Editors’ be aware, July 31, 2017: Apple has lastly discontinued the iPod Shuffle and iPod Nanothe extra moveable variations of the unique Apple iPod. The Shuffle and Nano, just like the iPod Basic that was discontinued in 2014, lastly succumbed to their deadly flaw — a scarcity of built-in internet connectivity. For now, Apple nonetheless sells 32GB and 128GB editions of the iPod Contact; the earlier variations that includes 16GB and 64GB of storage are now not accessible.
The Good
The Apple iPod Shuffle is affordably priced with a compact design and long-lasting battery. It is each fashionable and simply wearable, due to its sturdy built-in clip.
The Dangerous
Requires a USB sync from a PC or Mac working iTunes. There is no Bluetooth or Wi-Fi. Solely 2GB of storage. Navigating your music is a bit tough with no display screen. You may’t obtain subscription Apple Music songs.
The Backside Line
Apple’s most reasonably priced iPod is an affordable, workout-friendly choice for listening to music or podcasts, nevertheless it reveals its age with a reliance on iTunes syncing and lack of wi-fi assist.
The iPod Shuffle evaluate, printed in June 2016, follows.
Earlier than the iPhone was Apple’s bread and butter, there was the iPod.
For years, my iPod and I have been inseparable. Now not tethered to my denim FUBU CD case/purse hybrid and ponderous CD participant, the smooth, pocket-size Apple MP3 participant was the instantly lovable, magical music field I might convey with me anyplace I went.
I skilled an analogous form of euphoric aid after I received my first iPhone; I now not needed to carry my flip telephone and iPod, simply this infectiously alluring, futuristic, pocket-size pc.
We’re greater than 9 years into the iPhone, and I — like tons of of tens of millions of others — have relegated my outdated iPod to the junk drawer. In truth, Apple now not even makes the old-school clickwheel iPod. Not counting the iPod Contact — which is admittedly only a Wi-Fi-only model of the iPhone — the one two fashions left within the music participant line are the iPod Nano and the iPod Shuffle.
So I purchased each of these latter iPod fashions, trying to see if it nonetheless had any enchantment in an iPhone age. I began with the Shuffle.
Apple’s smallest, most cost-effective iPod
The Shuffle has two most important appeals: value and measurement. At simply $49, £40 or AU$75, it is lower than what you’d pay for pair of headphones (Apple throws in a pair of earbuds). It is also among the many most reasonably priced issues you should purchase with an Apple emblem on it: that is one-third the value of the Nano, or one-sixth the value of the Apple Watch Sport.
Design-wise, it is the identical Shuffle you have been capable of purchase since 2010 (although it is now accessible in six vibrant colours). It has the identical unobtrusively small, sq. form with a built-in clip that is tough to pinch with out urgent one of many buttons on the entrance (I unintentionally restarted many songs and podcasts this manner. So. Annoying!), an influence swap and headphone jack on the highest edge (with the latest addition of the voiceover button), and quantity buttons that encompass the play/pause button, which is the spherical centerpiece.
There is no Lightning port, and even an outdated 30-pin port. It recharges from any USB port or charger utilizing the included proprietary cable that plugs into the headphone jack — so do not lose it.
Its storage tops out at 2GB (about 500 songs). You throw a number of of your shorter iTunes playlists on it, and skip ahead and again at your leisure. It really works solely with songs from iTunes library — no Spotify, no FM radio. And definitely no apps and no video games.
Its enchantment finally comes right down to simplicity and portability. It is low upkeep and no frills. Overlook to cost it? NBD. After testing it within the CNET Labs, it averaged 20 hours of steady playback. Drop it on the gymnasium? No sweat — It has no display screen to shatter. Lose it on trip? It will not wreck your life the way in which dropping your telephone would. Happening a long term? It is weightless and stays clipped to your shirt with out the necessity for an armband case or a belt clip tugging at your waist, weighed down with the majority of a telephone.
Chained to your pc’s iTunes legacy
Nonetheless, perceive that — sans display screen — this factor is an actual ache to navigate. There is no fast technique to choose a selected track, artist or album. You may solely choose playlists, and to take action it’s important to press the voiceover button for a number of seconds. It publicizes the playlist you are listening to, adopted by its tracklisting. With a view to change playlists, you have to tediously press the voiceover button many times till you hear the title of the one you need.
There are not any streaming music choices, and whereas I might dwell with that if the Shuffle was totally suitable with the Apple Music subscription service, sadly, no iPods are. If you have not bought a track or album on iTunes — or if the MP3 is not a part of your current assortment — overlook about listening to it on the Shuffle. (In contrast, Apple Music subscribers can regionally obtain playlists to their iPhones and iPads, and take heed to them even when there is not any connectivity.) Additionally, there is not any Bluetooth assist.
However that assumes you are prepared to dwell with the Shuffle’s greatest conceit: utilizing the iTunes software program in your Mac or Home windows PC. Updating your playlists, connecting the participant to your pc and syncing to the machine — all of it sounds so very 2006 as a result of it’s. Having to delve again into iTunes even in case you solely replace your playlist as soon as a month is nothing wanting torturous.
Dreaming of a Shuffle Redux
Whereas music gamers are largely an extinct species, there are nonetheless some iPod opponents on the market — and so they’re a minimum of addressing a few of these points. SanDisk Clip gamers price lower than the Shuffle, however they add a display screen, 4 to 8GB of expandable storage, and the power to tug and drop MP3 recordsdata from any pc — no iTunes crucial. And the Pebble Core (coming later this 12 months) prices twice as a lot, nevertheless it has Bluetooth, Wi-Fi and 3G mobile assist, together with compatibility for Spotify and health monitoring.
In a world wherein Apple nonetheless cared in regards to the iPod, the function set of that Pebble Core could be an awesome blueprint for an overhaul. If Apple up to date the Shuffle with Bluetooth (and Wi-Fi?) assist, I might take heed to my wi-fi headphones, and possibly sync new playlists from my iPhone or iPad, all wirelessly. No extra iTunes, no extra wires — and a pleasant, low-cost music participant when working, on the gymnasium, or on the seashore.
A Shuffle like that makes for a way more compelling case than what you will discover in Apple Shops at the moment. Too dangerous it is only a fantasy.
