Journal.

‘The spirit of the iPod lives on’

Tech analysts say the discontinuation of the iPod was inevitable, in accordance with BBC. However between the iPhone and the entire different Apple merchandise, Greg Joswiak, Apple’s senior vp of worldwide advertising, says, “The spirit of the iPod lives on,” in accordance with CNBC.

“We’ve built-in an unbelievable music expertise throughout all of our merchandise, from the iPhone to the Apple Watch to HomePod mini, and throughout Mac, iPad and Apple TV,” Joswiak mentioned, per Al Jazeera.

The newest model of the iPod was launched in 2019, and has been bought out on the Apple Web site, in accordance with 9to5 Mac. Different variations of the iPod can nonetheless be discovered on Ebay and thru different on-line retailers.