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This seems like the most indirect way possible to say "we're discontinuing the last iPod". _Most_ of the content of this press release is fine, in my opinion, b

This seems like the most indirect way possible to say "we're discontinuing the last iPod". _Most_ of the content of this press release is fine, in my opinion, but saying "iPod Touch is available while supplies last" just doesn't seem like a great way to phrase it. Am I wrong about that?

stuart78 4y ago
I read it like three times to see if I'd missed it. Very strange approach to this. There is no shame in celebrating its impact and saying the brand/category is being retired.
- tobr 4y ago
  And the weird thing is when you try to say something without saying it, it makes it look like you’re ashamed of it. There’s nothing here to be ashamed of, so why not just say it clearly and succinctly?
pjmlp 4y ago
It is in the same vein as when a company uses "process optimization" to mean a firing round. I guess Apple marketing team didn't want to put it clearly what they are doing.
starik36 4y ago
One would think people write these missives, but on further thought, it might be OpenAI trained on 1000s of previously similarly obfuscated press releases.
croddin 4y ago
It's like a TikTok video plot: Tell me you are discontinuing a product line without telling me you are discontinuing a product line.
CharlesW 4y ago
> This seems like the most indirect way possible to say "we're discontinuing the last iPod". To me, the subhead "iPod touch will be available while supplies last" succinctly performs double-duty: (1) We discontinued iPod touch, and (2) if you want (another) one, this is your last chance.
bredren 4y ago
I think you're right. Even this seems like a pretty minor sendoff for such a massively popular product, though. Will iPhone some day be quietly, ambiguously sent to the grave in a similar fashion?
jrockway 4y ago
Google had this down to a science. "An update on..." was the best possible business euphemism for cancelling something, and they did it every time, so you didn't have to read the rest of the article/blog post. "The music lives on" just isn't as good. I know Apple didn't want to copy Google here, but they should have. "An update on [the] iPod Touch". Easy. You know what the update is.
chipotle_coyote 4y ago
“The Music Lives On” is the part that makes me chuckle at them being Excessively Apple about it, really. I understand they may not have wanted “Finally Killing the iPod” as the headline, or even “The iPod is Gone, but the Music Lives On”, but I can’t help think of Phil Schiller standing on stage a few years back describing removing the headphone jack as “courage”.
smrtinsert 4y ago
I remember when a key selling point of the iphone was that "there is an ipod inside it!"
libria 4y ago
"Wow, iPods, it's been a wild ride, amirite?"
dang 4y ago
Agreed. I've changed the title above. If there's a more accurate and neutral title, we can change it again. HN's title rule is "Please use the original title, unless it is misleading or linkbait", and corporate press release titles are usually both. For that reason we usually rewrite them. https://hn.algolia.com/?dateRange=all&page=0&prefix=true&sort=byDate&type=comment&query=corporate%20press%20release%20by:dang https://hn.algolia.com/?dateRange=all&page=0&prefix=true&sor... https://news.ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html https://news.ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html

stuart78 4y ago

I read it like three times to see if I'd missed it. Very strange approach to this. There is no shame in celebrating its impact and saying the brand/category is being retired.

tobr 4y ago
And the weird thing is when you try to say something without saying it, it makes it look like you’re ashamed of it. There’s nothing here to be ashamed of, so why not just say it clearly and succinctly?

pjmlp 4y ago

It is in the same vein as when a company uses "process optimization" to mean a firing round. I guess Apple marketing team didn't want to put it clearly what they are doing.

starik36 4y ago

One would think people write these missives, but on further thought, it might be OpenAI trained on 1000s of previously similarly obfuscated press releases.

croddin 4y ago

It's like a TikTok video plot: Tell me you are discontinuing a product line without telling me you are discontinuing a product line.

CharlesW 4y ago

> This seems like the most indirect way possible to say "we're discontinuing the last iPod". To me, the subhead "iPod touch will be available while supplies last" succinctly performs double-duty: (1) We discontinued iPod touch, and (2) if you want (another) one, this is your last chance.

bredren 4y ago

I think you're right. Even this seems like a pretty minor sendoff for such a massively popular product, though. Will iPhone some day be quietly, ambiguously sent to the grave in a similar fashion?

jrockway 4y ago

Google had this down to a science. "An update on..." was the best possible business euphemism for cancelling something, and they did it every time, so you didn't have to read the rest of the article/blog post. "The music lives on" just isn't as good. I know Apple didn't want to copy Google here, but they should have. "An update on [the] iPod Touch". Easy. You know what the update is.

chipotle_coyote 4y ago

“The Music Lives On” is the part that makes me chuckle at them being Excessively Apple about it, really. I understand they may not have wanted “Finally Killing the iPod” as the headline, or even “The iPod is Gone, but the Music Lives On”, but I can’t help think of Phil Schiller standing on stage a few years back describing removing the headphone jack as “courage”.

smrtinsert 4y ago

I remember when a key selling point of the iphone was that "there is an ipod inside it!"

libria 4y ago

"Wow, iPods, it's been a wild ride, amirite?"

dang 4y ago

Agreed. I've changed the title above. If there's a more accurate and neutral title, we can change it again. HN's title rule is "Please use the original title, unless it is misleading or linkbait", and corporate press release titles are usually both. For that reason we usually rewrite them. https://hn.algolia.com/?dateRange=all&page=0&prefix=true&sort=byDate&type=comment&query=corporate%20press%20release%20by:dang https://hn.algolia.com/?dateRange=all&page=0&prefix=true&sor... https://news.ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html https://news.ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html