In July 2015, Apple updated the iPod Nano and iPod shuffle for the last time. The 7th generation iPod Nano and the 4th generation iPod shuffle proved to be the last products of their kind. Years after discontinuing, 2024 marks the year when these two classic products have finally graduated from vintage to obsolete status. For the unaware, Apple maintains a tier system of old products separated across vintage and obsolete. For a product to get classified as obsolete, its official distribution must have stopped at least seven years ago. That effectively means the end of the maintenance and repair lifelines for such products.
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“Apple discontinues all hardware service for obsolete products, and service providers cannot order parts for obsolete products,” explains the company. With the iPod Nano and its Shuffle entering the “obsolete” graveyard, the only other music player left in Apple’s portfolio outside that league is the iPod Touch, which was officially discontinued in 2022, bringing the curtains down on a product family with over two decades of remarkable history.
Now, as Apple would put it, “the music lives on.” But that’s more like a technicality, as the company is banking on Apple Music, which is available across its modern product portfolio, to carry on the iPod’s musical legacy. If you seek the charm of a dedicated music player to replace the iPod in your life, there are still a handful of reliable options in the market. Some offer a lot (read: audiophilic stuff) than the iPod could ever muster.
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