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August 5, 2019 6:27 PM

I have a last-gen iPod Classic that is still going strong after all these years. I still use iTunes to download & sync podcasts; the device doesn't have any wireless connectivity. Apple recently announced that iTunes will be discontinued in the next version of Mac OS (10.15), in favor of separate apps for Music, Podcasts, etc. Will I still be able to use this device if I upgrade to 10.15 when it comes out?

I'm a few versions behind in the OS on my laptop (it's an older one, though not as old as the iPod). So if I want to upgrade the OS and still use the iPod, I'm concerned that it may be now or never.

I understand entirely if the answer is "we don't know yet".

posted by Johnny Assay to Computers & Internet (4 answers total)

There's no deadline for upgrading*. I would just wait awhile after it comes out and see if people start talking about it in forums or ask Apple directly maybe.

*Unless you want to upgrade ASAP for some other reason?
posted by bleep at 6:40 PM on August 5, 2019

If you can get Rockbox on there, you'll have a usable device forever. I still run it on my 5.5 iPod. Media files are drag and drop. No iTunes or anything but a file browser required. Wwaaaay better than how it came from the Apple factory.
posted by quarterframer at 6:57 PM on August 5, 2019 [1 favorite]

Yes, while the functionality of music, videos and podcasts are being split into separate apps, they have announced that the syncing functionality for devices is being moved into the finder. You will still be able to sync all the things to your older iPod devices. During the keynote when they showed it, it looked very similar to the sync interface currently in iTunes, so it shouldn't be very different.
posted by topher74 at 7:30 PM on August 5, 2019 [4 favorites]

Yes, topher74's answer above is the correct answer.
posted by jroybal at 7:50 PM on August 5, 2019