Apple is officially killing the iPod Nano and iPod Shuffle (AAPL)

pulse

July 27, 2017 5:22 PM

Say goodbye to the iPod Nano and iPod Shuffle. The iPod Touch, essentially an iPhone without cellular service, has been updated.

Apple no longer sells the most recent iPod Nano model.

Apple updated its iPod lineup on Thursday and discontinued the iPod Nano and iPod Shuffle.

They were the last two iPods that didn't run iOS, the same software on the iPhone.

"Today, we are simplifying our iPod lineup with two models of iPod Touch, now with double the capacity, starting at just $199, and we are discontinuing the iPod Shuffle and iPod Nano," an Apple representative told Business Insider in an email.

The iPod Shuffle and iPod Nano have been removed from Apple's website and online store.

The price of the iPod Touch, essentially an iPhone without cellular service, has been cut. It now comes with 32 GB of storage for $199 and 128 GB for $299.

Many people, even within Apple, had predicted the elimination of the last two iPods that mainly only played music. Neither model discontinued on Thursday had been updated in years.

Apple introduced the iPod Nano and iPod Shuffle in 2005.

Apple has also previously said the iPhone, which comes with a music app and was in its early days called the "iPod phone," would lead to the decline of standalone music players.

In fact, when the iPhone came out, the music app was called iPod. Most people now listen to music on their smartphone.

But the original hardware iPods have a special place in Apple's history. The iPod was the first device Apple made that was more consumer electronics than computer, and it paved the way for the iPhone.

The iPod name isn't being phased out — Apple's newest audio products are AirPods and HomePod. And the iPod Touch was recently by far the best-selling iPod.

One reason Apple may be phasing these devices out is that they don't have Bluetooth, which means they don't work with Apple's latest wireless headphones, AirPods. They also don't support Apple Music, Apple's online streaming service for audio and video.

Regardless, it's the end of an era, as Apple now no longer sells traditional music players.

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