The days of the iconic standalone music players seem numbered as Apple officially retires the iPod platform. Although the production of the iPod is being gradually shuttered, Apple already has the Apple Music platform to replace the same. With over 90 million songs and over 30,000 playlists available on Apple Music, it seems unlikely that many will miss the iPod.
MP3 players reigned supreme back when phones had limited abilities and rudimentary screens, and mobile networks didn't offer high-speed data. This was the time when the Apple iPod truly revolutionized the experience. However, after two decades, Apple seems to have decided the iPod has run its course and announced plans to cease production. Speaking about the development, Greg Joswiak, Apple’s senior vice president of Worldwide Marketing said:
Music has always been part of our core at Apple, and bringing it to hundreds of millions of users in the way iPod did impact more than just the music industry -- it also redefined how music is discovered, listened to, and shared.
Today, the spirit of iPod lives on. We’ve integrated an incredible music experience across all of our products, from the iPhone to the Apple Watch to HomePod mini, and across Mac, iPad, and Apple TV. And Apple Music delivers industry-leading sound quality with support for spatial audio — there’s no better way to enjoy, discover, and experience music.
Needless to mention, Joswiak has made it amply clear that Apple Music has replaced the company's consumer-facing, hardware-based solutions for streaming music. Moving ahead, the iPhone maker will obviously focus on improving the cloud-based, subscription-driven, music streaming service.
The modern-day iPod can stream music, but so does nearly every Apple product. Hence, it was painfully obvious that the hardware had become redundant. However, if anyone is interested in purchasing iPod, Apple is offering a limited stock of the iPod Touch on the official website, as well as through Apple Store locations, and Apple Authorized Resellers. The 7th-generation iPod Touch (2019) will be the final product in the series, and it is the only one available through Apple's official sales channels.
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