Sources detail expected iPod product line overhaul

Posted:
in Future Apple Hardware edited January 2014
Apple Computer on Wednesday is expected to unveil a major overhaul to its iPod product offerings, according to a multitude of reports.



Following requests that dealers return their remaining stock of iPod photo players, sources say Apple will discontinue its 40GB iPod and iPod photo models, replacing them with a 30GB iPod photo for $349 and a 60GB iPod photo for $449.



The iPod maker will reportedly keep its 20GB monochrome display player at $299 for the foreseeable future, or until supplies are exhausted. Both the new 30GB and 60GB iPod photo models are expected to debut with Bluetooth wireless connectivity, sources added.



As previously reported, Apple will also debut 4 new models of its iPod mini player, which will retail for $249 with a 6GB drive and color display. Sources said the company will continue to sell its current 4GB iPods, sans the 'Gold' model, for $199 until supplies run dry.



It remains unclear what will become of the Special Edition 20GB U2 iPod, which currently retails for $349 -- the same price point the company will target with its new 30GB iPod photo.



Also unconfirmed is whether the new iPod photo players will continue to ship with a carrying case and docking station at their new price points, or if these accessories will now be sold separately.



An official announcement is expected at 8:30 am EST on Wednesday morning.



Editors from the MacShrine Web site helped contribute to this report.
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Comments

  • Reply 1 of 25
    welshdogwelshdog Posts: 1,897member
    I guess the question to ask at this juncture is: How long can Apple maintain adequate market interest in the iPod? New models, new features, is that enough to keep the fires burning? Do people who already own iPods feel the urge to upgrade when the newest version is revealed?



    In my case the enthusiasm has waned a little. I have an iPod and it works fine or my needs. It won't get replaced until it wears out (which will be a long time in my case). Nothing mentioned in this article would motivate me to go spend the money - again.



    What about the rest of you iPod owners? Ready to ebay the old one and buy a new one?
  • Reply 2 of 25
    tednditedndi Posts: 1,921member
    <cough> zigbee.org <cough>
  • Reply 3 of 25
    welshdogwelshdog Posts: 1,897member
    Quote:

    Originally posted by TednDi

    <cough> zigbee.org <cough>



    You are obfuscating dude. It's all pops and clicks on this end.
  • Reply 4 of 25
    tednditedndi Posts: 1,921member
    http://forums.appleinsider.com/showt...threadid=51485



    I point you to my last post there.



  • Reply 5 of 25
    sabonsabon Posts: 134member
    Quote:

    Originally posted by WelshDog

    I guess the question to ask at this juncture is: How long can Apple maintain adequate market interest in the iPod? New models, new features, is that enough to keep the fires burning? Do people who already own iPods feel the urge to upgrade when the newest version is revealed?



    In my case the enthusiasm has waned a little. I have an iPod and it works fine or my needs. It won't get replaced until it wears out (which will be a long time in my case). Nothing mentioned in this article would motivate me to go spend the money - again.



    What about the rest of you iPod owners? Ready to ebay the old one and buy a new one?




    Hey WelshDog,



    I did upgrade from a 3G 30GB to a 4G 40GB iPod (giving my old one to my wife). That was easy.



    Now - would I upgrade based on anything that is rumored? I wouldn't call it an upgrade. There are things I do like white water rafting, snow skiing, and vacationing where I'm not sure I want to have my "big" iPod with me. So I'm looking at buying an iPod Shuffle.



    I will note that Bluetooth wireless looks very interesting. I'm VERY tired of cords getting tangled up. So if I can spend $80 or less on good bluetooth headphone that are easy to recharge then I might look at upgrading to the new iPods. Especially if I could transfer my pictures from my digital camera or even my video camera directly to my iPod. Then I would definitely take this on vacation with me too.
  • Reply 6 of 25
    hmurchisonhmurchison Posts: 12,419member
    Forward progress is always good. My girlfriend loves her silver iPod mini but there are a couple of things that have irked here.



    1. The need to "reset" the iPod every now and then



    2. The difficulty in choosing the backlighting option when you need it.



    The new iPod mini will conveniently dispose of problem number 2. That cures %50 of her pain points.



    What i'll likely do is grab her a 6GB iPod mini color and I'll take over the silver iPod mini for myself. I'm also buying my mother a shuffle for her birthday. I don't think I'm the minority when I say that there are LOTS of people who plan to make iPod purchases so I guess I'd say that Apple should have rather steady sales for the near future.
  • Reply 7 of 25
    Quote:

    Originally posted by hmurchison

    Forward progress is always good. My girlfriend loves her silver iPod mini but there are a couple of things that have irked here.



    1. The need to "reset" the iPod every now and then



    2. The difficulty in choosing the backlighting option when you need it.



    The new iPod mini will conveniently dispose of problem number 2. That cures %50 of her pain points.



    What i'll likely do is grab her a 6GB iPod mini color and I'll take over the silver iPod mini for myself. I'm also buying my mother a shuffle for her birthday. I don't think I'm the minority when I say that there are LOTS of people who plan to make iPod purchases so I guess I'd say that Apple should have rather steady sales for the near future.




    I agree on the backlighting. The whole POINT of backlighting is because you can't see the screen, so how can you navigate through 3 menus if you can't even see? Well, I can do it sometimes because I memorized that it was the last option on the main menu



    I'm probably gonna buy a 30gig and give my mini to my mom.
  • Reply 8 of 25
    wireless headphones???????
  • Reply 9 of 25
    feraliferali Posts: 175member
    hmm on my ipod.. u hold down the menu button and the backlight turns on.. im sure its not any specialer than ur guys' ipods??



    or.. maybe it is.
  • Reply 10 of 25
    What's all the talk of uprading your iPod? Although Apple has sold a lot of of theses mp3 players the majority of the worlds population does not own an iPod. A rough estimate would be that 0.000001% of the population owns one. So I don't think that to have people upgading there iPods is the only way they can sell them. Wether the new iPods are any good is not a question of how much better they are compared to the previous model, but how good they are compared to other mp3 players.

    I don't own one and I think I'll hold of untill they have a 10gig iPod mini since it's not an item of nesseaty only one of desire.



    Viktor
  • Reply 11 of 25
    Quote:

    Originally posted by farve

    What's all the talk of uprading your iPod? Although Apple has sold a lot of of theses mp3 players the majority of the worlds population does not own an iPod. A rough estimate would be that 0.000001% of the population owns one. So I don't think that to have people upgading there iPods is the only way they can sell them. Wether the new iPods are any good is not a question of how much better they are compared to the previous model, but how good they are compared to other mp3 players.

    I don't own one and I think I'll hold of untill they have a 10gig iPod mini since it's not an item of nesseaty only one of desire.



    Viktor




    at the beginning of the digital age its not a necessity to have ur music collection in ur pocket? .000001% of the WORLD population??? meaning the 7.5 billion people living on earth? get ur stats right... obviously not everyone on earth can have an ipod...they cant afford it...ipods are the best mp3 players... they have an award winning interface and design... so what exactly did u plan for ur escape route after walking into an apple forum to bash apple and its failure to hand everyone in the world an ipod?



    walking out the door dusting off my hands...
  • Reply 12 of 25
    guarthoguartho Posts: 1,208member
    Quote:

    so what exactly did u plan for ur escape route after walking into an apple forum to bash apple and its failure to hand everyone in the world an ipod?



    walking out the door dusting off my hands...






    ermmmmm.... WTF?



    I think he just meant that there's still plenty of people to sell iPods to for the first time. I also tried very hard but didn't find any bashing either.



    Come on in Farve, have a seat. No escape plan needed.
  • Reply 13 of 25
    brussellbrussell Posts: 9,812member
    What would this bluetooth be for? Streaming music? My impression was that airport extreme with airtunes doesn't even work all that well. How could bluetooth handle it?
  • Reply 14 of 25
    Quote:

    Originally posted by Guartho

    ermmmmm.... WTF?



    I think he just meant that there's still plenty of people to sell iPods to for the first time. I also tried very hard but didn't find any bashing either.



    Come on in Farve, have a seat. No escape plan needed.






    oops sry Farve...seems i misinterpreted ur comment...my apologies...ive been facing some tough apple criticism today and i didnt take the time to realize the point you were trying to make...once again very sry...
  • Reply 15 of 25
    guarthoguartho Posts: 1,208member
    Quote:

    Originally posted by ineedag5pbnow

    oops sry Farve...seems i misinterpreted ur comment...my apologies...ive been facing some tough apple criticism today and i didnt take the time to realize the point you were trying to make...once again very sry...





    Whew... Anyone can mis-read a post. For a second there I thought we were going to have to get the nice guys in clean white coats to come get you.
  • Reply 16 of 25
    I hope this is true. If it is, I will be getting a new iPod Photo as soon as I get either $50 or $150 more, depending on which model I decide to get.



    I wanted one badly but they were too expensive for me- this would be excellent.
  • Reply 17 of 25
    Quote:

    Originally posted by Guartho

    Whew... Anyone can mis-read a post. For a second there I thought we were going to have to get the nice guys in clean white coats to come get you.





    oh u mean the research and development technicians at Apple labs...hehehehe...
  • Reply 18 of 25
    These updates would be awesome, they'd definitely put apple in the lead when it comes to the size to price and feature ratio.
  • Reply 19 of 25
    Quote:

    Originally posted by BRussell

    What would this bluetooth be for? Streaming music? My impression was that airport extreme with airtunes doesn't even work all that well. How could bluetooth handle it?



    Bluetooth headphone?



    Remote control? Plug in an iPod into an Airport Extreme and control the music from anywhere in the house without touching the iPod.



    File transfers? Transfer photos from a digital camera into iPod without 3rd party accessory. Transfer songs to/from mobile phones. Sync Address Book without having to dock the iPod.



    iHome? Using iPod as an external storage, you can log in to a Mac using your preferences and data without plugging cords.



    I think there could be many interesting applications (an more interesting too than to stream songs) for a bluetooth iPod.
  • Reply 20 of 25
    Quote:

    Originally posted by Blade-X

    Bluetooth headphone?



    Remote control? Plug in an iPod into an Airport Extreme and control the music from anywhere in the house without touching the iPod.



    File transfers? Transfer photos from a digital camera into iPod without 3rd party accessory. Transfer songs to/from mobile phones. Sync Address Book without having to dock the iPod.



    iHome? Using iPod as an external storage, you can log in to a Mac using your preferences and data without plugging cords.



    I think there could be many interesting applications (an more interesting too than to stream songs) for a bluetooth iPod.




    even though BT 2.0 is faster i don`t see a practical use of BT for Home-on-iPod feature :/



    It would be painfully slow :/
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