Your first question upon hearing this was probably the same as mine: “How do you switch songs?” Simple: the controls are on the cable of the prepackaged headphones.

Do you listen to your iPod with the headphones it came with? Most people I know don’t. Admittedly, I don’t know anyone who owns an iPod Shuffle (my mom used to, but that’s it), so it’s possible that iPod Shuffle buyers often stick with the default headphones. But be warned: if you buy an iPod Shuffle, and you want to use your own headphones, get ready to not be able to switch/skip songs.

I understand choosing form over function, up to a point. But to me, this just seems ludicrous. The difference in size between this thing and the last-gen iPod Shuffle is minuscule, and the functional sacrifice immense. But maybe I just don’t get it.