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This is why Apple killed one of its most beloved and iconic gadgets

Published Oct 28th, 2014 8:35AM EDT

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Although it’s become fashionable to use your smartphone as your music player these days, those of us who are hardcore music fans this fall mourned the loss of the iPod Classic, the iconic digital music player that offered us up to 160GB of storage. Business Insider notes that Apple CEO Tim Cook on Monday talked about why his company decided to axe the Classic and it turns out that it was a simple matter of supply and demand.

IN HAPPIER TIMES: Apple iPod Classic unboxing

“We couldn’t get the parts anymore, not anywhere on Earth,” Cook said. “It wasn’t a matter of me swinging the ax, saying ‘what can I kill today?’… The engineering work was massive, and the number of people who wanted it very small. I felt there were reasonable alternatives.”

Although we understand Cook’s reasoning, we would still love to see some way we could get a dedicated music player that offered as much bang for the buck as the 160GB Classic. The most expensive iPod touch, for example, offers a mere 64GB of storage, which is insufficient for those of us who like to listen to entire operas when we’re on the go.

At any rate, anyone who owns a 160GB Classic ought to be happy — Cook’s admission that the device is in short supply and is only really desired by a handful of dedicated fanatics means that its value on eBay is could get very hefty in the coming years.

Brad Reed
Brad Reed Staff Writer

Brad Reed has written about technology for over eight years at BGR.com and Network World. Prior to that, he wrote freelance stories for political publications such as AlterNet and the American Prospect. He has a Master's Degree in Business and Economics Journalism from Boston University.