It was billed as a “breakthrough digital device”, but a gadget widely derided as a second-rate MP3 player that wouldn’t cut it. Yet, the iPod changed everything in the world of music. Yes, media players existed before it, but none were as easy to use or as brilliantly designed. Ten years to the day after it was first unveiled by Steve Jobs, its influence is still seen in tablets and smartphones, even if dedicated PMPs, the iPod included, are failing to set the world alight.
In fact, that’s being polite. Sales of iPods slipped by a colossal 27 per cent year-on-year between June and September this year. The device which defined a generation is struggling to keep up with growing smartphone sales. But write it off at your peril. The iPod is still, and can still be, a relevant piece of kit.
6.62 million iPods were sold in Apple’s last reported quarter. Yes, that’s down from April to June and January to April, but it’s still a huge number of personal media players to sell in a 12 week period. Sony would kill to have those kind of numbers for its Walkman range. And you can bet Samsung wouldn’t say no to that many of its Galaxy Wi-Fi PMPs flying off shelves.
While smartphone sales have surged in recent years, they still remain a long term expense. By contrast, an iPod nano is a relatively cheap investment which you don’t have to pay up for every month after you’ve bought it. Its size and portability also make it brilliantly versatile, more so than even the smallest smartphone. If you love hitting the gym or pounding the pavements, a nano is a far more sound investment than strapping your pricey, more fragile mobile phone to your arm.
It’s also important to consider that while the iPod’s cache may not be as high as it was, especially in places where smartphones have now become ubiquitous, they remain symbols of ‘making it’ to those who aspire to certain lifestyles. The merits of this can be debated, but the iPod is an easy way into the world of Apple without having to fork over north of £30 a month for an iPhone, or dig deep for an iPad or a MacBook Air.
Apple remains the premium brand in consumer tech, even if there are other companies doing equally brilliant work. In the eye of the public, it’s number one and the iPod is essential to maintaining that position. Apple could easily have decided to give the iPod the heave, especially as sales continue to decline. But it knows that once it gets new users on board with a nano or shuffle, it can start to work on them and maybe convert a percentage of owners into full-time Apple fans. Failing that, it can at least lock them into its iTunes ecosystem, even if they don’t own a Mac.
So, what next? Short of slashing prices (a very un-Apple approach), the iPod’s sales are likely to dip even further. But as a gateway to Apple kit, the 10-year-old PMP remains essential. Sure, it might feel dated, but try telling that to 6 million people who snagged one over the summer.
