I had a couple of iPods and loved them! I owned the Shuffle and the Nano a few years back.

The concept of a miniature device that is so small and convenient in weight, color and touch but also delivered in sound and capacity. Apple’s iPod is being terminated after 20 years. It’s an end of an era. The iPod Touch 7^th generation was released in 2019. And Apple announced on Wednesday of last week, that it was discontinuing it.

So, if you want to hold on to a bit of Apple’s nostalgia then you may definitely want to keep your iPod if you still have one kicking around. If not, you may want to purchase the iPod Touch just before they sell out.

Once they do, that’s it – Apple will no longer be making them available for purchase. Greg Joswiak, Apple’senior vice-president of worldwide marketing said last week, “today the spirit lives on.”

The iPod legacy with the incredible technical function was born at the turn of the new century. The iPod went on to give birth to our smart-phones. What started in 2001 with a capacity of around 5GB went on to be increased to 256GB of storage currently for our music files. The original iPod also allowed up to 10 hours of continuous playback music.

Steve Jobs, Apple’s co-founder and CEO introduced the original iPod in 2001 which could hold 1000+ songs. It was revolutionary and the first of its kind.

Steve Jobs Introduces The iPod

Apple’s first MP3 player was small enough in size to literally fit into any size of pocket – basically a light-weight but powerful in sound. It was a game changer.

When the iPod dropped it introduced the fast clicking function capability – syncing with iTunes (both Mac & PC users). Years later the Touch series was created and a smooth interface for touch was promoted.

As usual, Apple has always been ahead of the rest of the technical giants. But the innovation of the iPod was unique and a trailblazer for all of the other brands on the market. However, with the rising sales of other Apple products, notably the iPhone series, the existence of the stand-alone MP3 or the iPod is not needed in 2022. iPhones are a combination of iTunes (music playlists), the internet and the phone.

iPhones wouldn’t have existed without the iPod. It set the premise and the foundation for the devices we incorporate into our daily lives. Especially for working out, and while working, etc. iPods were everywhere! Basically giving a permanent shelf life to the walkman and to similar big bulky devices in 2001 – for good.

There are 5 types of iPods –

The Classic, Mini – later became the Nano, Shuffle, Touch and their various generations were released over the years. Since then, we have slowly seen the decline. By 2014, the classic click wheel (Classic, Mini, Shuffle) was no more. And the Nano disappeared by 2017. The Touch is the last of the iPod series. The latest one dropped in 2019. Apple says, the Touch will continue to be sold until supplies run out.

Tech magazines reported that by 2011 the iPod series had sold over $300 million dollars. In 2022, the two decade successful run of the iPod series – has been reported to be over $400 million dollars to date.

Published by HOLR Magazine