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It's 2017. Should Apple update their iPod? Do you still own one?

I own the 7th gen iPod Nano.

KJif9Hy.jpg


I also own an iPhone but most of the space on it is being used up by apps. And really, I just like a dedicated music player. The 7th gen came out in 2012 and since then Apple has abandoned it to further pursue the iPad, iTouch, iPhone, etc. I know in 2017 everybody is streaming music and barely anyone uses iTunes as their music hub, but is there any possible way Apple can update the iPod and have it make sense in today's market? I can't put close to 2,000 songs on my iPhone but I sure as hell can on my iPod. I imagine the last iteration can go back to the classic look for one last sendoff.

xKb7hkk.png
NZyUi5r.png
 

tedtropy

$50/hour, but no kissing on the lips and colors must be pre-separated
There are other, superior options that don't saddle you with iTunes in the player-only department.
 

NESpowerhouse

Perhaps he's wondering why someone would shoot a man before throwing him out of a plane.
Still rockin my 3rd gen Nano from 2007. Still Works fine. I haven't even come close to running out of space yet (8GB model). I tell you Apple built these things to last. I could throw this thing against a brick wall, and it'll still be fine.

229de8e3e69d8e3add9203cccd53c8bd.jpg
 
I think there's definitely a market for dedicated music devices, divorced from the streaming ecosystem. But it may be too small for Apple to bother courting.
 
The day I got a smartphone negated the use of an iPod for me. Why carry around two similarly sized devices when one can do the trick.
 

snacknuts

we all knew her
I have a 30GB iPod Video I keep in my car that I bought in March of 2005. I haven't updated the music on it in probably three or four years and I only use it when I need music and don't have a good signal for streaming on my phone. I have no interest in any new media devices from Apple.
 

jstripes

Banned
Should Apple update the iPod?

From a tech enthusiast point of view? Absolutely.

From a realistic point of view? That ship has sailed.
 

Tobor

Member
I own the 7th gen iPod Nano.

KJif9Hy.jpg


I also own an iPhone but most of the space on it is being used up by apps. And really, I just like a dedicated music player. The 7th gen came out in 2012 and since then Apple has abandoned it to further pursue the iPad, iTouch, iPhone, etc. I know in 2017 everybody is streaming music and barely anyone uses iTunes as their music hub, but is there any possible way Apple can update the iPod and have it make sense in today's market? I can't put close to 2,000 songs on my iPhone but I sure as hell can on my iPod. I imagine the last iteration can go back to the classic look for one last sendoff.

[im://i.imgur.com/xKb7hkk.png[/img][imhttp://i.imgur.com/NZyUi5r.png[/img]

Spend a little more next time. I have a 256 GB iPhone 7+. I could store 20,000 songs if I want to.
 

Couleurs

Member
I use a 120gb iPod Classic for my car. I really wish Apple updated with a larger capacity model (or shit, continued with their 160gb models at least) since it seems like my iPod is on its last legs.

Since that isn't going to happen, are there any non-Apple MP3 players that sync with iTunes? (Only an issue since I don't want to fuck around with syncing playlists in multiple apps)

Worst case scenario I could just use my phone in the car over Bluetooth, but for whatever reason my car doesn't show album artwork over Bluetooth, despite showing it over USB. Which is an extremely minor thing to complain about, but hey.
 

chekhonte

Member
Did none of you have problems with the headphone jacks? I've had probably 4 ipods in the past and every one of them had a headphone jack problem after about a year or two.
 

D4Danger

Unconfirmed Member
I think if you were going to make something like this today it would need to look like a tie clip. I can imagine anyone wants a smartphone and another smartphone-like device.
 

Laekon

Member
I own a nano but no idea what generation. It's just a hard drive for music in my 2008 VW. Nothing else works without replacing the head unit.

I don't think they need to replace them. Though maybe a nano for those like me that hate running/working with a phone.
 

Meatfist

Member
I think the rise of streaming music services was the final nail in the iPod's coffin. I was holding onto an old iPod touch for a while just because I had a fuckton of music I didn't want taking up space on my phone, but Spotify on my phone has done away with that entirely
 

ShowDog

Member
I recently updated my old 3rd gen iPod pictured above with a new battery and replaced the HDD with flash. Unfortunately it still acts up all temperamental and refuses to work consistently. Bummer :/ maybe some things are better left in the past.

Nah I'd like to have a working one though.
 
The day I got a smartphone negated the use of an iPod for me. Why carry around two similarly sized devices when one can do the trick.

For me, usage of iPods still carried over into the iPhone era back when iPhone storage options were limited and forced to compete with apps for space, streaming services were still nascent at best.

There was only so much I could do with a 16GB iPhone loaded with apps, and I didn't want to sync every time I wanted to listen to a new album because iTunes syncing has always been an annoying process, so I still used iPod Touch and Nanos up until about 2013.

I still like my 6G and 7G Nanos. They're kind of neat, tiny little devices, especially when running, and I wouldn't mind having a newer one with more storage.
 

Sorcerer

Member
Usually a refresh comes every 2 years. If they don't have anything to show by Spring 2018 I am just going to assume the ipod is dead.
 

axisofweevils

Holy crap! Today's real megaton is that more than two people can have the same first name.
I have an 7th gen 16gb iPod Nano for podcasts and a 2015 128gb iPod Touch for music. I dont use my phone for music.
I figure that any new apple device would lose the headphone jack, so I dont plan on upgrading.
 

Ovek

7Member7
They could make a high end device (like the Sony ones) with a superior DAC, support for FLAC etc and some premium build quality.

Problem is Apple doesn't know what a decent DAC is or refuse to use them because they might cost $0.05 more than the shite Cirrus Logic ones they insist on using.
 

Ovid

Member
I still have one, the best one, iPod Nano 5th Gen. It has a video camera, radio, pedometer and a speaker. It's super slim and light, perfect for the gym.

I keep it in my car since I have a phone and stream everything.

I also have the 1st Gen iPod Touch. The touch recognition went bad but it was still usable. I tried to do a factory reset/restore via iTunes but Apple has prevented users from syncing it. So now its basically a brick.
 
I own:
two Gen 4 iPods (the iPod Photo; color screen but no video. one of them has a 128gb SSD in it)
two gen 5 iPod Nanos (the one with the video camera and my favorite form factor. one is irreparably damaged)
an iPod Classic (2009 model if I recall correctly, has issues)
a Gen 1 iPod Touch (absolute trash, the last update made it unusably slow and though jailbreaking and CFW helped it's still basically worthless for anything outside of music)

needless to say, I actually like iPods and prefer a dedicated music player.

I don't like iTunes at all, though.
Unfortunately it's still the best thing on the market for managing a music library.

A modern iPod would need a lot of updates and a drastically revamped database.
iTunes completely falls apart in situations such as songs with multiple artists (not just featuring, I mean more than one artist. Lil Wayne & Birdman's "Like Father, Like Son" album can't be properly attributed to both artists without making an entirely new "artist" category for both of them which is not an actual solution) as well as songs that fit into multiple genres, among many other things.

I would buy a new iPod if it was specifically for music, was good quality, and had a vastly updated management/database protocol.

otherwise foobar2k on my phone is good enough
 

Fuchsdh

Member
I've got my OG 80GB classic that I swapped out the battery and spinning hard drive with a 128GB flash (the largest I could put on it due to software limitations.)

I'll probably keep it for at least another decade. It's a great machine.

I'd probably have liked them to make a flash-based Classic with basic wireless capabilities, but such is life. I don't really see the point of the Nano at this point though.

A modern iPod would need a lot of updates and a drastically revamped database.
iTunes completely falls apart in situations such as songs with multiple artists (not just featuring, I mean more than one artist. Lil Wayne & Birdman's "Like Father Like Son" can't be properly attributed to both artists without making an entirely new "artist" category for both of them) as well as songs that fit into multiple genres, among many other things.

Unfortunately I haven't seen any digital music jukebox software out there that does fringe cases like this well. The biggest gaping hole in functionality with iTunes or any other player I've tried remains classical music, where composer nomenclature is all over the map. If I had more time I'd break out a lot more AppleScript to try and wrangle it, but then that breaks links with my purchased music.
 
Did none of you have problems with the headphone jacks? I've had probably 4 ipods in the past and every one of them had a headphone jack problem after about a year or two.

I dropped my 6th gen Nano on concrete and the headphone jack got dented. I couldn't plug in my headphones. Other than that I had no problem with the headphone jacks on iPods.
 

NOLA_Gaffer

Banned
NZyUi5r.png


My favorite iPod design by far. I used mine for probably five years before hardware issues started cropping up.

Apple's design team was on point in the first half of the 2000s, with the iMac G4 being the real crown jewel of their lineup.
 

Nydius

Member
I still have a 6th Gen iPod Touch and it's still my primary means of music listening. When I bought it, I was still on Windows Phone and wanted a media player that also had access to iOS apps. Later that year I ended up getting an iPhone. But I still prefer the iPod as it has more capacity and I don't have to waste my precious iPhone space with music.

If it ever craps out though I'm probably going to end up buying one of those user-expandable storage players which supports a variety of both lossy and lossless formats.
 

GKnight

Banned
I had the second gen iPod.completely forgettable mp3 player had many better since.
I wish companies still made good dedicated mp3 players
 
I use an iPod shuffle 4th gen because it's a lot more comfortable to go running with than my phone. Size of a postage stamp, doesn't weigh anything, and super basic and easy to use buttons. I'm one of those weirdoes who doesn't steam music and has a ridiculously large collection of music stored on my pc.
 

Parch

Member
I still use a 4th gen IPod touch for music and couple of old games. I can even use it as a free VOIP phone with Fongo. I have no intention of abandoning or upgrading as long as it still works.
 
Still got a 30gb one from years ago. Got tired of using it though due to itunes. I stuck with a creative jukebox instead until micro sd cards got cheap.
 

Gaardus

Member
I still used my Sansa Clip+ until the down button stopped working two weeks ago. They're pricey as hell now, though, and their successors (the also-discontinued Clip Zip aside) apparently don't support gapless playback, so I guess it's time to switch to smartphones full-time. I'm gonna miss those physical controls. :(
 
D

Deleted member 325805

Unconfirmed Member
Why not just use your phone with headphones?
 

Chittagong

Gold Member
Fun fact: Apple has last updated the iPod more recently than the Mac Mini. We have one of the two in our office meeting room, take a guess which one.
 

Flux

Member
I'm thinking of converting an old iPhone passed down to me into a music and streaming device for workouts. My old iPod touch is cracked and 6 years old.
 
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