Apple slashes iPod shuffle price, introduces 2GB model

Posted:
in iPod + iTunes + AppleTV edited January 2014
Apple on Tuesday slashed the price of its 1GB clip-on iPod shuffle music player from $79 to $49 and introduced a new 2GB model for just $69.



The diminutive device is just half a cubic inch in volume, weighs just half an ounce, features an aluminum design with a built-in clip and comes in five colors-silver, blue, green, purple and a (PRODUCT) RED special edition.



"At just $49, the iPod shuffle is the most affordable iPod ever," said Greg Joswiak, Apple's vice president of Worldwide iPod Product Marketing. "The new 2GB model lets music lovers bring even more songs everywhere they go in the impossibly small iPod shuffle."



Apple's refresh of the shuffle comes amid analyst reports which place a large part of the blame for recent iPod demand softness on the aging shuffle line, which hadn't received a material update in nearly 18 months.



"While virtually 100 percent of the unit shortfall was in the low-end iPod Shuffle, allowing Apple to beat consensus iPod revenue despite the unit shortfall," Citigroup analyst Rich Gardner recently wrote in a research report covering Apple's fiscal first quarter results. "We believe the unit shortfall reflected the lack of a compelling update to the Shuffle product last Fall; the Shuffle simply was not the compelling 'stocking stuffer' this year that it was last year."







Pricing & Availability



The new 1GB iPod shuffle is available immediately for a suggested retail price of $49 through the Apple Store Apple's retail stores and Apple Authorized Resellers. The 2GB iPod shuffle will be available later this month for a suggested retail price of $69 through the Apple Store, Apple's retail stores and Apple Authorized Resellers. iPod shuffle requires a Mac with a USB 2.0 port, Mac OS X 10.4.8 or later and iTunes 7.4; or a Windows PC with a USB 2.0 port and Windows Vista or Windows XP Home or Professional (Service Pack 2) or later and iTunes 7.4 or later.
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Comments

  • Reply 1 of 74
    Two gigs on a clip.

    Or 49 bucks?

    This is gonna kill that average iPod price, but it's great!
  • Reply 2 of 74
    Hot Diggity! I've been waiting a long time for this.



    Does this mean that Apple is going to consider dropping prices on other ipods?



    Are we seeing the beginning of another wave of price slashes? Lower margins, maybe but I think it would be a nice response to the crapped-out economy.
  • Reply 3 of 74
    Ah well... Was interested to see whether they update the case with the new trackpads.



    I guess there is a better chance of that at a media event than a Tuesday morning update with a press release!
  • Reply 4 of 74
    Still £49 on the UK apple store, no surprise there then
  • Reply 5 of 74
    shanmugamshanmugam Posts: 1,200member
    iPhone everywhere!!! what about iPod nano price slashes?
  • Reply 6 of 74
    mactelmactel Posts: 1,275member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by wolfneuralnet View Post


    Ah well... Was interested to see whether they update the case with the new trackpads.



    I guess there is a better chance of that at a media event than a Tuesday morning update with a press release!



    Ouch, my hand would have a hard time with such a tiny trackpad.



    I'm sure Apple is having a difficult time in designing a 3G shuffle. How much smaller can they get and still have it be functional? A small screen showing the album name, artist, track name, and duration would be a good addition. Heck, there are media players that play movies that are as small as the shuffle.



    I'd bet the lowering of the price and the slight improvement (more memory) indicate we'll see a major update to the line at year's end.
  • Reply 7 of 74
    flounderflounder Posts: 2,674member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by MacTel View Post


    Ouch, my hand would have a hard time with such a tiny trackpad.



    If you look at the title of his post, I believe he was talking about the MBP trackpad.
  • Reply 8 of 74
    Wow! I've been thinking about buying a shuffle for a while. With this price cut the offer is tempting, but now I want to wait and see what the 2GB model looks like. Maybe next, they'll get rid of that ridiculous price difference between the white and black 2.2GHz MacBooks.
  • Reply 9 of 74
    slewisslewis Posts: 2,081member
    Null.
  • Reply 10 of 74
    I don't think product refresh is to blame for soft shuffle sales (if that's true). I think the Shuffle with the whole clip thing is brilliant and I love mine. If the 2GB version is just $69 more I'm sure that's all it is. Not really sure how much they could improve on this design except maybe some clever Apple way of displaying what song is being played. But I just don't think it's really necessary given how small the Nano is, ie if that's important to you, buy the Nano.
  • Reply 11 of 74
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by luna23255 View Post


    I want to wait and see what the 2GB model looks like



    Same form-factor, just more storage.
  • Reply 12 of 74
    Just picked up a refurbished 8GB iPhone at the online store for $349. Haven't seen these available for a long time.
  • Reply 13 of 74
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by mac_daddy View Post


    Just picked up a refurbished 8GB iPhone at the online store for $349. Haven't seen these available for a long time.



    yep after long time they are available ... enjoy it
  • Reply 14 of 74
    solipsismsolipsism Posts: 25,726member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by wbrasington View Post


    Two gigs on a clip.

    Or 49 bucks?

    This is gonna kill that average iPod price, but it's great!



    It will also increase the unit sales.



    The 1GB 2nd generation iPod Shuffle was released September 12, 2006, for $79. It has remained that price for 525 days with only some color additions. That is much longer than any other product in Apple's (post-mid-90's) product line.



    Personally, I love my Shuffle and have no need to upgrade to a 2GB version. It's much better than my Nano for the gym.
  • Reply 15 of 74
    Sweet!



    I'm going to pick up a 1GB model for the gym as well. I don't need a 2GB shuffle because quite honestly once you get too large not having playlists sucks.
  • Reply 16 of 74
    solipsismsolipsism Posts: 25,726member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by hmurchison View Post


    Sweet!



    I'm going to pick up a 1GB model for the gym as well. I don't need a 2GB shuffle because quite honestly once you get too large not having playlists sucks.



    240 songs (assuming you use 128kbps) is 14 hours of music at 3.5 minutes per song. Double the bitrate to 256kbps and you have 7 hours of audio. Even I were running the boston the marathon with cinder blocks dragging behind me a 1GB Shuffle would be plenty. Even using Apple Lossless that is over 1.5 hours of audio.



    Unless we get Bluetooth capable sunglasses with integrated, in-lens displays, higher capacities in this device is going to become a hard sell.
  • Reply 17 of 74
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by iCarbon View Post


    Hot Diggity! I've been waiting a long time for this.



    Does this mean that Apple is going to consider dropping prices on other ipods?



    Are we seeing the beginning of another wave of price slashes? Lower margins, maybe but I think it would be a nice response to the crapped-out economy.



    I don't know that it is really lower margins. Cost of chips has been steadily dropping, but apple hasn't lowered prices or bumped capacity for a long time. This probably just brings a margin way bigger than most apple product more into line with their average.



    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Mr Underhill View Post


    Still £49 on the UK apple store, no surprise there then



    Macworld.co.uk is saying £32 and £45. Might want to wait to get all the facts before whining next time.
  • Reply 18 of 74
    solipsismsolipsism Posts: 25,726member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by minderbinder View Post


    I don't know that it is really lower margins. Cost of chips has been steadily dropping, but apple hasn't lowered prices or bumped capacity for a long time. This probably just brings a margin way bigger than most apple product more into line with their average.



    It's certainly a lower margin that yesterday, but you have a point, it may still be a higher margin than when the $79 2G 1GB Shuffle first appeared in Fall 2006. Especially since the only case change has been to its colour.
  • Reply 19 of 74
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by minderbinder View Post


    I don't know that it is really lower margins. Cost of chips has been steadily dropping, but apple hasn't lowered prices or bumped capacity for a long time. This probably just brings a margin way bigger than most apple product more into line with their average.







    Macworld.co.uk is saying £32 and £45. Might want to wait to get all the facts before whining next time.



    The facts are what it says on the Apple Store, not what a fan site says . The UK store was down as well but back up with the same £49. I've just spoken to a rep there and they have said they have no information on a price-drop... again...



    I'm still waiting for ANY price drop on the Apple TV... you got the reduction & the Take-2 upgrade across the pond but we're still looking at the same £199 for the unit as we were last year.



    Says a lot about the reps when they couldn't even tell me if the UK units have the new Take-2 software... anyone happen to know?
  • Reply 20 of 74
    teckstudteckstud Posts: 6,476member
    Not that's more like it- the way Apple usually updates a product line- introduce the refresh at the same price as the original while reducing the original. Too bad the iTouch was not handled the same way. Flash prices are going down and the Itouch is 6 months old but the prices were not changed to reflect this.
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