After 20 years, Apple announced that they were going to discontinue the final iPod product. The iPod defined music players in the mid-2000 and helped catapult Apple into the tech giant they are today. On 23rd October 2001, Steve Jobs announced Apple would be venturing into the music player industry with the iPod and integrating it with iTunes. To celebrate this industry-defining device, I will highlight iPods that have defined the music player industry.  

2001 – First iPod

Steve Jobs unveiled the first iPod as “Ultra-Portable”. It measured 2.4 inches wide, and 4 inches tall, and was made with ¾ thick stainless steel. The First iPod cost $399, held up to 1,000 songs, and users could navigate songs with a mechanical scroll wheel. The scroll wheel was an innovative approach to help users find their songs in a music-filled library.

Video: Steve Jobs Introduces the iPod

2004 – iPod Mini Debut

The iPod Mini debuted in 2004 for $249 and was made available in gold, pink, blue, and green. The major change was the lightweight anodized aluminium to make it lightweight and only ½ inch thick with 4GB internal storage. The iPod Mini appealed to many music lovers due to its size and different colour variations.

2005 – Introduction of iPod Shuffle and iPod Nano

The first iPod shuffle hit the market in 2005 as a randomized music player without a display. The tiny silver stick was available in 512MB ($99) and 1GB ($149).

Apple iPod Shuffle 2005

The iPod Photo was released with a 30GB model for $349 enabling users to store photos while the second generation iPod Mini got a facelift with 4GB and 6GB variates and is available in new colourways.

At the end of 2005, Apple decided to oust the iPod Mini in favour of the iPod Nano which measures 1/6 inches. The first generation iPod Nano packed 14 hours of battery life.

2007 – iPod Classic and iPod Touch Introduction

The original iPod gets rebranded as iPod Classic with 80GB and 160GB storage. The third-generation iPod Nano improves with a larger display.

The iPod Touch gets unleashed with 8GB and 16GB storage options with a 3.5inch multi-touch display, web browsing, and messaging.   

2009 – VoiceOver Technology

The iPod Shuffle's new buttonless design relied on VoiceOver technology to play music. This technology-enabled user to control music via their voice.

2019 – Final iPod Touch

Years before 2019, products get a slight improvement in terms of functionality, design, and software. The final iPod Touch was a refresh after four years. The 2019 iPod Touch came with an A10 processor, 3.5mm headphone jack and 32GB, 128GB, and 256GB storage options.

Summary

The iPod enabled music lovers to carry and listen to thousands of songs within their pockets. The iPod has played its part in shaping the smartphone industry today. As you look around, people listen to their favourite songs on the way to work or while working out. The iPod has opened the ability to carry your music library anywhere with you. Today we can access millions of songs via streaming platforms such as Apple Music, Spotify, and YouTube Music. However, I consider the iPod a major contributor to advancing from storing music to streaming music anywhere that we do today.