ARS is reporting a possible move by Apple to kill its iPod classic range! Apple’s line of iconic music players has seemingly been demoted in favor of iOS. With the fast approaching ten-year anniversary of the introduction of the original iPod—a milestone that highlights the iPod’s incredible success over the last decade. According to a new rumor out of TUAW relying on an inside, non-analyst source, Apple is supposedly planning to kill off the iPod shuffle and iPod classic this year. That means Apple may not keep the iPod classic and shuffle around long enough for their last holiday meals.
The classic and the modern iPods basically occupy the same market space and target the same type of users, but one device is functionally inferior to the other. Its surprising that Apple didn’t kill off iPod shuffle last year when it revamped the nano to become a mini iPod touch. The same goes for the iPod classic, but for different reasons.
There are some users who still carry around 160GB worth of music with them wherever they go, but those users are quickly dwindling as more advanced and feature-rich music listening options make carting your entire music library around unnecessary. Apple’s iPod sales growth has been dwindling for years now, with the quarterly unit declines beginning in mid-2009. The first three fiscal quarters of 2011 showed a seven, 17, and 20 percent year-over-year iPod unit declines respectively. But Apple says the iPod touch—when isolated away from the legacy players—is selling like hotcakes, which only means one thing: people just aren’t into traditional iPods like they used to be.
[ArsTechnica]