New gold, dark blue and hot pink colors come to Apple's iPod nano, shuffle & touch lineups
All three devices in Apple's existing iPod lineup --?the iPod nano, shuffle and touch --?gained three new color options on Wednesday. And while the iPod touch's internal components were overhauled, the iPod nano and shuffle specifications remain unchanged.
All three iPod products can now be purchased in gold, dark blue, and hot pink. These replace previous shades of yellow, a lighter blue, and a softer pink.
The new iPod lineup has the same entry price of $49 for a 2-gigabyte iPod shuffle. And the iPod nano has also maintained a 16-gigabyte capacity at a price of $149.
The iPod touch starts at $199 for 16 gigabytes. A 32-gigabyte version is available for $249, a 64-gigabyte capacity runs $299, and a high-end 128-gigabyte version is available $399.
iPods have become less of a focus for Apple as sales have declined. The company no longer reports unit sales for iPods, lumping them in with services and the upcoming Apple Watch.
But in the last period when iPod sales were reported, which was the fourth quarter of fiscal 2014, sales were just 2.6 million units, earning the company a mere $410 million in revenue.
All three iPod products can now be purchased in gold, dark blue, and hot pink. These replace previous shades of yellow, a lighter blue, and a softer pink.
The new iPod lineup has the same entry price of $49 for a 2-gigabyte iPod shuffle. And the iPod nano has also maintained a 16-gigabyte capacity at a price of $149.
The iPod touch starts at $199 for 16 gigabytes. A 32-gigabyte version is available for $249, a 64-gigabyte capacity runs $299, and a high-end 128-gigabyte version is available $399.
iPods have become less of a focus for Apple as sales have declined. The company no longer reports unit sales for iPods, lumping them in with services and the upcoming Apple Watch.
But in the last period when iPod sales were reported, which was the fourth quarter of fiscal 2014, sales were just 2.6 million units, earning the company a mere $410 million in revenue.
Comments
Failing that I'd have loved to see a storage capacity bump for the Touch but all in all a pretty decent refresh imo.
Maybe I'm missing something?
"earning the company a mere $410 million in revenue" - wish my company could earn a mere $410 million in revenue - I guess everything is relative
Revenue greater than Apple earned for many years. Revenue greater than a lot of companies. But this kind of thinking at Apple is why it's taken so long to update the Touch, and why the Shuffle and Nano got these cheap updates.
The Nano is still overpriced, it needs to be cut to $129 or so.
Wish the Nano had been updated. If you've got an iPhone there's absolutely no reason to have a touch, but the Nano is definitely a device worth owning in addition to an iPhone and an apple watch. A nano with the fitness function of the watch? It would be outstanding.
Actually, there are other posts on AI where people, including myself, have listed various reasons. Mine is to not maintain two phones. I have a company-issued iPhone, but for privacy and company policies, I'm pretty limited as to what I can do with it. I will soon unload my personal iPhone and the necessary cell plan and get new Touch. I can't think of one thing this won't do except make cellular calls/use data. Most of my life is on WiFi anyway. So, for some there is a reason.
Agree. The Nano is overpriced, and still a nice device. Light, and small, and good storage.
I've always thought that the Nano would of looked much better without that white front panel. With instead the screen and home button inlayed directly into the metal casing, like the screens used to be in older generation Nano's. Also as others have said here, its overpriced for what you get. For that bill and a half it should have at least a 32GB capacity, or a drop in price. In addition the Shuffle should have been upgraded to 4GB a long time ago...the new colours are nice enough though.
Seriously? You're not going to hold on to a single device where you have the option of sending a carrier originating SMS that your company doesn't have the right to read?
You also never use whatsapp?
"earning the company a mere $410 million in revenue" - wish my company could earn a mere $410 million in revenue - I guess everything is relative
I think this is $410m in revenue per quarter...
The fourth quarter of 2014 would have been the July-Sept quarter, not the biggest quarter, and only one quarter. I'm guessing the revenue is double that in the holiday quarter. Lump 4 quarters together and the iPod business might still be near a $2 billion business. Plus its value as a gateway into the ecosystem. What must that be worth?
I think the classic got cancelled because 2.5" hard drives were no longer manufactured?
1.8" actually, and I suspect other parts were getting hard to find as well.
Yep me too. I love that big 160GB. It was nice having the wheel as well. Sometimes I'm doing things and find the "Braille" approach easier. <GRIN>
The Nano is still overpriced, it needs to be cut to $129 or so.
Or even $99 for the 16gb and $129 for 32gb.
Me thinks Apple is a bit out of touch here. Granted they don't have much competition as everyone has departed the the MP3 market.
Colour changes is certainly not going to increase sale of a product already dying.
But I think, the iPod line is still around more because of nostalgia than anything else.
...I think, the iPod line is still around more because of nostalgia than anything else.
No, the shuffle is still a valuable item for many people, as a tiny portable device they can wear while working out, or running, etc. without having to strap a phone on their arm, or otherwise lug it around, or just get away from it for an hour. The nano is the way to offer additional storage.
I see the ?Watch eventually replacing the nano at a similar price point, assuming Apple's continues to offer last years model at a reduced price the way they do with the iPhone. But nothing can beat that $49 shuffle price for this purpose. In fact, if Apple ever updates the Shuffle with some fitness features, they can compete against entry level devices like Fitbit without compromising their product line.