On Thursday, July 27, Apple announced the discontinuation of the iPod Nano and iPod Shuffle devices. The last remaining vestiges of Apple's strictly music playing device lineup, it marks the end of Apple's famed mp3 players that helped propel the company to the top of the mobile device market. The iPod Touch carries the iPod moniker, but it's more closely related to the iPhone than its namesake.
In all fairness, it makes sense. Devices like the Nano and Shuffle are essentially one trick ponies in a jack-of-all-trades world. It's estimated that roughly 2 billion smartphones are currently in use globally, and that number is only expected to rise further. The ability to store, play and stream music is at our fingertips, thanks to our phones, and the necessity for something like an iPod just isn't as prevalent as it was five years ago.
That's not to say they didn't still have their market. The Shuffle was a great device for working out, as its small size, low cost, and functionality were perfect for taking along to the gym or on a run. It also was reminiscent of what made Apple's original iPod lineup so appealing in the first place: It just worked.
The Nano carried on the tradition of making things smaller and more portable, usurping the iPod Mini as the company's smallest, most pocketable device at the time.
When Apple announced the discontinuation of the iPod Classic back in 2014, I knew it was only a matter of time before the Nano and Shuffle followed suit. Even at the Shuffle's $50 price tag, they just weren't flying off of the shelves. iPhones had taken over, and that wasn't going to change.
And even though it comes as no surprise, it still leaves me a little sad. I myself still use my iPod Classic on a daily basis, as it holds more songs than my iPhone can and I'm absolutely in love with the click wheel. However, I also use my iPhone as my main music player at the gym—something that I used to use my Classic for. The convenience of wireless headphones coupled with the fact that I already track my workouts on my phone means I take my Classic with me less and less.
But the iPods harken back to a different time, before mobile technology was as ubiquitous as it is today. Before all of the apps and games and social media, mp3 players were some of the coolest things a kid could have on the playground with the iPods sitting at the top of the proverbial mountain.
Such is the life of technology. Cell phones were once a vast market of different designs and feature sets, now relegated to a handful of premier players all offering derivatives of one another. As tech improves, things are whittled down until only the successful traits remain, barring some sort of 'innovation' from an OEM.