Tim Cook reveals why Apple killed the iPod Classic

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Apple CEO Tim Cook has revealed why the company pulled the iPod Classic from its line-up last month, citing an inability to get the parts and low demand.

Speaking at the Wall Street Journal's WSJ.D conference, Tim Cook said Apple could no longer get the necessary parts to continue making the iPod Classic.

"We couldn’t get the parts anymore, not anywhere on Earth," Cook said. "It wasn’t a matter of me swinging the axe, saying: 'What can I kill today'."

The iPod celebrated its 13th birthday on 24th October this year, but only the iPod Touch, Nano and Shuffle remain.

The much-loved iPod Classic was quietly pulled from the Apple Store following the launch of the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus, with Apple seeing dwindling iPod sales as more people turn to their smartphones for all their portable music needs.

MORE: iPhone 6 review, iPhone 6 Plus review

The iPod Classic was celebrated for its big storage capacity and class-leading sound quality, but with the rise of smartphones as portable music players and streaming replacing downloading for many people - an iTunes streaming service is said to be on the horizon - the market for the Classic has shrunk.

And Cook noted this: "The engineering work was massive, and the number of people who wanted it very small. I felt there were reasonable alternatives."

See all our portable music player reviews

Joe Cox
Joe Cox
Content Director

Joe is the Content Director for What Hi-Fi? and Future’s Product Testing, having previously been the Global Editor-in-Chief of What Hi-Fi?. He has worked on What Hi-Fi? across the print magazine and website for almost 20 years, writing news, reviews and features on everything from turntables to TVs, headphones to hi-fi separates. He has covered product launch events across the world, from Apple to Technics, Sony and Samsung; reported from CES, the Bristol Show, and Munich High End for many years; and written for sites such as the BBC, Stuff, and the Guardian. In his spare time, he enjoys expanding his vinyl collection and cycling (not at the same time).