Apple has removed the iPod shuffle and nano from its website, signaling the end of the iPod era. Now the only product left with that name is the iPod touch, which runs iOS.
It’s been a great run, and this product revolutionized the way we listen to music, but the days of the carry-10,000-songs-in-your-pocket device are over, more or less. Now, it’s all in the cloud, and, while you can get a 256 GB iPhone, most people don’t use that for music.
At the same time, Apple has dropped the price on the iPod touch. Previously at $199 for 16 GB, and $399 for 128 GB, it now costs $199 for 32 GB and $299 for 128 GB. Intermediate models, at 16 and 64 GB, have been dropped.
If you search for iPod on the Apple website, you’ll get hits, but click the links for the iPod nano or shuffle and they take you to the main Music page, with the header shown above.
I still have an iPod shuffle, and an iPod nano, and even an old iPod classic, and I take them out and use them nostalgically every now and then, but it’s clear that the times have changed, and Apple has to move on.
Farewell iPod.