Apple Turns the iPod into a Second-Class Citizen

Remember back in the day, about ten years ago, when the iPod was the biggest thing in the tech world? It certainly didn’t bring in as much money as computers, but it was the first really sexy tech gadget, the one that everyone had to have. (One could argue that the Walkman was also sexy, but I don’t think it was the same. Back in those days, the Walkman, and other portable cassette players, were more utilitarian.)

Yesterday, following the launch of Apple Music, Apple removed the iPod from the navigation bar on the company’s website, adding a Music entry instead (replacing iTunes as well).

Apple nav bar

The iPod page is still there, and you can still buy three different types of iPods. Also, the Apple TV shows up on that page. But it’s hard to find; you can get to it through the Music page, near the bottom.

iPod is still in the Apple Store’s navigation bar; because Music isn’t something they sell in that store. You can Shop iPod, and Shop Apple TV. But as far as Apple is concerned, the iPod is the past.

The removal of the iPod from the navigation bar makes the end of the era. For many years, this was Apple’s most noticeable product, the one that turned Apple into a global brand selling more than just computers. But, like every tech gadget, its life is limited, and it has been superseded by the iPhone and iPad. With streaming music now the hot topic, you technically don’t need much storage, assuming you have a data plan that lets you download what you want.

But that’s another story…

The iPod may be gone, but it’s not forgotten. We wouldn’t have gotten here without it.

18 thoughts on “Apple Turns the iPod into a Second-Class Citizen

  1. The iPod is still very much alive. At least, the concept has changed. The way we think about taking our music has changed.

    With Apple Music, you can have your library synced with the cloud and provides a pathway to finally have a modern music player. You can’t do this with Spotify or other streaming music services. Google Play Music does offer this to anyone who has a Google account. However, the process is rather painful as tagging to make sure your library mirrors the library you dream of is actually there. With Apple Music, it’s a lot simpler than anything tried before. People aren’t getting why the iPod is gone more than understanding how you take care of music for now and the future. Basically, the future of consuming your music has changed by the world’s leader in music right now. I used to think Apple getting in the streaming music game was horrible, but I see a light at the end of that tunnel.

    From now on, when you want to take your entire library with you, you can do so without spending hundreds in device storage to do so and still be able to keep the music you love and tagged all these years. Leave it to Apple to truly change the game. The two biggest game changers include the introduction of the actual service with including your own music and the family plan. The family plan is the cheapest by any margin for now until Spotify does match it which they will by Apple Music’s launch. For $180 a year, 6 members of family (or friends if you trust them) will have the ability to have a music player that’s future proof and easy to use. Guess how much each member gets the service for one year? $15.

    More will come with this service, but I now see how good the service can be and how the iPod served as a huge bridge in music consuming and overall history. However, this is the future of music and we have to consume to it.

    • I find it quaint when people assume that everyone has the same bandwidth and cell plans that they do. As if everyone can download gigabytes of music whenever they want, or as if they can download unlimited amounts of music and video at home. Alas, it’s not like that in much of the world.

      • It’s not quaint its simple choice really. If you don’t want to consume music this way, you can always load your music the way you want. Of course, should Apple Music take off and in several years, this method is greatly populated and preferred, the way of syncing music might be gone.

        I am well aware of the world’s issues with bandwidth and it’s a shame tech companies and other technologies don’t take that into consideration. However, when there are people streaming and downloading like crazy, you can’t blame them.

  2. The iPod is still very much alive. At least, the concept has changed. The way we think about taking our music has changed.

    With Apple Music, you can have your library synced with the cloud and provides a pathway to finally have a modern music player. You can’t do this with Spotify or other streaming music services. Google Play Music does offer this to anyone who has a Google account. However, the process is rather painful as tagging to make sure your library mirrors the library you dream of is actually there. With Apple Music, it’s a lot simpler than anything tried before. People aren’t getting why the iPod is gone more than understanding how you take care of music for now and the future. Basically, the future of consuming your music has changed by the world’s leader in music right now. I used to think Apple getting in the streaming music game was horrible, but I see a light at the end of that tunnel.

    From now on, when you want to take your entire library with you, you can do so without spending hundreds in device storage to do so and still be able to keep the music you love and tagged all these years. Leave it to Apple to truly change the game. The two biggest game changers include the introduction of the actual service with including your own music and the family plan. The family plan is the cheapest by any margin for now until Spotify does match it which they will by Apple Music’s launch. For $180 a year, 6 members of family (or friends if you trust them) will have the ability to have a music player that’s future proof and easy to use. Guess how much each member gets the service for one year? $15.

    More will come with this service, but I now see how good the service can be and how the iPod served as a huge bridge in music consuming and overall history. However, this is the future of music and we have to consume to it.

    • I find it quaint when people assume that everyone has the same bandwidth and cell plans that they do. As if everyone can download gigabytes of music whenever they want, or as if they can download unlimited amounts of music and video at home. Alas, it’s not like that in much of the world.

      • It’s not quaint its simple choice really. If you don’t want to consume music this way, you can always load your music the way you want. Of course, should Apple Music take off and in several years, this method is greatly populated and preferred, the way of syncing music might be gone.

        I am well aware of the world’s issues with bandwidth and it’s a shame tech companies and other technologies don’t take that into consideration. However, when there are people streaming and downloading like crazy, you can’t blame them.

  3. Will there be ios9 for ipod touch? Now I have 600 cd’s (70Gb’s) on my classic. Just synchronizing my itunes library with classic, So touch will not be there for me.

    • Yes, I’m running the iOS 9 beta on the current generation iPod touch. (Current, meaning it hasn’t been updated in two years…)

  4. Will there be ios9 for ipod touch? Now I have 600 cd’s (70Gb’s) on my classic. Just synchronizing my itunes library with classic, So touch will not be there for me.

    • Yes, I’m running the iOS 9 beta on the current generation iPod touch. (Current, meaning it hasn’t been updated in two years…)

  5. Yesterdays tired presentation by people who talk about how much they love music and then suggest you send them all of your precious music library by way of uploading to Apple for free. But then you pay to hear it back. You pay for the privilege, and then you pay again, as Kirk rightly points out, for the bandwidth.

    Seeing Drake, Zane Low, et al pronounce they will only be playing, and therefore you will only hear, “good” music on the Apple radio is straight from 1984.
    Borrrring…
    Apple can’t tell you what’s good or bad music. They will only ever be able tell you what’s popular or what’s making moneeeyyyyyyyyyyyy…… there are no algorithms invented or will be invented that can do this. Music is too personal.

    Of course, all this is excellent news for middle of the road, casual music fans.

  6. Yesterdays tired presentation by people who talk about how much they love music and then suggest you send them all of your precious music library by way of uploading to Apple for free. But then you pay to hear it back. You pay for the privilege, and then you pay again, as Kirk rightly points out, for the bandwidth.

    Seeing Drake, Zane Low, et al pronounce they will only be playing, and therefore you will only hear, “good” music on the Apple radio is straight from 1984.
    Borrrring…
    Apple can’t tell you what’s good or bad music. They will only ever be able tell you what’s popular or what’s making moneeeyyyyyyyyyyyy…… there are no algorithms invented or will be invented that can do this. Music is too personal.

    Of course, all this is excellent news for middle of the road, casual music fans.

  7. Local storage is not dead. Although I try to avoid saying “never”, I will venture a guess that local storage will never completely die. Although Verizon has twice increased my monthly allotment of gigabytes, I have gone “over the top” a couple of times streaming that which I used to keep resident on my iPod and now iPhone. Although I subscribe to iTunes Match and, some months ago, chose to use iCloud to serve the bulk of my songs, it has been less-than-satisfying. I regularly wish to play a song or work that is not resident on my iPhone. Indeed, I am looking at the iPhone 6 for no other reason than it offers 128 GB storage. Wireless coverage is not “everywhere” and probably never will be. Gigabytes of data, adequate for affordable, carefree streaming, is not “everywhere” and probably never will be. Godspeed Apple but please don’t leave behind those of us that want, even if not truly needed, local storage in place of streaming.

  8. Local storage is not dead. Although I try to avoid saying “never”, I will venture a guess that local storage will never completely die. Although Verizon has twice increased my monthly allotment of gigabytes, I have gone “over the top” a couple of times streaming that which I used to keep resident on my iPod and now iPhone. Although I subscribe to iTunes Match and, some months ago, chose to use iCloud to serve the bulk of my songs, it has been less-than-satisfying. I regularly wish to play a song or work that is not resident on my iPhone. Indeed, I am looking at the iPhone 6 for no other reason than it offers 128 GB storage. Wireless coverage is not “everywhere” and probably never will be. Gigabytes of data, adequate for affordable, carefree streaming, is not “everywhere” and probably never will be. Godspeed Apple but please don’t leave behind those of us that want, even if not truly needed, local storage in place of streaming.

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