Apple did not create the whole portable music player category. Far from it. But it did start the revolution that would, eventually, make portable digital audio, or MP3 players a household name, with the iPod. The first version of the iPod was launched on October 23, 2001. On 10th May 2022, Apple pulled the plug on the only version, the seventh-generation iPod Touch, still being sold, officially discontinuing the product line. This means, you will only be able to buy one, until supplies last. Apple doesn’t make it anymore. It is, as they say, the end of an era. (Photo credit: Reuters)
The original iPod, introduced on October 23, 2001, was a Mac-compatible product (that would sync with the now discontinued iTunes Store over FireWire) with a 5GB hard drive that was sizeable enough to famously put “1,000 songs in your pocket.” Steve Jobs wanted it to be as portable and as user-friendly as possible at a time when almost every other MP3 player in the market was either big and clunky or small and useless and as Jobs would put it, came with an “unbelievably awful” interface. The product was conceived and designed by Tony Fadell. (Photo credit: Apple)
In the next few generations, Apple would go on to make the iPod even slimmer, starting with the first-generation iPod Mini, which was launched on February 20, 2004. The punchline was the peppy colour schemes— there were five of those available at launch – and the introduction of the “click-wheel.” All this while, Apple would continue to update the original iPod with a complete redesign coming in 2003 with the third-generation model bringing an all-touch interface for the first time in an iPod. By this time, Apple had also brought iTunes to Windows which was a big step in making the iPod accessible to virtually anyone who owned a PC. (Photo credit: Apple)
The second-generation iPod Nano, introduced on September 25, 2006, came with an even thinner design (relative to the mini models), a colour display, more colours to choose from, and up to 24 hours of battery life. It could store up to 2,000 songs. (Photo credit: Apple)
The iPod Touch brought the iPhone’s multi-touch interface to an iPod for the first time. It was basically an iPhone without the calling feature, in almost every perceivable way. It was launched on September 5, 2007. The sixth-generation iPod was launched alongside, the first and only iPod to get the “classic” suffix. Apple would go on to launch storage updates for this model, but that was the end of the original iPod line. (Photo credit: Apple)
The seventh-generation iPod Nano, introduced on September 12, 2012, was the thinnest iPod to date. It was barely 5.4mm and came with a 2.5-inch display with a multi-touch interface. (Photo credit: Apple)
The iPod Shuffle, first introduced in 2005, came without any screen and was designed to be even sleeker with the subsequent generations bringing a clip design and a VoiceOver button to hear a song title, playlist name, or battery status. (Photo credit: Apple)
The seventh-generation iPod Touch, launched on May 28, 2019, was designed to be a gaming device, too, especially since Apple had just launched Arcade. It came with an A10 Fusion chip and up to 256GB of storage. It would be the last iPod that Apple made before bidding goodbye to the lineup. “Today, the spirit of iPod lives on. We’ve integrated an incredible music experience across all of our products, from the iPhone to the Apple Watch to HomePod mini, and across Mac, iPad, and Apple TV. And Apple Music delivers industry-leading sound quality with support for spatial audio — there’s no better way to enjoy, discover, and experience music,” Greg Joswiak, Apple’s senior vice president of Worldwide Marketing said in a statement announcing the news. (Photo credit: Apple)
