iPod

How Apple could reinvigorate the iPod line

It's no secret that iPod sales continue to decline year after year. Many of the people who were once targets for the iPod now opt for iPhones or iPads.

This isn't exactly a terrible problem for Apple to have. The company has never had qualms about cannibalizing its own products for the sake of the greater good.

But with Apple's historic, and now renewed, love of music, it just wouldn't seem right to let the iPod—at least its conceptual existence, and not so much the name—fade out into the sunset.

For that reason, I think that Apple should go back to the drawing board. Even if this year's rumored across-the-board iPod update is nothing more than just a meager spec bump and minor changes—I think that ultimately, the line is due for a complete overhaul.

How could Apple reinvigorate its flagship music player? By doing the following five things...

New iPods could be announced next Tuesday

If you're buying an iPod music player these days, hold off your purchase for just a little bit longer as Apple is thought to be unveiling new iPod touch, iPod nano and iPod shuffle models next Tuesday.

According to French blog iGen.fr, a pretty reliable source of Apple leaks, the iPod touch could get a substantial refresh in the form of a 64-bit processor.

The iPod nano and shuffle models are said to be receiving only cosmetic changes.

Hidden iTunes assets hint at new iPod colors

Apple yesterday unleashed iTunes 12.2 with Apple Music and Beats 1 integration and as per usual, enthusiasts combing through the installer have managed to find traces of unreleased products.

Hidden device graphics uncovered by MacRumors depicts new color options for iPods, including a gold iPod nano and a brighter pink iPod shuffle.

It's unclear if the unreleased devices are coming, if they might offer only new color options or if a more substantial hardware upgrade is in tow for the aging music player lineup, but additional assets suggest the new colors will be applied across the lineup.

Charge up to six devices at the same time with the Rapid Charge USB Wall Charger

It is highly likely that you have three, four, or even six rechargeable mobile devices in your home (possibly more). Whether you are using a smartphone, tablet, e-reader, wireless speaker, or some other device that uses a USB cable to recharge, there are probably a lot more gadgets lying around than you realize.

Choetech makes a six port Rapid Charge USB Wall Charger that, not only supports charging of six devices at the same time, but also provides fast charging with up to 10-amp output.

Sign of the times: Apple stops reporting iPod sales

The original iPod music player debuted on October 23, 2001, about eight and a half months after iTunes for OS X was released. The inaugural model was the size of a standard deck of cards, measuring 2.4 inches wide, four inches tall and 0.78 inches thick.

The music player had a tiny hard drive with only five gigabytes of storage, a monochromatic LCD screen, a mechanical click wheel interface for going through your music and a price tag of $399.

It took some time, but the iPod and the iTunes Music Store eventually went on to change the entire music industry and rebrand Apple as a music company. And now, after thirteen years, 400 million units sold and $65 billion in cumulative revenue, the iPod has quietly disappeared from Apple’s public reports.

Reports of the iPod shuffle’s death are greatly exaggerated

Apple is not killing off the iPod shuffle, according to a report from Billboard who cites sources with knowledge of the situation. Instead, the publication says that "Apple is actually going thorough component supplier changes that have interrupted production of the Shuffle." If this report is to be believed, slipping iPod shuffle shipping times and unavailability in Apple Stores around the country could simply be explained by the fact that Apple is switching components supplier.

iPod shuffle could be next on the chopping block

Marketing image showing a hand holding an iPod shuffle by its clip

The diminutive iPod shuffle, Apple's $49 clip-and-go music player, could get phased out in the near future as supplies of the device are dwindling across retail channels.

As noted by 9to5Mac, iPod shuffle shipping times on the Online Apple Store dropped to 7-10 days while Apple Retail Stores appear to have run out of stock around the country.

Contrast this to the iPod touch and nano, both of which continue to be available within 24 hours. Originally launched in January 2005 and having been through multiple iterations and form factor changes, the device hasn't been updated since September 2010 and therefore could easily be the next iPod model to fall victim of consumers' changing habits.

Apple did not harm consumers with iTunes’ FairPlay digital rights management, ruling finds

Apple's proprietary digital rights management software, FairPlay, that prevented users from loading songs from rival music stores on early iPods, did not harm consumers nor did it violate the United States antitrust laws, an eight-person jury has determined.

As reported by The Verge, the jurors have sided with Apple in a decade-long suit and have not found Apple guilty of exploiting FairPlay DRM as a lock-in preventing rival music stores from syncing with iPods. Though the iPhone maker is off the hook now, an appeal will be filed with a higher court.

Snarky comments revealed by Steve Jobs’ testimony in iPod class-action lawsuit

A decade-old class-action lawsuit over the iPod and Apple's practice of locking the media player to its iTunes ecosystem is kicking off this week and with it comes a videotaped deposition of Steve Jobs, recorded in 2011 shortly before he died.

It's full of snarky comments and as if that wasn't enough, attorneys have unearthed emails between Apple executives and other evidence casting light on the company's inner workings at the time.

The suit revolves around the iPod, iTunes and FairPlay, Apple's digital-rights management (DRM) system for copy-protection of music sold through the iTunes Store. FairPlay was dropped in 2007 following the 'Thoughts on Music' open letter by Steve.

Apple’s Black Friday kicks off with iTunes Gift Card deals on qualifying purchases

Apple this morning kicked off its Black Friday sale with $25-$100 (PRODUCT)RED iTunes Gift Cards on qualifying Mac, iPhone, iPad, iPod, Apple TV and Beats by Dr. Dre purchases. Once your iTunes Gift Card has been redeemed, you can use your iTunes credit toward any purchase on the iTunes Store, including media and apps.

In addition to donating the proceeds from (RED) apps to the Global Fund to Fight AIDS until December 7, Apple will also automatically donate a portion of retail sales to the Global Fund to support the fight against AIDS.

Apple’s cheaper iPod touch lineup now rolling out internationally

A week ago, Apple made some interesting changes to its lineup of the iPod touch media players. In addition to the cheaper $199/$249/$299 price points for 16/32/64GB models, the baseline model now has a rear camera like the 16 and 32GB variants.

Initially launched in the United States only, the refreshed 16GB iPod touch with a rear camera on Tuesday began rolling out across a number of Apple's key markets around the world, including in the UK, France, Italy and elsewhere...