Apple's redesigned iPod shuffle hits 4GB, talks to you (updated with video!)

Bam, another Apple rumor vindicated. Apple just doubled the capacity of its iPod shuffle to 4GB while ditching the control wheel entirely. The new design keeps the clip and adds VoiceOver -- a new feature that gets around the lack of display by telling you which song is playing and who performs it at the touch of a button on the earbud cable. It'll also call out your playlists and let you navigate to others. Available in black or silver for $80 and your claim to what Apple calls the "world's smallest music player." Check the video tutorial after the break.

Update: VoiceOver in English, Czech, Dutch, French, German, Greek, Italian, Japanese, Mandarin Chinese, Polish, Portuguese, Spanish, Swedish and Turkish.

Gallery: Apple iPod shuffle

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[sergioni @ Mar 11th 2009 8:37AM]

The controls are on the earphones? lame.

[Flashpoint @ Mar 11th 2009 8:44AM]

I'd never buy a Shuffle - there are too many LCD equipped MP3 players out there around its size that cost less.

I did however win 3 iPod Shuffle clipons in a raffle. I like their design because they are great for workouts and general mobility thanks to the clip.

No physical buttons on a unit are a big turn off for me. I should be able to use any headphones I want with my players.

[Hatefan Action Force @ Mar 11th 2009 9:12AM]

baby cries : waaa waaa waaa i wan milk i wan milk, no i hate formula milkk, waaaa

thats you. *stewie points*

[kccboy2004 @ Mar 11th 2009 9:11AM]

if agree

APPLE = FAIL

[Matthew @ Mar 11th 2009 9:17AM]

if agree? You fail!

I think the control in the earphone is a lame idea too. 50% of people can't stand those earphones anyway so they're forced to buy Apple's premium ripoff earphones.

[xcrunk @ Mar 11th 2009 9:27AM]

Is this a joke? It's not April 1st yet.

See what happens when Jobs is out....

Worst iPod ever!!!

[Mark Anderson @ Mar 11th 2009 9:28AM]

That's just... stupid. The Sansa Clip knocks the crap out of this piss poor effort.

[Bolo @ Mar 11th 2009 9:33AM]

Am I the only one who noticed that standard earbuds (without controls and stuff) are no longer available?

[Nick M. @ Mar 11th 2009 9:38AM]

but how do I navigate backwards... the Apple store employee only told me how to "play, pause, and skip forward"

did I miss something? or did Apple miss something?

[drew @ Mar 11th 2009 9:55AM]

Nick M. : tripple click for back...

[pechorin @ Mar 11th 2009 10:11AM]

hahaha

this is the most stupid thing i have ever seen... i hope all this is a joke

[pete @ Mar 11th 2009 10:14AM]

@ Bolo

yea i noticed that too, but i don't think thats a bad choice really. even if your stuck with an old ipod (like me), these headphones still play music, and the controls are small enough not to be cumbersome.

[Wwhat @ Mar 11th 2009 10:16AM]

Seems quite annoying that it's after the split so one of the buds have a weight on it, they should at least have it before the cable splits in two, but I guess then people would cut off the buds and solder on a socket eh.
And to be honest while enjoying music I would not want that voice ruining my mood either, but it takes all kinds I guess.

[Jakob @ Mar 11th 2009 10:30AM]

Probably the most set of lame comments I've ever seen.
Try to break it down:

-VoiceOver? Why is that bad? If it works good, I think it's much better than no display
-Apple headphones? The quailty isn't good BUT the purpose of shuffle is NOT to act like your main player, just for exercisev, running etc.

Worst iPod ever? Come on guy, finally Apple makes a brand new design AND introduces some features (all right to be fair one feature) AND bumps the capacity.

[OneLove @ Mar 11th 2009 10:58AM]

...where are her sisters?

[Hooterman @ Mar 11th 2009 11:10AM]

@ iphonerulez

Enjoy your new shuffle. Most of us would rather spend our money on products that offer more features. Maybe it's just because I don't live in New York, but around here we don't walk around with our mp3 players held out in front of us for others to see. They normally go in a pocket or backpack so you can have your hands free to do other things. Of course you don't have to worry about that, all you need is your lips free to continue blindly kissing Steve's ass.

[LostPhil @ Mar 11th 2009 11:13AM]

@ iphonerulez

The Shuffle is pretty much outclassed by a cheap Sansa Clip in everything besides the materials, what does that say about Apple?

[nerdtalker @ Mar 11th 2009 11:21AM]

I seriously thought the whole thing was a joke of some kind until I saw the video. Now I'm just scared.

Plus, OS-dependent voices? Something tells me this isn't gonna be pretty.

[John @ Mar 11th 2009 11:36AM]

I never realized how much I hated standard music controls until I saw this thing.

[dandaman @ Mar 11th 2009 11:44AM]

I was thinking it was a bit lame to only be able to use standard headphones and only a few others with the shuffle (though I love my Shure SE210s with MPA adapter - I use it with my iPhone on the go and control iTunes on my MacBook too.) but then I thought, with a device that small, the headphone jack can't be that good quality. Is it really worth getting a pair of Shures or another expensive brand? Any audiophile who can afford an expensive pair of phones can afford a decent player as well. While I would go with an iPod nano for this purpose instead, a friend bought a previous generation shuffle, and while he would never listen to the iPod earbuds in any situation, he uses a just as cheap pair of over-the-ear headphones and the shuffle during work-outs (branded Philips, though I would be surprised if they designed the pair). And, they have the previous iPod brand to work off of. I can see the market.

[Paul @ Mar 11th 2009 11:50AM]

I think iphonerulez' comment (and maybe even username) is meant to be sarcasm, but it's kind of hard to tell. I have, and like, the current model of Shuffle but after looking at the Sansa Clip online, I really want one - I'd gladly trade the Shuffle's sleek, sexy design for a display and FM radio.

The Sansa clip is no Rosie O'Donnell - she's more the cute girl who works at REI - not as glamorous as Heidi Klum, but still kinda hot and way more fun to hang out with.

[Cassini @ Mar 11th 2009 11:50AM]

I agree. Controls on the earbuds are stupid. I don't use Apple's horrible earbuds, but with the controls on them, you'd have to with this product. I don't think this will succeed, not like their other iPods.

The synthesized voice is horrible. When are we going to have the technology to make it sound like a normal human being? This is the same lame computer voice we've heard for the past fifteen years in software. And it would get annoying real quick. Shoot, I got annoyed just listening to it for a few seconds in that video. And audio players without LCD's are too clumsy to use - I want to read something quickly so I can quickly navigate, not go through the slow and annoying process of hearing it spoken to me.

Yuk. Pass.

[Revels @ Mar 11th 2009 11:52AM]

"Amazing eh, apple forcing something on their users, who could have predicted that?"

I didn't know Apple hired men in black suits to put guns to people's heads and make them buy iPods.

[Crappy for Runners @ Mar 11th 2009 12:14PM]

I assume most of us use our shuffle for exercising. However, if you are a runner, you probably use headphones that will actually stay in your ears, as opposed to the crappy Apple headphones. Thus, this new shuffle is the worst design I have ever seen for runners. You can't use the Apple headphones to run if you want them to stay in your ears, and you can't use the new shuffle without the Apple headphones. Stupid!

[chance @ Mar 11th 2009 12:18PM]

@nerdtalker

The voices are OS-dependent because the voice isn't created by the shuffle, it is created by the connected computer and saved to the shuffle as a very small sound file. The apple version of iTunes is using the OS X built-in speech processing, while the Windows version of iTunes is using a speech processor built into iTunes.

[Rick wilson @ Mar 11th 2009 12:18PM]

How do I plug this into my Aux in port in my car AND control it?

[coldwave @ Mar 11th 2009 12:55PM]

Ahh, the internet, where cranky geeks bicker about controls on a music player I, for one, will focus my attentions on the pair of cloth wrapped ipods from the second gallery picture. Much better touch sensitive controls! =D

[J. Baker @ Mar 11th 2009 1:21PM]

Apple - Removing essential product features since we got bored in 2005.

[Wwhat @ Mar 11th 2009 1:33PM]

@Revels
"I didn't know Apple hired men in black suits to put guns to people's heads and make them buy iPods."

It's worse, they wear white semi-transparent suits, with turtle-neck sweaters.

[Mike P. @ Mar 11th 2009 1:48PM]

Seems like Apple is doing SNL's job for them now... it's already a spoof.

[DEEZNUTZ @ Mar 11th 2009 2:00PM]

Not yet small enough. When I can shove 8GB up my fingernails, then we can talk.

This is so unnecessary.

[Lundmark @ Mar 11th 2009 3:01PM]

@Paul:

But also lot like Heidi Klum, the shuffle is the one you don't hesitate to introduce to you friends, and the one that's fun to use occasionally.

[mayhem85 @ Mar 12th 2009 3:46AM]

next youre going to tell me they took off the firewire on the aluminum macbooks and the new iMacs... oh wait...

[Dave Chappelle @ Mar 12th 2009 5:25AM]

I listen to Afghani music on my ipod, Voice Over is not going to work im not prepared to listen to horrible attempts at my ipod speaking Afghan.

[mitt @ Mar 11th 2009 8:38AM]

controls on the earbud cord, does this mean we're stuck with shitty apple headphones to use this?

[Special_K @ Mar 11th 2009 9:05AM]

I think the assumption is that if you're only willing to pay $80 for a PAP, you probably won't be forking out for 3rd party earbuds. I feel like I have to say this every time, but this isn't meant for people like us; i.e. people who chuck the pack-ins the second they get the device. Most people are satisfied with Apple's earbuds, and so they should be: they're some of the best pack-in earbuds out there, and sound really great for their price.

[indigo80 @ Mar 11th 2009 9:16AM]

Special_K, no problem with apples headphones on my iphone, but my shuffle has a a set of sennheiser pmxs because the original headphones kept falling out during a workout

would i buy a new shuffle and new headphones (if they do sports headphones with the control) probably not...

also my 1gb has enough room for no repeats during a 'sync cycle'

personally i think this is a miss

[dennis @ Mar 11th 2009 9:19AM]

I'm guessing the Etymotic HF-2s will work.

By adding audio input to the Nano, and leaving a built-in microphone off the Touch, Apple was already pushing the use of a headset-headphone combination across their iPod line. The lack of physical controls on the Shuffle really pushes that trend all the way, though.

[junk @ Mar 11th 2009 9:26AM]

If you look at headset accessories in the apple store it lists some other headsets as compatible with this shuffle 3g.

Weird thing is, 2 of them don't list remote as a feature of the cable.
http://store.apple.com/uk/browse/home/shop_ipod/ipod_accessories/headphones?n=ipodshuffle3&mco=MTU4NDM&s=topSellers

[xValentine @ Mar 11th 2009 9:31AM]

Stuck indeed.

Bad decision Apple.

[Wwhat @ Mar 11th 2009 10:19AM]

Amazing eh, apple forcing something on their users, who could have predicted that?

[Shank @ Mar 11th 2009 11:12AM]

bottom line comment;
simply put shuffle is causing more stir than even all new line of nokia xpress music phone series release. Guess what shuffle will sell,,,to tweens. its all about the money,apple showing they have balls again. mp3 that talks to u?no buttons,no removable batterty,memory card. Sounds like im starting to describe iphone the revolutionary.,.,.,.,it will sell,,,,,,,success is measured by sales,ask any ceo..

[Gordon @ Mar 11th 2009 11:36AM]

No. There will be adapters for your existing headphones — or third-party headphones that will undoubtedly sound much, much better than the ones that it comes with.... kind of like every other portable music player ever in the history of the universe.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/scienceandtechnology/technology/apple/4973346/Apple-launches-new-talking-iPod-shuffle.html

[dandaman @ Mar 11th 2009 11:52AM]

@specialK: Agreed, this device is not for us. Apple's headphones are satisfying for the price of free (or included with the device) but NOT if you buy them separately. If your shuffle buds break, I would go with something like the Shure MPA or another headphone with controller because all iPods are compatible and if you upgrade, you can use the same headphones.

[nismo334 @ Mar 11th 2009 12:39PM]

Oh great the 3rd party headphones on the store consist of a pair of Victors (JVC, Just very crappy) and the worst sounding pair of headphones Sennheiser makes. I'm a huge fan of Sennheiser, but those are good only if your running. Thats it the rest are crappy apple earbuds! Umm I think I'll hold on to my 2nd gen shuffle and pretend like this joke of a player never came out.

[Wwhat @ Mar 11th 2009 1:36PM]

"sexy store employees."
Really? Where are you located? Never saw any of that here.

[kadajawi @ Mar 12th 2009 12:55AM]

I've paid less than $80 for my much higher quality and much more functional Meizu M6, and decided to spend the rest on decent earphones. Hm.

Also, the Sansa Clip is supposed to offer very high sound quality (with shielded internals, IIRC), small size and a low price point. Why not get a decent player AND good sound quality? And a display. And buttons.

[Darnell @ Mar 11th 2009 8:38AM]

Looks like you have to use their headphones to control the thing.

Dumb

[Saad Rabia @ Mar 11th 2009 8:55AM]

"Un-break my heart
Say you'll love me again
Undo this hurt..."

*blip*

"The Song Track Three by Unknown Artist on Playlist My Gray-Eight Music"

"... so many nights
Un-break my heart
My heart..."

[shravan @ Mar 11th 2009 9:22AM]

Damn i agree.. Track 07 by artist in track. I know people who have tags like these on their music.