“When the iPod was first launched back in the November of 2001, reactions were mixed to say the least. It only worked with Macs, making it a niche new contender in the portable music market, and it cost £300, which is the equivalent to £420 today. ”Breakthrough digital device’ might be pushing it,” wrote one particularly sceptical American critic,” Rhiannon Williams writes for The Telegraph. “But breakthrough it was, its entry into and eventual domination of the market saw the iPod sell over 350 million units worldwide by 2012.”
“Now, however, Apple’s recent results revealed that just over 6 million iPods had been sold during the fiscal quarter ending December 28 last year, compared to the 12.7 million units shifted during the same quarter in late 2012. The decrease of 55 per cent in terms of revenue and 52 per cent of with regards to units sold is all the more significant when viewed in comparison with Apple’s other products lines; the Mac, iPhone and iPad,” Williams writes. “During a conference call earlier this week, Cook admitted the company ‘have known for some time that iPod is a declining business.’ Little wonder Apple haven’t issued any major rejigs in the product line for over a year, besides replacing the fourth-generation iPod touch with a modified version.”
“But the iPod isn’t failing. Jump-started by Apple itself, the world is simply moving on; just as the iPod swept through the portable music device market like a breath of fresh air, a product must digitally evolve or die,” Williams writes. “And in truth the iPod isn’t dead at all –it’s simply evolved into the iPhone, which offers users the convenience of a phone and mp3 player in one, rather than carrying around an extra device for their musical needs.”
Read more in the full article here.
MacDailyNews Take: Yes, as we wrote last Wednesday:
iPod sales are ‘disappearing’ because every iPhone and iPad is an iPod, too. Just counting iPhones and iPads, Apple sold 77 million ‘iPods’ last quarter alone.