Apple iWatch Could Replace iPod

An analyst now believes that Apple's upcoming iWatch might just replace the company's aging iPod mp3 player line up.

According to MacRumors, Christopher Caso, an analyst with the Susquehanna Financial Group, believes that the iWatch will "essentially replace the iPod in the consumer portion of AAPL's product lineup". He also adds that we will see reduced iPod sales as a result of customers opting for the iWatch instead. His note also goes on to add that the iPod line up is not expected to be refreshed this year.

Adding weight to this assumption is a statement from Apple boss, Tim Cook, who said that the iPod "is a declining business." This is because sales numbers of Apple's once glorious iPod business had dipped to $5 billion in 2013, as opposed to $8 billion 2008.

Also worth noting is that Apple hasn't really added any significant new feature to its iPods since 2012. While the iPod Classic hasn't been updated in many years, the company's peppy portable music offerings have been given nothing more than cosmetic changes in recent years.

The dipping sales of mp3 players can be connected to the fact that most smartphones pack solid mp3 playback capabilities, thus negating the need for a stand-alone device to play music. In fact, companies like Sony and HTC have been packing advanced music playback features into their handsets in recent years to make the most of this trend.