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iWatch May Ultimately Replace iPod, No iPod Updates Expected in 2014

I could see them maybe doing a capacity bump, but considering how stingy they have been with space in all their mobile devices, probably not that likely. Other than that, I wouldn't blame them for leaving the iPods the same as they are now.
 
KillerTree said:
Not when you have kids who can't afford data plans using iPod Touches for gaming.
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The touch is an iPod only in name. If it gets replaced it would probably just be rebranding it into the iPad line.

jonyive4 said:
$5 billion in sales is too little apparently.
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It didn't say they're getting rid of it, just not updating it this year.

Really this article isn't about apple dumping the iPod, it's saying that when the iWatch is released it will cause iPod sales to drop even more. If that happens that would be more reason for Apple to consolidate the iPod line to fewer models, which they probably have reason to do already. And of course this whole article is speculation by an outsider anyway.

iDave said:
iPod sales are down. iTunes music sales are down. It's all because Apple abandoned the click wheel.
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This post could almost be satire. But I assume you're actually serious.

DanCorleone said:
That Tim Cook can't get these product updates out, with all the resources they have, doesn't look good. They can't sell a 32 gig iPod Nano for $149?
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I don't think "can't" is the right word to use there. They absolutely could, they just choose not to. As annoyed as people are by their lack of capacity bumps across all their mobile products, Apple is probably convinced that bumping them wouldn't necessarily make the company more money. And who knows, maybe they're right.

Shaun said:
Initial demand for the Pono proves that there is still demand out there.
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"Demand" isn't enough to drive product strategy. It's a question of how much demand.
 
Icaras said:
Really? It's a bit hard to accept that they would be replacing the iPod Touch. However I do think the iWatch would be better suited to replace both the iPod Nano and iPod Shuffle.
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Do NOT like wearing things on my wrist and I use my 2G Shuffle all the time while riding or running. I'll need to buy a couple as the watch will be a lot more expensive. I think the Shuffle has a market, but some of the others may be redundant.
 
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diane143 said:
Icaras said:
Really? It's a bit hard to accept that they would be replacing the iPod Touch. However I do think the iWatch would be better suited to replace both the iPod Nano and iPod Shuffle.

QUOTE]

Do NOT like wearing things on my wrist and I use my 2G Shuffle all the time while riding or running. I'll need to buy a couple as the watch will be a lot more expensive. I think the Shuffle has a market, but some of the others may be redundant.
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Fair enough, but what if the iWatch has a detachable wristband, like a magnetic one perhaps? You could easily detach it and have it as a standalone pocketable device.
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MacRumors said:
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A research note (via Barrons) from Christopher Caso, an analyst with Susquehanna Financial Group, reiterates previous analyst reporting about the iWatch, saying Apple is looking to enter production with a pair of screen sizes in the fourth quarter of 2014.

Caso says Apple has production targets of 5-6 million units, but believes the iWatch will "essentially replace the iPod in the consumer portion of AAPL's product lineup" and will see lowered iPod sales as a result of customers choosing the iWatch instead. The note says the iPod is not expected to be updated this year.

Apple CEO Tim Cook said earlier this year that the iPod "is a declining business", with sales dropping to under $5 billion in 2013, down from a peak of more than $8 billion in 2008. Apple's iPod lineup has not seen a significant update since Fall 2012, other than a minor color change to match the rest of Apple's portable offerings. The iPod Classic has not been updated in several years.

Apple has worked hard to have products at a variety of price points, from the $49 iPod Shuffle up to the 128GB iPad Air at $799, and then to the various Mac products.

Article Link: iWatch May Ultimately Replace iPod, No iPod Updates Expected in 2014
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what a stupid analysis

has this guy tried to imagine having earplugs connected to a wrist watch ?

how can a watch contain as much memory as an ipod to replace it ?

if not connecting wired earplugs, how to manage a long battery life to power a bluetooth chip AND a watch during a whole day ?

we've just found a new loser to replace Ming Chi Kuo with stupid rumors
 
Icaras said:
Fair enough, but what if the iWatch has a detachable wristband, like a magnetic one perhaps? You could easily detach it and have it as a standalone pocketable device.
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The beauty of the Shuffle - for me - is the clip and the click wheel. Admittedly, I can do without the click wheel with the new headphones. But to be able to clip it inside my clothing is key. Both those reasons are why I didn't get a Nano.

No pockets in a lot of exercise gear! And putting it in a back bike pocket means a long range of headphone cord up my back, and possibly the control behind my head vs in front of me.

If you don't ride or run in the woods where changing a track on the fly without looking is necessary, I can understand why this wouldn't make sense to you. Even with riding on the road, I need to do things without looking. Hell I do the same while driving! :)
 
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Well, I have two iPod Touch units, but zero iPhones because I'd rather have a new Mac every other year than a load of text messages I don't need to read while driving or walking or working or whatever other BS people do with these things all day long. $70+ a month is pretty steep when I don't talk much on the phone. Other computer activities can wait until I get home, I think. I'd really rather not need surgery on my thumbs in a few years either from texting. :D

Having said that, I don't wear watches (my wrists don't care for the feeling) so there's no trading an iWatch for an iPod Touch, IMO. Apple will simply lose my business. Frankly, one of the possible reasons that market is falling is that Apple keeps releasing GARBAGE iPod Touch units compared to the latest iPhone. That is to say that the camera and CPU are miles apart on the two units and who wants a POS that is outdated? By not offering upgrades since the iPod Touch Gen 5, they only make the market sink down that much further. Is it really too much to ask for them to keep their damn hardware up to date? Oh hold on let me go ask the Mac Pro folk about that.... :rolleyes:

Frankly, I'm ready to buy a newer iPod Touch. I don't want the outdated current model, though. Give me an update and I'll buy one. Don't update it and Apple can go to hell as far as I'm concerned as a used iPhone converted to iPod Touch functionality would be a better buy than an outdated POS.
 
If this is the case, they better make it a lot cheaper than what was previously posted on this site. $500-$1000 is way to much for an iPod replacement.
 
MagnusVonMagnum said:
Well, I have two iPod Touch units, but zero iPhones because I'd rather have a new Mac every other year than a load of text messages I don't need to read while driving or walking or working or whatever other BS people do with these things all day long. $70+ a month is pretty steep when I don't talk much on the phone. Other computer activities can wait until I get home, I think. I'd really rather not need surgery on my thumbs in a few years either from texting. :D

Having said that, I don't wear watches (my wrists don't care for the feeling) so there's no trading an iWatch for an iPod Touch, IMO. Apple will simply lose my business. Frankly, one of the possible reasons that market is falling is that Apple keeps releasing GARBAGE iPod Touch units compared to the latest iPhone. That is to say that the camera and CPU are miles apart on the two units and who wants a POS that is outdated? By not offering upgrades since the iPod Touch Gen 5, they only make the market sink down that much further. Is it really too much to ask for them to keep their damn hardware up to date? Oh hold on let me go ask the Mac Pro folk about that.... :rolleyes:

Frankly, I'm ready to buy a newer iPod Touch. I don't want the outdated current model, though. Give me an update and I'll buy one. Don't update it and Apple can go to hell as far as I'm concerned as a used iPhone converted to iPod Touch functionality would be a better buy than an outdated POS.
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The iPhone with no service is way better than iPod touch.
 
spyguy10709 said:
Well...


iPod Classic with a 256GB SSD, please?


Please? :(
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Legacy form factor kept as-is and updated with flash storage? You don't understand Apple, do you? Why would they keep such bulk, when all that bulk does is store a spinning disk?

Lol. Industrial design fail.
 
I could be missing something here, but I don't EVER remember anyone from Apple, overtly stating that Apple WILL release a wearable device within any specified timeframe - it was said to be "Wearable tech is an area of profound interest", and then just because X, Y and Z company release "watch" products, it's suddenly assumed to be a given that Apple MUST imminently release an............ "iWatch" (cringe!).

Did anyone explicitly state that Apple ARE releasing a wearable, or something related to health/accessory/unknown quantity?

Nope, never. Can we quit now? It's pretty boring, and by the way... "iWatch"? :rolleyes: - it will have time telling functionality of course (I'd assume), but to brand the idea around a MINOR, insignificant and extremely basic function of a far more revolutionary, exciting and enabling device, is the work of bumbling copy/paste simpletons with no imagination or vision.
 
richwoodrocket said:
Then why not get an iPod touch if that's what you want?
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because there are health related things the iwatch can potentially do that the ipod touch cannot. Because it takes over some of the ipod touch features does not mean that it offers nothing else..
 
vomhorizon said:
because there are health related things the iwatch can potentially do that the ipod touch cannot. Because it takes over some of the ipod touch features does not mean that it offers nothing else..
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Oh sorry. I thought you were referring to the iPod Classic. My bad. I do see the purpose of a I watch over an iPod touch.
 
Kill iPod Nano and iPod Shuffle, Update iPod Touch (5.5" A7 processor, better camera) and introduce an all new iPod (256 GB SSD with support for high fidelity lossless audio tracks)
 
sracer said:
Not going to happen. It isn't an issue of not fitting an SSD of 128/256GB, it is what such an SSD would do to Apples finely crafted pricing structure.

It would cause quite a stir if Apple were to produce an iPod Classic w/128GB SSD for $250. (worse if it were a 256GB SSD for the same price)
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Could be, but the mini HD are a declining market.
Especially since they are replacing their HDD on their pc's with ssd or fusion drives, it would be foolish to bring out a new Classic with again another mini HDD.

In worst case, they could make the complete iPod line obsolete, but that would be stupid, just because of the technological relationship between the iPod Touch and the iPhone.

So, the iPod Touch will stay.

The question is if an 128 gb iPod Touch is enough that they can offer to customers to replace the 250gb iPod Classic?
Will doubling the price for half the capacity be just not too crazy for iPod Classic owners to make the switch to an iPod Touch?

If Apple thinks that the above is too crazy, they will make a 256gb ssd version of the iPod Classic for €500, with a slogan of "paying a small fee to bring the iPod Classic to the next level without losing any capacity"
 
Apple priced themselves out with the IPT 5th gen. I bought a second hand mint 4s for cheaper and use that instead.
 
Here's an Idea...

Instead of getting rid of the iPod why not just re-invent it? i.e. introduce it as a new iPod model and get rid of the old lineup (but keep a basic iPod for the kids whose parents won't/can't buy them an iPhone). After all, it's still a pod, just on your wrist.
 
Forget iWatches, when are we finally going to get the iBelt? I want a grappling hook and boomerang buckle that flashes blinding colors of light at my enemies while stunning them with loud heavy metal tunes as it hits them in the head. :D
 
Just bring in the 256gb ipod with bluetooth,wifi and speaker

All i need is just 256gb ipod with bluetooth, wifi and speaker..that's all..don't be so complicated,tim..
 
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