Is iPod touch discontinued? On May 10, 2022, Apple made a formal announcement that it was ending production of the iPod touch. It is an obsolete item that other gadgets, such as the iPhone and iPad, have replaced. According to Apple, the iPod touch is being discontinued because its features are present in all of Apple’s products.
Apple claims that even though it has stopped producing standalone music players, “the spirit of the iPod lives on” in all of its music-playing products. This includes the iPhone, iPad, and HomePod Mini. The demise of the iPod Touch signifies the end of an era. According to Apple, the first iPod was released “over 20 years ago.” Let us know about this iPod touch product that was once one of the most popular gadgets in the world in this article.
About iPod Touch
Apple Inc. created and sold the iPod Touch range of iOS-based mobile devices, which has since been discontinued. Its user interface is touchscreen-controlled. The iPod Touch has the same portable media player and handheld gaming capabilities as other iPod models. However, it can also be utilized as a web browser, a digital camera, and for other things. It looks almost exactly like an iPhone and can run most third-party iPhone apps from the App Store. But, because it doesn’t have a cellular modem, it only uses Wi-Fi to access the internet and doesn’t need any data from mobile networks.
Since its release in September 2007, the iPod Touch has sold around 100 million units as of May 2013. On May 28, 2019, the seventh-generation iPod Touch device was unveiled.
Storage capacity and color were used to identify different iPod Touch devices. The features, performance, and operating system upgrades offered by every model of the same generation were commonly the same. One exception is the fifth generation when the entry-level (16 GB) device was initially offered in just one color and without a rear-facing camera.
The iPod Nano and iPod Shuffle were discontinued on July 27, 2017. Thus, it made the iPod Touch the final item in Apple’s iPod product line.
Following this, Apple changed the storage and pricing for the iPod Touch to 32 and 128 GB of storage, respectively. Apple ended production of the iPod Touch on May 10, 2022, essentially ending the iPod product line. Except for continuous OS maintenance, iOS 15 is the last version of iOS that supports the seventh-generation iPod Touch.
Apple no longer sells the iPod after 20 years!
The last model in its array of portable music players, the iPod Touch, would no longer be manufactured by Apple, according to a company announcement. On May 10, 2022, a news article by the business announced that it would only sell the Touch “while supplies last.”
Apple claimed that even though it has stopped producing standalone music players, “the spirit of the iPod lives on.” It is in all of its music-playing products, including the iPhone, iPad, and HomePod Mini.
An era ends with the discontinuation of the iPod Touch
According to Apple, the first iPod was released “over 20 years ago.” Up until 2017, when it discontinued the iPod Nano and Shuffle, Apple produced devices that were solely for listening to audio. The initial FireWire-equipped model served as just a portable music player.
Some iPod devotees have embraced the iPod Touch as the next generation of the company’s iconic music player. It also gained popularity among people who sought an iPhone-like experience but didn’t actually require a phone.
Despite the fact that the iPod Touch has its devotees, the writing has been on the wall for a time. 2019 saw the press conference introduction of the seventh-generation iPod Touch, which Apple discontinued in May 2022.
The 2019 Touch and the iPhone 7 share the same A10 processor. 2015 saw the release of the sixth-generation iPod Touch. Despite the cries of fans for a basic music player designed for the streaming era, Apple’s lack of attention to the iPod was evident. The intervals between releases and the older hardware showed it.
It isn’t easy to put that into business. The majority of people aren’t interested in carrying a second device that does tasks that their smartphone is perfectly capable of performing.
The iPod team was aware that the iPhone would eventually surpass music players. This is according to Tony Fadell, one of the original iPod’s inventors, who stated this in an interview with The Verge. It quickly became apparent to us that mobile and feature phones posed a serious threat. The cell phones that they were distributing at the time were beginning to have music and MP3 players, he claimed.
That wasn’t a concern for Apple, according to Fadell. “At Apple, anything that was done had to be released. It was because it was existential, at least throughout Steve’s tenure.”
Conclusion
In October 2001, Steve Jobs unveiled the very first iPod. He claimed that it could fit “1,000 songs in your pocket.” Over the years, with the advent of models like the iPod shuffle, iPod nano, iPod classic, and iPod touch, the iPod lineup has increased. It’s finally shrunk now!
In a press release, Apple noted that the company’s selection of smartphones, tablets, and specialty speakers like the HomePod Mini continue to carry the iPod’s essence. While that is true, I’m sure many of us still long for the times when we could load up our music libraries on the large, click-wheel iPod. At that time, we take the sleeker iPod Nano or iPod Shuffle with us or use an iPod Touch to learn about iOS for the first time.
Fortunately, the most recent iPod Touch is still a fantastic buy for children, digital music snobs, or die-hard Apple collectors. Don’t let this opportunity pass you by if you want to buy what may be the final iPod ever produced (if it exists).
