All Clickwheel iPods Are Going To Die
It’s been a long time coming, but Apple’s finally going to kill off the iPod Classic and iPod Shuffle, because there just no room anymore for clickwheel devices in a multitouch world.
Shipping times for the iPod Classic have been slipping throughout September, a sure sign that Apple is about to either kill or replace a product with an updated model. The iPod Classic, though, is selling in less volume in 2011 than at any point since 2005. Apple’s also removed Clickwheel games from iTunes, a sure sign that there won’t be any clickwheel devices in short order.
What about the iPod shuffle? Well, the redesigned, touchscreen iPod nano now fills mostly the same role as the Shuffle. It’s the minimalist, athlete’s iPod, just with healthier margins for Apple and with more sex appeal for the consumer.
The New iPod touches Will Get Double The Storage And Come In White
Apple’s Fall Events are traditionally a period in which new iPods are announced, but the only iPod we know to expect is an updated iPod touch.
Leaked parts already confirm the next iPod touch will come in white.
In the past, the new iPod touch has always had the same processor as the iPhone released in the same year, but we just don’t know. The iPod touch is Apple’s budget iOS device, and for all intents and purposes, an A4 processor is just fine for what the iPod touch is meant to do. Apple may try to increase margins on the iPod touch by not bumping the chip.
One thing that looks very likely, though, is that Apple will position the iPod touch to replace the iPod Classic by doubling the iPod touch’s storage capacity to 128GB.
Otherwise, expect the iPod touch to be largely identical to last year’s models.
Steve Jobs Probably Won’t Be There
Steve Jobs is one of the most charismatic tech showmen on Earth, but fourteen years after taking the helm of Apple, Inc. and transforming it into one of the most valuable companies on Earth, he’s finally enacted his succession strategy and retired, appointing Tim Cook as his successor.
Tim Cook is every bit as responsible for Apple’s success as Steve Jobs is, but he’s no showman: he is notoriously soft spoken and private. That said, during Jobs’ last leave of absence, Cook headlined Apple’s events, and did it capably.
Is it possible Steve Jobs might show up for a last hurrah? It’s possible, but the way Steve Jobs retired, named Tim Cook as his successor and then faded into the shadows was so flawless and smooth, we doubt it. When Steve surprised everyone by introducing the iPad 2, he said that “he couldn’t miss” the show because they’d been working on the iPad 2 for a while. Well, Apple’s been working on the next iPhone for 16 months, but even so, Jobs knows it’s time to take a bow. As much as we’d love for Steve Jobs to be given one last round of applause by an event audience, expect this to be Tim Cook’s event.
