It’s truly the end of an era: after more than 20 years, Apple has bid a sad but fond farewell to the iPod.
First introduced on October 23rd, 2001, the humble iPod was a revelation at the turn of the 21st century. 1,000 songs at your fingertips! In such a compact and portable device! (compare that to the 90 million+ songs available on Apple’s streaming service today)
Apple announced on Tuesday, May 10th, that the iPod Touch would be discontinued, following the discontinuation of the Shuffle and Nano in 2017. If for some reason you’re missing the little Touch, the last of this iPod model are available to purchase through apple.com, Apple Stores, and authorised resellers “while supplies last.”
“Music has always been part of our core at Apple, and bringing it to hundreds of millions of users in the way iPod did impacted more than just the music industry — it also redefined how music is discovered, listened to and shared,” Greg Joswiak, Apple’s SVP of worldwide marketing, explained in a statement.
No matter how popular the iPod was, though, it was always going to be outstripped by the iPhone. “When Apple created the iPhone it knew that it would ultimately mean the beginning of the end of the iPod,” Ben Wood, chief analyst at technology advisory firm CCS Insight, informed the BBC.
“The demise of the iPod is probably the best example of Apple not being concerned about cannibalising its own products,” Carolina Milanesi from Creative Strategies added.
If you’re lucky to still have an iPod Touch lying around the house somewhere though, the discontinuation news could actually be good for you: when nostalgia eventually dictates that they’re cool again, you’ll probably be able to make a small fortune selling it on eBay.
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Check out the evolution of the iPod (2001-2022):
