Apple moves iPod into new category as sales continue to drop

The iPod Mini put the iPod in many more people’s pockets. Source: NewsComAu

APPLE this morning released its sales figures for the fourth quarter of its 2014 fiscal year. As expected, iPhone sales are through the roof and Mac sales are doing pretty well also. However, iPad sales are dipping and the iPod has dropped off so much Apple has made a move that all but signs the iPod’s death warrant.

Apple currently divides its products between iPhone, iPad, Mac, iPod, iTunes/Software and accessories. As of Q1 2015, the iPod will lose its own category and be put into a new category called “Other Products” that will include Beats and Apple TV. It’s significance in the company is officially at an all time low.
When the iPod was released in 2001, it revolutionised how people listened to music and immediately became the companies flagship product. Up until the iPhone’s release in 2007 it was still the golden child of the company before its use was slowly made irrelevant by smartphones. While the iPod Touch helped keep its relevance in the market for a while, cheaper Android phones and greater iPhone penetration soon made it harder to justify an iPod Touch as well.
In the first discal quarter of 2008, 42% of Apple’s revenue came from the iPod, while in the fourth quarter of 2014, less than 1% did.
It doesn’t help the iPod’s cause for survival that Apple has officially killed off the iPod Classic and hasn’t updated the iPod Touch since October 2012.
Apple’s iPod has been a part of pop culture and technology since it came out and it seems Apple is now even acknowledging that its life is nearing an end.

Steve Jobs introduced the iPad at the end of 2010. But is it already starting to be cannibalised by the iPhone 6 Plus? Source: AFP

The other interesting thing to notice in Apple’s report is the drop in iPad sales for the third quarter in a row. While the iPad is still Apple’s second highest selling product, for the first time in years the Mac beat its revenue figures.
Just like the iPod, is Apple cannibalising another product by introducing a bigger phone? It seems that the whole mobile industry might just be doing that, with tablet sales stagnant everywhere, not just with Apple.