Thinking about a new iPod to take advantage of offline listening in Apple Music? You'll want to hold off for now.
In an attempt to curb piracy, tracks downloaded for offline listening in Apple Music will not work on the new iPod Shuffle or Nano, reports 9to5 Mac. Apple Music tracks will work on an iPod Touch because Apple will be able to remove the locally stored tracks if the user cancels their subscription.
[seealso slug="apple-music-review"]
Apple's line of iPods received a refresh Wednesday, with the iPod Touch getting a healthy bump up in its speed and the Shuffle and Nano receiving new colors.
It was the first update for the iPod line since October 2012, a geological epoch in the world of Apple.
Apple Music tracks can be saved to an iPod Touch (which runs iOS), but not to the Shuffle or Nano. Sources inside Apple told 9to5 Mac this is because tracks saved to a non-iOS device can be left on the device after a user cancels their Apple Music subscription.
Mashable is currently testing the new iPod models; we can confirm Apple Music tracks can't be synced.
Apple has not responded to a request for comment. It's unclear if this could be remedied with a later software update, or if the company would want to do so.
The news brings up the question of whether iPod Shuffles or Nanos are worthwhile products in 2015. Perhaps they're easy money makers for Apple, or there's still a market for people who aren't subscribers to Apple Music and still want the old-school iPod experience.
Apple is clearly de-emphasizing the iPod; the category was removed from the top navigation of the company's website last month. Apart from the iPod Touch, which is being positioned as an entry-level iOS device, the iPod increasingly becoming an anachronism.