OPINON : The iPod classic was retired before its time . Apple has everything it needs to hone the original vision with a medicine - focused gimmick that revives the beloved excogitation .
The iPod celebrates its 22ndbirthday today and the product that launched Apple into the modern Jagannatha it is today retain a cult following .
In fact , it ’s now think “ vintage ” alongside vinyl , tapes , and CDs according to one retail merchant look to cash in in by sell refurbed model to Gen - Z. Hipster electric outlet Urban Outfitters will deal you a “ vintage ” iPod classic 5thGeneration for $ 350 , which youhaven’t been able to bribe new for almost ten yr .
“ This is a genuine spell of vintage retro tech – refurbished and restored by Retrospekt , ” thesite says . I ’d love another iPod classic . I adore the thing . An assclown I had to house share with , in London , drop mine after host a drug - fuelled party with all his assclown supporter and refuse to replace it . Assclown .
However , I certainly would n’t recommend dropping $ 350 on a vintage example . The flashbulb storage on these manakin was always unresistant to take a trash dump even without assclowns throwing them around the place ( I ’ll never , ever let that go ) . It ’s not clear whether these models have had a new hard parkway installed , and it ’s undecipherable how long the iPod is insure for after leverage .
However , it just cash in one’s chips to show there is an appetence and Apple should be all over this . I ’ve been arguing for years that Apple should fetch back the iPod classic . There ’s never been a skillful fourth dimension and the ground are compelling .
I ’d love to see a new iPod classic , with the original click - wheel design , once again blending the analogue and digital worlds , but with an updated imaginativeness to focus on stream rather than downloaded MP3s .
Apple could add Wi - Fi and 5 M for streamingApple Music , Bluetooth , and aH2 chip for connecting AirPodsproducts quickly and easily . And , of course of study , a forcible outturn for supportingApple Music lossless .
If I had my way , there ’d be absolutely no touchscreen functionality – just the color concealment and the classic UI . There ’d be absolutely no access to the App Store or other non - audio apps . No iPod touch - like focal point on game and video . No distractions . It would be a twist geared towards enthusiasts ( something Apple used to make as a rule , rather than an exclusion ) with a optical maser focus on sound . Music , Podcasts , Audiobooks .
The perfect iPod Classic is now possible
Everything is in seat for this to work utterly in the current epoch . iCloud would easy do by synchronise your integral Apple Music program library to the gimmick , while the huge leaps in the affordability , reliableness , and portability of SSDs would intend you ’d have no problem whatsoever stash away all of the high - quality file you ’d need for offline playback .
There would be the power to research for new tunes and add them to the library via the click bike and through Siri voice instruction , but the idea would be to replicate the seamless access to music you already love to hear .
Apple Music could also import those daily playlists and recommendations everyone loves to receive without depart too far from the convention or rarify the UI . album from your favourite artists would be pre - saved . All of those bootlegged MP3s you ca n’t get anywhere else ? They can be import via iCloud too . An iPod make - similar rotation of yourApple Music loved vocal ? Hell yeah .
Music is often just a secondary body process to what we ’re doing on our phones now . scroll through Twitter , surf the vane , doing a crossword , or whatever . A music - focused iPod with features designed to present digital music at the right possible quality would be most welcome .
Remember when we first all got AirPods ? The tone of the real melody was shite ; contract within an inch of their life and mostly heard through those rubbish bundled earphone that were invariably falling out or breaking .
It would n’t have to be that way now . 20 years of technical progression means everything exists for Apple to make the iPod of our dreams , all bundled into a darling form factor that now oozes “ vintage ” and “ retro ” cool , according to the arbiters of that sort of matter ; Gen - Z Urban Outfitters shoppers .
There ’s great sounding hi - res music , no penury to manage storage thanks to streaming , splendid wireless earbuds or headphones , an affordable cyclosis service with ten of millions of song that ’s right smart preferred to buying one unmarried MP3 album for the same damage , incredibly powerful swarm - syncing engineering science , powerful recommendation algorithm , and superfast USB - C andMagSafe charging .
It ’s time to make the iPod great again . Let ’s do this , Apple !
