The venerable iPod Classic hasn’t been update since September 2009, and even that was a negligible update to the last model, the sixth-generation iPod debuting in 2007. The long gap, coupled with Apple’s increasing focus on their iOS devices, have prompted some to ask if we’d see the discontinuation of the iPod Classic sometime soon… especially as it looks increasingly likely that the next iPod Touch might come with as much as 128GB of flash storage.
If you love the iPod Classic, though, don’t pay the morbid speculation any mind. Apple CEO Steve Jobs himself has weighed in upon the matter, writing a (nearly hysterical) MacRumors reader and saying that they have “no plans” to kill off the iPod Classic.
Honestly, that sort of relieves me. It’s easy to look at the iPod Classic as antiquated tech, but I like to think of it like a samurai sword, razor-keen and honed to perfection after countless foldings. That it doesn’t have the same functionality as a ray gun doesn’t make a samurai sword obsolete, it just makes it less flashy, more focused and subtle.
The iPod Classic is aimed at exactly one kind of person: the guy who wants to have his entire music collection in his pocket at all times. As music file sizes get larger, as digital music collections grow, there’s always going to be someone for whom the iPod Touch just doesn’t cut it. Apple always wants to be able to sell those guys an iPod. They’re the guys who built the brand to begin with.
John Brownlee is a writer for Fast Company, and a contributing writer here at CoM. He has also written for Wired, Playboy, Boing Boing, Popular Mechanics, VentureBeat, and Gizmodo. He lives in Boston with his wife and two parakeets. You can follow him here on Twitter.
20 responses to “Steve Jobs: We Have No Plans To Discontinue The iPod Classic”
DUH!!!! Saw that one coming since two weeks ago!
So I’m that guy who needs his entire music collection on his ipod. Thank you for keeping around the only mp3 player that can handle all of my needs.
O, plus the thing is super durable and will last forever with a good cover.
Thanks Steve, for not killing my favorite iPod model.
Yes this is good news to hear. Phew. I appreciate the Classics focus, its a great music machine.
Bring on the 128GB iPod Touch/iPhone.
This is good news for men like my father, whose hands are much too large to use nano-sized iPods. I gave him one years ago and he still uses it daily.
The best thing about it is the hardware interface. This is still eminently more practical in so many situations, especially when it’s in your pocket, or in the car, or on the bike, or when you’re wearing gloves. Being able to *click* something tactile still has it’s place and offers advantages over the touch screen when the situation makes swiping just to get access to the interface a PITA.
Long live the iPod Clickwheel!
Not to mention that if you have an iPhone, having a Touch is pretty redundant.
The classic hits the sweet spot for size and utility. The touch is a little too big and lacks the click wheel, and the nano’s screen and click wheel are a little small. I think the future models should be a merger of the nano and classic, with SSD and a camera.
So I’m that guy who needs his entire music accumulation on his ipod. Thank you for obligation around the only mp3 contestant that can handle all of my needs.
O, nonnegative the entity is super perdurable and present net forever with a favorable covering.
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allen11
Ipod