Adam Kos Need to hang your head over the end of the iPod line? It's about money first and foremost, and if that segment of the company isn't making money, they have to clear the field. After all, the iPod touch has already outlived its usefulness. It took Apple quite a long time to understand the market situation, even Microsoft estimated it back in 2011. Even today, however, you can still buy quality music players, you should hurry though.
Coming to market with the iPod touch could have been a genius move from Apple, if we didn't already have iPhones here, of course. Even so, this player had potential and kept up with iPhones at least from the beginning of its existence. With the passage of time, however, it can be viewed as a blind branch that did not really know where to place itself. Of course, the operating system was to blame. It was a player, a console, an internet browser, just not a phone.
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So being too similar to the iPhone killed it. Apple Watch was also added to this. If Apple hadn't messed with the iPod touch and kept the still stupid Classic line, maybe we'd still have iPods here, maybe not. Microsoft also wanted to make a living from the fame of iPods, which introduced its Zune player in 2006. And he did so at a truly unfortunate time. After a while, the iPhone came along, and users began to consume music on their smartphones rather than similar single-purpose devices.
iPod touch
But Zune had one good idea. Thanks to the presence of Wi-Fi, it allowed users to send songs to each other, and even offered games. So it looked like a device that could really successfully compete with iPods, but then came the smartphone revolution. The third-generation Zune even had a gesture-controlled touchscreen, making it a clear competitor to the iPod touch. Due to poor sales, there were no other models, and Microsoft discontinued the Zune players in 2011. He advised users to switch to Windows Phone devices. Apple took this step only 11 years later. But they say better late than later. But does this mean the end of single-purpose music players?
Although the selection is rather limited
In 1978, Sony came up with the Walkman, a "compact" pocket player for cassettes, later CDs, but also MP3 or FLAC files. You can still buy a Walkman today. The NWE-394R model will offer a 1,77" LED display with a resolution of 128 x 160 px, a battery life of up to 35 hours, 8 GB of internal storage and an FM tuner. At first glance, you can easily mistake it for iPod nano 4th generation. Its price is under three thousand CZK.
Very interesting devices are e.g. Shanling M0 or Q1. At first glance, you can mistake them for the Apple Watch, thanks to the presence of the control crown. But it is not worn on the hand. They have a touch screen, a battery life of up to 21 hours, and they also include Bluetooth. Their price is up to 2 CZK. Shanling M500 is already in a different league because it handles Hi-Res Audio and will cost you 0 CZK. But it is clear that this device is intended for those who care about the highest possible quality of music reproduction.
Then there are MP3 players integrated directly into the headphones, some small iPod Shuffle-like players, and that's pretty much it. So there is a choice, but it is small, and the question is how long manufacturers will hold on to this dying market. So if you're going to buy a music player and you don't want a sale iPod touch, you shouldn't hesitate too much. It is quite possible that this segment will die out completely soon.
