Apple Appears to Have Discontinued the iPod Nano and iPod Shuffle

As first noted by MacRumors, Apple has removed both product descriptions and store listings for its iconic iPod nano and iPod shuffle portable music players from its website around the world, suggesting they’ve been discontinued or are on their way out.

The iPod nano was introduced back in 2005 and last updated in 2012. The iPod shuffle launched in in 2005 and was last updated in 2010.

“Today, we are simplifying our iPod lineup with two models of iPod touch now with double the capacity starting at just $199 and we are discontinuing the iPod shuffle and iPod nano,” an Apple spokesperson told Business Insider in an email.

This is major news and a sign of times given the devices played a pivotal role in the early 2000’s Apple. The iPod family helped Apple reinvent itself as a consumer electronics company rather than continue to be relegated to the status of a computer company.

In the fourth quarter of 2014, Apple sold only 2.6 million iPods, or 14.3 million iPods throughout the entire 2014. Contrast these numbers to the iPod sales peak of 54.8 million units in the calendar 2008, one year after the original iPhone made its debut.

The touchscreen-outfitted iPod touch (often referred to as an iPhone minus the phone part) is still available from the Apple Online Store. In July of 2015, iPod touch was updated with a faster A8 chip, an eight-megapixel shooter out the back, faster 802.11ac Wi-Fi and more.