Apple has quietly taken down the websites for both the iPod nano and iPod shuffle today. As of now, searching for the products still results in “learn more” and “buy” links, but they lead to URLs that are no longer available. An Apple spokesperson confirmed to The Verge that both products have met their end and are now officially discontinued.
Apple has long maintained that the iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch would ultimately cannibalize its traditional music player hardware.
Introduced in 2001, the clickwheel device would go on to become synonymous with the space and quickly became the 21st century’s first truly iconic piece of consumer hardware with the then mind boggling promise of putting “1,000 songs in your pocket,” as Steve Jobs said during the 5GB product’s unveiling.
I was more of an iPod classic guy myself, but in those dark days before Spotify, when phone storage was at a premium, the shuffle and nano’s small size made them easier to carry around in addition to a phone.
The shuffle arrived in early 2005, with the nano hitting later that same year, replacing the short-lived mini. Each product served a distinct role in the iPod ecosystem. The shuffle was the entry-level iPod that took a bit of a Russian roulette approach to music playback, due to its lack of a screen.
Both it and the nano the were also targeted at fitness buffs, due to their compact size and the absence of the spinning hard drive found in the classic, making them less prone to skipping on the treadmill. The nano was also the first device to work with the pioneering Nike+iPod fitness tracking system.
All in all, a dozen years isn’t such a bad run. And like the classic before them, the products will no doubt live on through eBay auctions for generations to come.
The iPod nano hasn’t been significantly updated since 2012, when the company redesigned it with Bluetooth support for wireless headphones and speakers. Apple released a new batch of colors for that seventh-generation model in 2015.
You should still be able to find some remaining iPod shuffle and nano units from Best Buy and other authorized retailers until stock runs out.
