all right so maybe that in memoriam was
a bit premature the iPod line lives on
and it just got an update with the iPod
touch but that update feels more like a
lifeline the new life breathed into the
product but maybe it's time to finally
let the iPod die
historically apples had no problem being
their own executioner they've ax tons of
products in the past we've seen their
wireless router business go away the
cube the the Lisa we seen a ton of
products they've served gotten the ax
and Apple generally knows when it's time
to say goodbye but they seem too
nostalgic and don't want to let go of
the glory that was the iPod this amazing
little device holds a thousand songs
that goes right in my pocket 2001 was a
crazy time for consumer electronics
categories weren't as mature as they are
now in products were constantly changing
and innovating and it was also the year
that we got the original iPod and some
of you may not have been around for that
and seen what it meant to not just a
music market but this whole consumer
electronics market at the time but it
was a groundbreaking and
paradigm-shifting product but it was
still super weird I remember going to
Best Buy to buy an iPod and you had a
pick but I thought you wanted the Mac
iPod or the PC iPod and I was on a PC at
the time and they didn't have one in I
kept having to go back they would get
like one iPod in at a time and I wasn't
even that big of a music guy maybe I was
like a tech hypebeast back then but I
wanted to see what all the sort of hype
was about and it changed the way that
you carry music it changed the way you
thought about music mp3 players
certainly existed before the iPod they
were never the same after the iPod came
out the iPod line has taken on ton of
shapes and forms over the years but each
iteration and each one changed the music
industry
we're not done yet and people have been
asking us and wondering when are we
going to bring this technology to an
iPod well the answer to that question is
we're going to do it today and this is
what the product looks like the prior
2007 in the iPhone introduction like the
iPod was the jam that was what you were
had and what you carried if you wanted
to have a lot of songs in your pocket
but then 2007 came around and iPhone was
introduced and it seemed like a week
after the iPhone came out there were
rumors of something else that Apple was
working on serve an iPod that was
focused for video and meant for video
remember when the iPhone first came out
that was pre App Store there was just
web apps out there so the idea of a
fully functioning sort of app store we
could download third-party apps wasn't
even formed yet but the thought of
something let you watch a video easily
as you could on your iPhone something it
started to take off and there was a lot
of reason back then for an iPod Touch
either you couldn't afford an iPhone you
wanted the best features of the iPhone
but you're still locked into a contract
remember to gear contracts or longer
depending on where you lived a really
common place back then if people weren't
trading phones every six months or a
year you got access to what was going to
be the burgeoning Apple ecosystem you've
got through the best things the iPhone
could offer without some of the worst
the original iPhone was just 3G it
wasn't that good doing any sort of
browsing on so assuming you had Wi-Fi
you essentially had an iPhone when the
iPod Touch came out it made all the
sense in the world but seemingly called
technology the world changed and the
iPod Touch didn't really change with it
so I think it's it's easy on one hand to
say why would Apple have an iPod touch
out it's of no use to me but it's not
necessarily a whole picture of it the
other side of that coin is there are
people that's still one with the iPod
touch has to offer maybe they're running
an Android phone they saw an access to
iOS apps they want to airplay something
to their Apple TV I'm a parent my kids
are a bit younger but I know for parents
that want to give their kids a device
but perhaps one that doesn't have a
cellular connection it's an amazing way
to go you let them play games you can
still supervise what they're doing and
went out of the house and they're not on
Wi-Fi
you know presumably they're not sort of
getting into trouble or doing things
they shouldn't be doing with a cellular
connection so I can see both sides of
the argument I've hard time justifying
necessarily the costs of the iPod Touch
that the same use could be had from
maybe an older generation iPhone without
a SIM card into it but I can understand
why people would want an iPod Touch so
talk about the iPod line is also to talk
about the death of the iPod line on how
the other models the classic the Nano
the mini have all been dead and killed
and in 2019 is one lone survivor
there's the record player there's a
cassette of Apple's lineup the iPod
Touch and oddly middle of 2019 it got
sort of an update it's now running a
processor from the iPhone 7 it still
doesn't have face ID doesn't have touch
ID it's got a potato camera up front the
purpose for the iPod Touch is difficult
to understand now
so between 2007 to now and this is being
filmed in 2019 it's only twelve years
not a huge amount of time but like
seventeen lifetimes when it comes to
consumer electronics what the iPod touch
was then has no use right now so during
those 12 years products have obviously
changed
we saw the iPhone in 2007 - what the
iPhone is
went from a phone and a music player and
a world-class communication device to
being a computer in your pocket a lot of
for a lot of people that's the way that
they get online it's your camera it's
your video camera it's still your music
it's sort of how you communicate with
the world laptops have changed it went
from sort of giant underpowered clunky
devices to thinner powerful devices with
surprisingly long battery life the
tablet market has matured to things that
people are actually using the iPod Touch
was really the iPhone - a cellular plant
at a lower price point and now that's
kind of what you get with an iPad there
are iPads at varying price points most
of which are lower than the current
flagship iPhones you're getting access
to Apple's ecosystem and you're getting
the best that Apple has to offer
without paying this flagship prices all
those things that the iPod Touch at one
point was and was supposed to be if you
watched my videos you know I don't
generally shy away from sharing my my
opinions for how outlandish they might
be in this case I don't see a reason for
the iPod Touch line to continue and I
feel like maybe I'm turning my back on
an old friend but it doesn't make much
sense in this market there are other
ways inexpensive ways to get into the
Apple ecosystem buy a used product buy a
tablet buy an old generation iPhone
there are a lot of ways to get the same
things you get from an iPod Touch
probably less money but often times
better specs you can get an iPhone
that's three generations old and still
has touch ID a feature you don't have on
your iPod Touch you still have to have a
pin if you want to secure that device
that is crazy nowadays the iPod Touch
for me should be what it was when it
first came out it was the iPhone at the
time without the cellular make it that
now
give you the cutting-edge features you
get on the iPhone 10s and the iPhone 10s
max let it have a high-resolution OLED
screen let it have face ID let it give
it all these amazing things that you get
with the current gen iPhone without the
cellular and that's a reason people
could buy it maybe you're on Wi-Fi all
the time you want to rely on FaceTime
for making calls and you want those
features at a lower price point that's a
reason I could see people buying the
iPod touch if the iPod is going to stick
around it should be and needs to be the
best audio experience on the market and
the argument can be made to should could
benefit for maybe an always-on internet
connection or maybe you add for a few
bucks a month to your cellular plan you
could send maps to it it can be a
navigation device when you're in the car
you could always have your music you
serve streamed onto that even if you're
not at home there's a lot of things the
iPod Touch could be set a lot of
potential for the iPod Touch just Apple
is choosing to not tap into any of it so
I've been waxing nostalgic on the iPod
line and typed out what the iPod Touch
could be and should be if Apple wanted
to keep it around everything has a time
everything has a place everything had a
glory days and those flagship days of
the iPod line have come and gone they're
keeping the name around and give you a
mediocre specs and the Yoker experience
like a disservice to the legacy that was
the iPod the Apple it's time to let it
go
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