When the iPod was first introduced over 15 years ago, it only needed a short span of time before it became the must-have accessory, and before long, they were selling like hot cakes. Apple made billions off of the revolutionary product and the iterations that followed, and that’s to say nothing of iTunes, which was launched to support the MP3 player. The iPod has certainly earned its place in history (there are actually already some of these all-white musical boxes sitting in museums), but how much longer will the company that launched them keep them in stores? The product’s prime has certainly passed, but they are still available, at least in some formats.
So, with the world quickly moving on, it’s only a matter of time before iPods eventually kick the bucket, and while it will be very sad to finally see Apple give up on one of its coolest offerings, there are plenty of reasons why it won’t actually be missed.
Everyone Has A Smartphone
This is perhaps the best reason why the iPod probably won’t stick around much longer. According to the Pew Research Center, 77% of Americans now own a smartphone, and that fact has disrupted many industries and destroyed the sales of dozens, if not hundreds, of products, including MP3 players of all kinds. Smartphones, which are typically about the size of the iPods currently being sold by Apple, allow music lovers to store hundreds of downloaded songs, or, as is the case for millions of people, grant them access to the streaming service of their choice, letting anybody listen to pretty much any piece of music ever released.
Several iPods Just Bit The Dust
The demise of the iPod brand has already started, as Apple recently killed off two models from the product line, which is a sign that things aren’t going well and that the end might be approaching quickly. The tech giant recently discontinued both the Shuffle and the Nano options, which shouldn’t come as much of a surprise, as they were truly a relic of the past. While Apple stopped updating both the Nano and the Shuffle, newer versions of the iPod Touch are still introduced from time to time, but perhaps not for much longer.
It’s Already Been Discounted
Apple has never been one to offer products at a discount, nor should the company be. The consumer tech titan sells premium items, and lowering the price would only diminish the brand. Having said that, the iPods still being sold are currently being marketed at significantly lower prices than they used to be, which shows the lengths Apple is willing to go to in order to keep the MP3 players selling.
The most recent iPods now come with even more storage at slashed prices, so those still willing to open their wallets for these products are getting more for their buck than ever before. 32GB of storage will now run a customer $199, while an incredible 128GB is being shipped for $299. For comparison, the first edition iPod sold arrived with just 5 GB of storage (which is about 1,000 songs), and it was sold for $399. At the time, that was a hefty price tag, but it was worth it for the first major MP3 player, but these days, even half that figure seems to be a lot to spend for something that is essentially a phone without the phone functionality.
They’re Not Making Apple Much Money, Comparatively
For a long time, whenever Apple reported its quarterly earnings, iPods had their own dedicated line, and it was easy to see just how well they were selling. A few years back, the company moved the devices into its “other products” category, which contains miscellaneous items that don’t make enough money to be separated. Currently, that category is performing well—for Q2 2017, that part of the business earned $2.87 billion—with items like the Apple Watch, AirPods, and Beats-branded products continuing to drive growth, though no mention is made of iPods when that vertical is discussed. The fact that Apple decided to begin concealing how much revenue is brought in from iPods is a sign that it is probably dwindling.
