
Goodbye iPod, and Thanks for All the Tunes - aaronbrethorst
https://www.wired.com/story/goodbye-ipod-and-thanks-for-all-the-tunes/
======
niftich
A lucky set of circumstances led to the iPod dominating the digital audio
player market: bold marketing, a smaller HDD form factor, high-speed FireWire
connection, and a great integration story on Macs.

The Windows world at the time was a big mess of nonstandard cabling, messy
drivers, sketchy quasi-shareware applications vying for presence on your
desktop, while the Apple world was plug-and-play over a high-speed bus that
came standard, and the music management experience was top-notch. And while
there was some good hardware coming out of Korea to give the iPod a run for
its money, the integrated Apple experience was without match.

For Windows, Apple bundled MusicMatch Jukebox at first, but then made iTunes
available on Windows, which became their foothold that would later set up the
iPhone for success.

By the time Microsoft caught up with WinXP and Windows Media Player, Apple had
already stolen the higher end of the market, leaving WMP largely in the domain
of cheap flash-based USB sticks that could only fit a subset of your songs.
Then everyone pivoted to a DRM-laden storefront, making switching costs high.
A later effort to refocus their first-party efforts with Zune resulted in an
incompatible DRM ecosystem, and fizzled on the market.

The iPod, in many ways, foreshadowed the Apple tactic that would become famous
from the later iPhone: take the state-of-the-art in a particular market, pare
it down a bit, endow it with tasteful industrial design, make sure it has a
strong, ideally "frustration-free" integrated environment to take part in,
give it an upmarket but justifiable price, and market the heck out of it with
aspirational brand advertising.

~~~
Eridrus
I feel like this is a rewriting of history. I knew literally a single person
with a mac when the iPod came out, and they were not the first person I knew
with an iPod.

My recollection of the time was that most MP3 players were based on Flash
storage rather than HDDs, so I could get about 10 songs onto mine.

Macs didn't really take off as a thing until long after iPods had been
mainstream for a while, so I don't think the integration was actually very
important compared to the fact that there was a well known HDD-based MP3
player.

~~~
koyote
There were certainly HDD-Mp3 players around before the iPod (I used to own a
Creative Nomad Jukebox and then the excellent Archos Jukebox which even
allowed you to flash open source firmware on it).

I think the first Windows compatible iPod was the game changer. It had a large
HDD but was much lighter and smaller than similar HDD-mp3 players at the time
(such as the ones above).

~~~
astrodust
Apple might streamline their offerings, simplify them dramatically, but they
also aggressively update it. Where the Nomad came out and was incrementally
improved the iPod got re-invented several times, often cannibalizing its own
market share in the process.

Part fashion accessory, part music appliance, part computer, the purpose of
the iPod was understood by Apple and poorly understood by their competitors.

Just like how the Walkman wasn't the first portable cassette player, or even
technically the best, Sony relentlessly innovated on that form factor making
smaller, lighter versions, waterproof ones, and ultimately owned that market.
It wasn't until the iPod rolled around that someone displaced that position so
completely.

------
jmduke
For all its flaws, I can't remember a more intimate relationship I had with a
technology product than the one I had with my first iPod.

~~~
GeekyBear
The Tivo was as big a user friendly change in how you consumed media.

------
yunong
I'm hugely disappointed that they discontinued the shuffle. It's the best
music player for workouts period. No fussing with the bluetooth pairing, just
plug in headphones, clip and go.

I personally use mine for swimming. You can buy waterproofed shuffles such as
this one: [http://a.co/f64p74y](http://a.co/f64p74y) and they work extremely
well for swimming. In fact when the shuffle was discontinued I immediately
bought another one as backup to my trusty waterproof shuffle that I've used
for 3 years.

~~~
mlevental
don't regular headphones not work well in the water? I thought you absolutely
needed bone conduction headphones for swimming with music to be a pleasant
experience

~~~
yunong
I've used "waterproof" in-ear headphones for years and they work great.
They're not cheap but they do work well.
[http://a.co/dItFKD3](http://a.co/dItFKD3)

------
stinkytaco
The iPod is the closest thing to an electronic device I wouldn't change that
I've ever owned [1]. It wasn't perfect, but it almost was for me. I bought an
extra iPod classic and shuffle when they were discontinued.

[1]: I'll qualify that I mean something with a screen and a user interface,
because I once had a toaster oven that was pretty great

------
wwweston
Here's a question: will the iPod have a retro comeback moment, as electro-
mechanical media like vinyl records and even cassettes have had?

Or maybe once you cross into the digital divide, does the experience and
associated nostalgia perhaps not work the same way?

~~~
dragonwriter
> Here's a question: will the iPod have a retro comeback moment, as electro-
> mechanical media like vinyl records and even cassettes have had?

The iPod is a brand and not a product category. The analog, would be
standalone digital portable media players having a retro-comeback, not then
iPod itself having one.

> Or maybe once you cross into the digital divide, does the experience and
> associated nostalgia perhaps not work the same way?

Quite possible; is there any aspect of the experience with iPods or other
standalone players that is lost using multifunction digital media devices like
smartphones?

~~~
tbirdz
Physical buttons. With my dedicated media device I can control it with the
buttons and leave it in my pocket. When I play music on my phone I have to
take it out and look at it to make sure I tap the right part of the screen.

Also a lower replacement price. Someone might want to steal my expensive smart
phone, or it might break and make me sad. If I had a $20 dedicated media
player, then there's nothing to worry about.

~~~
WWLink
You can tap those physical buttons and the thought will never cross your mind
to check the weather, and ooh since we're at it, how's things on facebook?
Email? Oh boy! 10 minutes down the toilet because I wanted to change the song
playing!

------
dreamcompiler
I still use my click wheel ipod. The UI makes finding my songs much quicker
than on my phone, and it can create on-the-go playlists just by holding down
the button, which Apple still hasn't figured out how to do on their phones.
And finally it has a high quality DAC so music sounds better than from my
phone.

~~~
mattdotc
I've been thinking about replacing the hard drive and battery in mine for the
past few years. The wheel-based iPods really did have the best UI for music in
any device I've ever owned. If you're familiar with it, you can navigate with
extraordinary ease.

~~~
khedoros1
Years ago, I replaced the 20GB drive in mine with a 30GB drive, because I was
having issues. It was pretty easy with my 4th-gen iPod. Turns out that the
issues were actually in the USB interface, not the drive itself. So I
struggled to get the drive re-filled, and haven't changed the data on it
in...probably 7 or 8 years.

------
starsinspace
The greatest innovation of the iPod was the bold move to make the earbuds
white. This made the music player - usually tucked away in the pocket - a
visible symbol of status and coolness. Together with a brilliant marketing
campaign which made it into a must-have fashion item, and special content
contracts, it made the iPod a huge success.

Technical aspects really aren't what made the iPod successful. Sure, the
clickwheel was a really great idea, and it was an overall well-polished
product. But other players were good too. Without the marketing, and without
the breakthrough pricing of music on the iTunes Music Store (complete with
iPod-ecosystem lockin via DRM), it would have gone nowhere.

In some ways the iPhone is a similar story IMO, but I guess that's even more
controversial...

~~~
FabHK
And a target for thieves...

------
darreld
I bought my first (of many) iPods immediately after it was announced. Watched
the keynote and got it. I can't remember any other device getting more use in
my life for several years. I still have the original 5GB iPod.

------
adam
Another perspective: I gave my 5 year old an old iPod Nano + some over-ear
headphones, and she uses them to listen to music and kid podcasts. I much
prefer this over an iPod touch, iPhone, or iPad. We're just not ready for her
to have that kind of screen time.

------
kinkrtyavimoodh
I have always been jealous of how Apple always managed to brand its product in
a way that made them common names for their product category.

When iPods were around everyone referred to any MP3 player as an iPod and most
people still say iPad to refer to tablets.

------
_ph_
I think there would be still quite a market for an up-to date incarnation of
the iPod. Roughly in the size of the last iPod nano. There are times and
activities where you can or don't want to use your iPhone and traditionally
use an iPod. Especially if it came with a bit more storage and of course good
Apple Music integration (e.g. be able to automatically sync your playlists to
your iPod).

The Apple Watch might one day take that role, but for now it doesn't offer
enough storage and its interaction is a bit more difficult due to the small
size.

~~~
scarface74
If you have a cellular equipped Apple Watch that you just want to use for
music and a subscription to Apple Music, is storage a big deal?

On the other hand, my next phone will probably be the next generation 4 inch
iPhone SE with the most storage I can get when Apple introduces it.

I'm really starting to like the idea of a small phone + an iPad over a
slightly larger phone that really doesn't enhance usability for me.

~~~
girvo
My iPhone SE is literally the best phone I’ve ever owned. Perfect size, used
sparingly, and often as a tether for my iPad instead when I want to do any
type of content management or creation. And it fits in my pocket properly!

------
ajaimk
The Apple Watch is the new iPod Nano (with additional functionality)

~~~
mstade
With a very important caveat: it takes FOREVER to sync not-very-many songs
with the watch. This isn't a problem if you're bringing your phone as well,
but if you're going for run and don't want to or can't bring your phone, you
either have to plan ahead or stick with the same ol' songs every single time
you're out and about.

To be fair, I tend to stick with the same songs anyway, it makes it easy for
me to always know how I'm doing with regards to my run, without having to look
at the watch or wait for a mile / km update to come along, since I know when
in the playlist I should be when reaching certain parts of my track. (Provided
I run the same track, that is, but usually I do.)

~~~
twoodfin
Streaming on the LTE Series 3 solves this problem. Haven’t checked but assume
it works with iTunes Match for whatever obscurities you have.

~~~
mstade
Unfortunately, LTE for Series 3 isn't available everywhere and specifically
it's not available in my country. From what I hear, it probably won't happen
anytime soon either, if ever. :o(

------
qubex
I bought a black iPod Shuffle from a physical Apple Store the day they
announced its discontinuation. It’s still in its box. I don’t know what it is
about the demented functionality of the thing, but they’re adorable,
dependable, and tough as rocks. I’ve got probably half a dozen iPods of
various kinds in working condition strewn around the place, even though I
don’t use them regularly (including an iPod Video with an aftermarket SSD and
fresh battery, a first generation iPod Touch from 2007, an elongated iPod
Shuffle with a mirror finish, and a few incarnations of iPod Nano). I’ve got a
friend that has a strip of different coloured iPod Shuffles assembled on a
nylon strap (in chromatic order, no less) all linked simultaneously to a audio
jack muxer, so she can select an iPod shuffle based on her mood.

There’s a lot of nostalgia involved in these things. They’re not bad devices.
They could have gone on selling them for almost forever.

------
Overtonwindow
I think this is kind of unfortunate. I wish I could still get my hands on a
huge iPod that just does music. Maybe anachronistic but for the car and other
activities, I would have loved to have the massive iPods.

~~~
panglott
They're still available on the secondary market, and I still use mine almost
every day.

------
wilsonfiifi
I understand the deprecation of the iPod classic [0] but i don't for the life
of me know why Apple still hasen't increased the iPod touch storage space to
256gb.

    
    
      [0] https://www.geek.com/apple/ipod-classic-discontinued-because-apple-couldnt-source-parts-anymore-1607952/

------
robert_foss
Isn't it a bit late for this eulogy?

~~~
wlesieutre
Yes, article is from July when Apple discontinued the iPod Nano and iPod
Shuffle.

Wired (I think) sometimes pulls out old stories and puts them on their
homepage along with the news, poster might not realized.

Side note, I still have one of those iPod Shuffles around somewhere. Great
little device to clip on your running shorts, but it had the weirdest cable.
They mapped 4 USB pins onto a TRRS connector and synced it through the
headphone jack.

~~~
tomelders
I still think the original iPod shuffle that doubled as a USB key was the most
useful piece of tech I've ever owned for under £500.

~~~
bsharitt
A case where the knock offs were sometimes better than the original in my
opinion. Where the iPod you still had to use iTunes to get music on to the
device, but could otherwise use it as a USB drive(can't remember if you had to
specifically allocate space for that or if all free space was available), but
on the cheap Chinese knockoffs, you just had the file system on the USB stick
where you could dump files and a mp3 files alike and it would shuffle what
ever mp3 files it found on there.

The iTunes reliance was annoying in general, but it seemed even more out of
placed with the "USB stick" shuffle.

~~~
FabHK
> The iTunes reliance was annoying in general

Many people think that way, but I really much prefer to organise my music in
iTunes than in the file system. (Even with iTunes, you can always go down to
the file system if you want to, but try making a smart playlist in the file
system alone...)

(Granted though that iTunes has become way too crowded with functionality
now.)

~~~
khedoros1
> Many people think that way, but I really much prefer to organise my music in
> iTunes than in the file system.

iTunes + filesystem aren't the only two options. At the time, I usually had my
library set up in Winamp and XMMS, and iTunes was annoyingly opinionated about
what the structure of the library should be. I would've liked the option to
use something besides iTunes.

------
girvo
I miss my iPod Mini. I had it running RockBox (a uclinux distribution aimed at
MP3 players), and replaced the 1.8” HDD with a compact flash card (32GB, I
think?). Got a decade of use out of it.

I kind of want to go see if it’s in my cupboard still.

------
Pigo
Then I successfully went the entire lifespan of the iPod without ever owning
one. There was a time I would have been proud of that, now I don't care enough
to engage in Kool-Aid references.

------
asumaran
heh, Coincidentally I just get my iPod Classic 20GB out of the drawer. I'm
going to use it instead of my iPhone to listen some music when I commute.

