RIP iPod Classic: Apple kills off original design

In the midst of all the fuss about Apple's new launches, the tech giant appears to have quietly killed off its genre-busting iPod Classic nearly 15 years after its creation.

 

The iPod Classic, which was first launched in 2001, is no longer available for sale on the Apple Store, although some branches of Tesco and Argos reportedly still have stock remaining.

 

Although the iPod Touch is still available, there is far less memory available on its highest capacity model – 64GB for £249, compared with 160GB for the £180 iPod. The iPod Nano and iPod Shuffle, both of which have less memory, are also still available.

 

In many ways the move is not surprising – Apple needs to make way for its new devices, including the Apple Watch, iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus – and the fact the market has moved away from dedicated music players, as well as the rise of cloud systems such as Spotify, which mean there is less need for a dedicated device with huge capacity.

 

In fact, iPod sales have been down every quarter since 2009 and the more eagle-eyed observer will have spotted that last year was the first time Apple did not introduce a new model of the player.

 

But there will be many who will miss the cult object that changed the way we listen to music – and its clicking wheel.