Apple Quietly Kills the Original iPod

Lost in the excitement of the iPhone 5 announcement was the sad, final death of the original iPod, the device that sparked Apple's comeback. There was no mention of the iPod Classic, the last remnant of the music device that reinvented the market and drove Apple's meteoric rise in music, but the message was clear. At three different points in his presentation, Greg Joswiak, Vice President of Worldwide iPod, iPhone, and iOS Product Marketing, introduced Apple's fall lineup for iPod. Screen shots of each instance are included in this post, notably absent from each: the iPod Classic.

This comes as no surprise. The iPod hasn't had a refresh in years. Both the hardware and software have been allowed to stagnate. Further, although it provided an excellent experience for music, that hasn't been enough to outweigh all of the apps you could get on an iPod touch or iPhone at a similar price-point. And if you're an iPhone user, it's hard to justify carrying a second device anyway.

Rest in peace, iPod Classic. We've had a good run, and you were an excellent device, but there just isn't room in Apple's product line for you anymore. And like I said, it's hard to justify carrying a second device anyway.