Apple said Tuesday that it will discontinue sales of its iPod touch, ending a two-decade race for the music device that was once a major part of its product lineup.
The tech giant said it will continue to sell iPod Touch devices in its own stores and through verified resellers “while supplies last,” but will not produce more or unveil new versions.
The iPod gradually became obsolete as Apple added music streaming capabilities to its other devices and faced external competitors such as the streaming platforms Spotify and Amazon Music.
“Today, the spirit of the iPod is alive,” said Greg Joswiak, Apple’s senior vice president of Worldwide Marketing.
“We’ve integrated an incredible music experience across all of our products, from the iPhone to the Apple Watch to the HomePod mini and Mac, iPad and Apple TV,” he said.
Apple’s blog post revealing the imminent demise of the iPod included pricing information about the iPhone, Apple Watch, and iPad — a sign that those platforms have replaced music players.
Famous Apple founder Steve Jobs touted the iPod as a transformative invention when he first debuted the device on stage at a company event in 2001. The original version could have had 1,000 songs.
According to TechCrunch, Jobs said at the time, “With the iPod, Apple has invented a whole new class of digital music players, so you can keep your entire music collection in your pocket and wherever you go, can hear it.” “With the iPod, listening to music will never be the same again.”
While the original iPod became known as the “Classic” mode, Apple eventually unveiled a number of upgrades to the line, including the smaller Nano and Shuffle. The latest and last new version of Touch was released in 2019.
Once a top-seller, the iPod has been a negligible source of revenue for Apple in recent years. According to Reuters, the tech giant has not provided sales figures for the device since 2015.
Unit sales were already on a slump before that year — falling 24% in Apple’s 2014 fiscal year compared to the previous year.
,
