14 DAY TRIAL // Apple seems to be on a killing spree involving one of its dearest products, the iPod. What used to be Apple’s primary source of income has now become an unwelcome tenant in the online and retail stores operated by the Cupertino company.
This is by no means concerning (hence the uncertainty in the headline), but we have every indication that Apple is preparing to phase out another iPod model amidst rapidly declining sales year-over-year.
Dwindling stock
According to sources at Apple’s brick and mortar stores, the diminutive iPod shuffle is hard, if not impossible to come by. Stock has dwindled to alarmingly low supplies, and the online store lists a 7-day window for shipping new orders. There is speculation that Apple somehow can’t get hold of the parts used to make the player, and that manufacturing will resume as normal once this is rectified.
However, knowing that the primary reason for killing the iPod classic last month was shortage of parts, we can’t imagine Apple struggling to keep alive a less popular iPod whose profit margins and overall shipping numbers are far smaller.
Another reason why we think the shuffle is getting canned is the very marketing page it sits on at Apple.com. www.apple.com/ipod-shuffle is one of the last remaining pages that still uses Apple’s ancient bold fonts and ultra-colorful graphics, with tag lines and photos as old as original iPad. Chances are Apple will never update those promo materials ever again.
Declining iPod sales
It’s no mystery that the iPod business, once the apple of Apple’s eye, has been succumbing for the past few years like a cancer-stricken organism. It has become redundant in a market flooded with mini computers that fit in our pockets and bags, fulfilling all our digital needs, including audiovisual content.
Despite being the most portable and affordable iPod of all, the shuffle lacks key characteristics that make media players desirable today, chief among those being the lack of a screen.
