Reprinted from TidBITS by permission; reuse governed by Creative Commons
license BY-NC-ND 3.0. TidBITS has offered years of thoughtful commentary
on Apple and Internet topics. For free email subscriptions and access to the
entire TidBITS archive, visit http://www.tidbits.com/


   Apple Discontinues the iPod nano and iPod shuffle

   Adam C. Engst

   Say goodbye to non-iOS iPods: Apple has officially tossed the iPod nano
   and the iPod shuffle into the dustbin of history, where they've landed
   on top of the iPod classic (see '[1]Eulogy for the iPod classic,' 11
   September 2014).

   [2][tn_iPod-nano-shuffle.jpg]

   Watchful observers noticed that the links to both products on Apple's
   Web site went defunct last week, and [3]Apple confirmed to the Verge
   that both products have been discontinued.

   To smooth things over, Apple has doubled the storage capacity of the
   [4]iPod touch: 'Today, we are simplifying our iPod lineup with two
   models of iPod touch now with double the capacity starting at just $199
   and we are discontinuing the iPod shuffle and iPod nano,' Apple said.
   That means you can now buy a 32 GB iPod touch for $199 and a 128 GB
   model for $299; the 16 GB and 64 GB models have disappeared.

   [5][tn_iPod-touch-2017.jpg]

   The writing has been on the wall for a while ' neither of these
   products has seen substantial updates in years. Apple last revised the
   iPod nano in a significant way in 2012 (see '[6]Apple Redesigns iPod
   touch, iPod nano, and iTunes,' 12 September 2012) and the iPod shuffle
   in 2010 (see '[7]Apple Releases Smaller and Thinner iPods,' 1 September
   2010). You may still be able to buy them from other sources for a
   while, but stock will eventually run out.

   If you're in the market for a small music player, Apple would prefer
   that you purchase an [8]Apple Watch and a pair of [9]AirPods, which at
   over $500 nets the company much more profit than the relatively cheap
   iPods. Of course, the Apple Watch can hold only a single playlist and
   syncing is slow ' we'd like to see Apple make the Apple Watch a better
   replacement for the small iPods in future versions of watchOS.

   [10][tn_AppleWatch-and-AirPods.jpg]

   For those who prefer Spotify to Apple Music, an $85.99 music player
   called [11]Mighty aims to replace the iPod shuffle. We haven't tried
   it, but it claims to clip to clothing, pair with Bluetooth headsets,
   hold 1000 songs, provide up to 5 hours of battery life, and be drop and
   water resistant.

   Are there any other devices you're considering as a replacement for the
   iPod nano and iPod shuffle? Tell us about them in the comments!

References

   1. http://tidbits.com/article/15065
   2. http://tidbits.com/resources/2017-07/iPod-nano-shuffle.jpg
   3. https://www.theverge.com/platform/amp/circuitbreaker/2017/7/27/16050420/apple-ipod-nano-shuffle-discontinued
   4. https://www.apple.com/ipod-touch/
   5. http://tidbits.com/resources/2017-07/iPod-touch-2017.jpg
   6. http://tidbits.com/article/13254
   7. http://tidbits.com/article/11560
   8. https://www.apple.com/watch/
   9. https://www.apple.com/airpods/
  10. http://tidbits.com/resources/2017-07/AppleWatch-and-AirPods.png
  11. https://bemighty.com/

.