While some people see little difference between an iPhone and an iPod Touch, the Touch targets a very important market - those who don't want a phone, don't need a phone. My 6 year old is not getting a phone, and we don't need to add him to our cellular plan. The Touch is perfect for him, and if it weren't available, what would be an alternative? The other iPods, though, have fast lost their practical applicability. It is ironic that the product that launched (vaulted) Apple into the Post-PC world has become irrelevant in many peoples' lives, replaced by their next product line. Another thing to realize, is that these are cash cows right now. As long as people buy them, they will produce them. When you see sales in the millions per quarter, while for Apple that may seem a dismal failure, pretty much all other companies out there would give their left eyeball to have such success. Don't think about it from your perspective if you want to predict what Apple will do - they don't think like you and me. Put yourself in their shoes - are you servicing an important market? Does the product enhance your overall product lineup? iPod is still there, although it can be argued it is a weaker "yes" than ever.
HopJuice - 9 years ago
My 160gb iPod classic was great back in the day but now serves as a portable video player for my young daughter's movies when traveling. With the a/v adapter cable it will connect to almost any hotel TV, hold a ton of SD movies and not rely on wifi. Regarding a touch iOS device for kids, I would just give them a "hand-me-down" iPhone from a two year contract with no SIM card... Essentially a iPod touch at that point right? So should apple kill the iPod? If it frees up resources for delivering innovative future products, then yes. The iPod served its niche audience well, but now with so many legacy iOS devices (iPhones & iPads) still available, it seems a waste.
I love the iPod Touch ... but it has got to go. Apple would be better off selling a $300 iPhone. Just like the large screen iPhones, it would completely destroy another big section of the Android phone market. Only an iPhone has GPS without which all those run tracking and photo geolocation features are useless. There is no technical reason why an iPhone cannot cost $300 if it uses last year's chipset.
Micah Man - 9 years ago
All of the above + it's actually a good device choice for business where they want the form factor of an iPhone, but don't want to pay the cost of an iPhone + the monthly charges. There some good POS solutions that work with the iPod Touch and are used by big retailers, grocers, and even Apple. Up until the last year or so, their instore solution was the Touch with a POS sled, before the switched to the iPhone. Those current Touch users were ecstatic to see the device get these upgrades yesterday!
Rick Urtel - 9 years ago
The iPod needs a true dedicated music player with huge storage capability for large HQ music files-again. No streaming skinny files that sound only half right. Get pissed -again- at Neil Young and Pono and beat it ! ADD HIGH END DA CONVERTERS and PRODUCE THE ULITIMITE CHIP AMP to fit inside......again. It had a place in the world and could teach youngsters how to listen to music properly and with proper definition and air around instruments. I think they want to put the iPod inside their Beats Headphones myself. That's great but a dedicated player would be absorbed into the musision community with open arms and used for everything...like at the beginning. Come on Tim. Get it together here.
VFR - 9 years ago
I don't think so. The ipod is still an entry way for youngsters. Not all parents are willing to give their pre-teen kids a cell phone and an ipod touch in particular is good way for apple to keep bringing in younger users. As for the other ipods, people who workout/run to music (I don't listen to music when I workout) seem to still use them.
grexit - 9 years ago
I still use my 2nd gen iPod nano for running. Small and lightweight. Great battery life. I wish there was a good similar form factor replacement, because this one won't last forever.
Bruno - 9 years ago
If Apple kills the iPod Touch, what would kids use? An iPhone? To a 9 year old? And while an iPad mini is quite portable, it doesn't exactly fit in a jeans pocket. The Apple Watch requires an iPhone to function, and even if that were to change, it's a far cry from supporting the performance of Metal graphics for games, not to mention the screen size. The iPod Touch is needed for the younger generation as a device that provides them with everything Apple has to offer minus the cellphone and the monthly contract fees. If it breaks, if it is lost, there are no further consequences then the kid loosing the device, no recurring fees, and a more manageable replacement cost to help your kid take the responsibility of saving to repair or replace the device if he/she wants it back. The existence of the iPod shuffle and nano may be more questionable, but they didn't receive much of an upgrade either. I'm very happy about the iPod Touch internal upgrades and my 13 year old will be happy to upgrade from the 4th generation she's had for 4 years and which still looks mint apart from the unreliable home button. And no, she still doesn't need an iPhone...the condition for that is very clear; once you get a job and can pay for the monthly fees. Long live the iPod Touch!
Geert Docter - 9 years ago
If it had a microphone where iPhone has one for making calls, it might be very interesting as a really cheap VOIP over WiFi smartphone.
rj - 9 years ago
Still a great player to leave in the car to play music and not have to tie up the phone. I stream music from home collection using Synology and my phones hotspot or downloaded copies playing again thru Synology app and also spotify, pandora or apple music.
While some people see little difference between an iPhone and an iPod Touch, the Touch targets a very important market - those who don't want a phone, don't need a phone. My 6 year old is not getting a phone, and we don't need to add him to our cellular plan. The Touch is perfect for him, and if it weren't available, what would be an alternative? The other iPods, though, have fast lost their practical applicability. It is ironic that the product that launched (vaulted) Apple into the Post-PC world has become irrelevant in many peoples' lives, replaced by their next product line. Another thing to realize, is that these are cash cows right now. As long as people buy them, they will produce them. When you see sales in the millions per quarter, while for Apple that may seem a dismal failure, pretty much all other companies out there would give their left eyeball to have such success. Don't think about it from your perspective if you want to predict what Apple will do - they don't think like you and me. Put yourself in their shoes - are you servicing an important market? Does the product enhance your overall product lineup? iPod is still there, although it can be argued it is a weaker "yes" than ever.
My 160gb iPod classic was great back in the day but now serves as a portable video player for my young daughter's movies when traveling. With the a/v adapter cable it will connect to almost any hotel TV, hold a ton of SD movies and not rely on wifi. Regarding a touch iOS device for kids, I would just give them a "hand-me-down" iPhone from a two year contract with no SIM card... Essentially a iPod touch at that point right? So should apple kill the iPod? If it frees up resources for delivering innovative future products, then yes. The iPod served its niche audience well, but now with so many legacy iOS devices (iPhones & iPads) still available, it seems a waste.
I love the iPod Touch ... but it has got to go. Apple would be better off selling a $300 iPhone. Just like the large screen iPhones, it would completely destroy another big section of the Android phone market. Only an iPhone has GPS without which all those run tracking and photo geolocation features are useless. There is no technical reason why an iPhone cannot cost $300 if it uses last year's chipset.
All of the above + it's actually a good device choice for business where they want the form factor of an iPhone, but don't want to pay the cost of an iPhone + the monthly charges. There some good POS solutions that work with the iPod Touch and are used by big retailers, grocers, and even Apple. Up until the last year or so, their instore solution was the Touch with a POS sled, before the switched to the iPhone. Those current Touch users were ecstatic to see the device get these upgrades yesterday!
The iPod needs a true dedicated music player with huge storage capability for large HQ music files-again. No streaming skinny files that sound only half right. Get pissed -again- at Neil Young and Pono and beat it ! ADD HIGH END DA CONVERTERS and PRODUCE THE ULITIMITE CHIP AMP to fit inside......again. It had a place in the world and could teach youngsters how to listen to music properly and with proper definition and air around instruments. I think they want to put the iPod inside their Beats Headphones myself. That's great but a dedicated player would be absorbed into the musision community with open arms and used for everything...like at the beginning. Come on Tim. Get it together here.
I don't think so. The ipod is still an entry way for youngsters. Not all parents are willing to give their pre-teen kids a cell phone and an ipod touch in particular is good way for apple to keep bringing in younger users. As for the other ipods, people who workout/run to music (I don't listen to music when I workout) seem to still use them.
I still use my 2nd gen iPod nano for running. Small and lightweight. Great battery life. I wish there was a good similar form factor replacement, because this one won't last forever.
If Apple kills the iPod Touch, what would kids use? An iPhone? To a 9 year old? And while an iPad mini is quite portable, it doesn't exactly fit in a jeans pocket. The Apple Watch requires an iPhone to function, and even if that were to change, it's a far cry from supporting the performance of Metal graphics for games, not to mention the screen size. The iPod Touch is needed for the younger generation as a device that provides them with everything Apple has to offer minus the cellphone and the monthly contract fees. If it breaks, if it is lost, there are no further consequences then the kid loosing the device, no recurring fees, and a more manageable replacement cost to help your kid take the responsibility of saving to repair or replace the device if he/she wants it back. The existence of the iPod shuffle and nano may be more questionable, but they didn't receive much of an upgrade either. I'm very happy about the iPod Touch internal upgrades and my 13 year old will be happy to upgrade from the 4th generation she's had for 4 years and which still looks mint apart from the unreliable home button. And no, she still doesn't need an iPhone...the condition for that is very clear; once you get a job and can pay for the monthly fees. Long live the iPod Touch!
If it had a microphone where iPhone has one for making calls, it might be very interesting as a really cheap VOIP over WiFi smartphone.
Still a great player to leave in the car to play music and not have to tie up the phone. I stream music from home collection using Synology and my phones hotspot or downloaded copies playing again thru Synology app and also spotify, pandora or apple music.