It’s an end of an era, whether you like it or not, whether you were a fan of the classic iPod or an enthusiast of music, and for all of those folks who admire Apple for what it is, the iPod has been discontinued. We know we are as surprised as you are. On Tuesday, May 10, 2022, Apple released a press release, “The music goes on“, and with this 1,000-word press release, 21 years of music journey concluded. Indeed, the iPod had highs and lows, yes and no; however, we all will agree that it was a marvel in the technological space and paved the way for unique gadgets, including the iPhone.
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So, let’s look at all the iPods that have been with us in our favourite pastimes.
History of Apple iPod Classic
1. Apple iPod 1st Gen (2001)
On October 23, 2001, Steve Jobs introduced the first ever iPod on stage, the tiny device that could store 1,000 songs and was priced at just $399. It was a one of a kind device, the shining armour in the market of Walkman and cassette. By feature, the device held 5GB of storage and had a Firewire port to sync music from iTunes. In addition, it was the first device to come with a scrolling wheel.
2. Apple iPod 2nd Gen (2002)
The device was an upgrade of the first generation of the iPod. Apple moved from a mechanical scrolling wheel to a touch-sensitive wheel. However, the popularity of the Windows Operating system forced Apple to introduce Windows compatibility in their iPod.
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3. Apple iPod 3rd Gen (2003)
This might have been the first significant upgrade in the iPod generation. Apple completely redesigned the iPod and introduced an all-touch sensitive button. In addition, Apple also dropped the Windows support through Musicmatch and reserved the iPod for Mac OS & iTunes only. Though, it didn’t create any issue since iTunes was also available for Windows.
4. Apple iPod 4th Gen (2004)
iPad 4th generation might be the one that we all remember using, with a plastic body, grey circle touch buttons and white earphones. Apple also added charging support through USB via the Firewire port. The same year, Apple also introduced a colour-screen version of the iPod, an instant hit in the market.
5. Apple iPod 5th Gen (2005)
The 5th generation of the iPod might have been the cleanest and most appealing iPod design by Apple. A large screen, video playback, and 60 GB of storage. We couldn’t just listen to music; we could also watch movies and music videos via iTunes. In addition, Apple also introduced the first ever iPod in black colour.
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6. Apple iPod 6th Gen (2007)
The 6th generation of the Apple iPod was just some minor tweaks here and there. Apple introduced all of these iPods as the iPod Classic. In addition, it also got a storage bump to 80GB and 160GB. However, in 2014, the Apple iPod classic was discontinued and ended its journey.
History of Apple iPod Mini
1. Apple iPod Mini 1st Gen (2004)
Apple launched the iPod mini in Jan 2004, almost at the same time the iPod 4th gen came out. The mini iPod was a shiny new toy in the market, it was smaller compare to the iPod Classic, and was available in 5 colour options. This was probably the first time, apple realised any of thier product in different colour options, especially to tap the young adult market.
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2. Apple iPod Mini 2nd Gen (2005)
Later a year, the iPod mini was introduced in different colour options. In terms of features, the iPod mini came with a Click wheel design and had a blackn’white display. The iPod mini was discontinued in 2006, and the iPod Nano took its positon.
History of Apple iPod Nano
1. Apple iPod Nano 1st Gen (2005)
The Apple iPod Nano was the sucesser of the iPod Mini series. So far, the device used flash memory,and had a coloured display to view pictures and videos. However, it was preliminary a music only device, and had a flash storage of 1,2, 4GB.
2. Apple iPod Nano 2nd Gen (2006)
After an year, Apple came out with an improved iPod that had a slightly better battery life, and had more space for music storage. In addition, the new iPod came with anodised aluminum casing and six colour options.
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3. Apple iPod Nano 3rd Gen (2007)
This was the first time Apple redesigned the long TV-remote like design of iPod and made it a pocket friendly and easy to carry device. It had a 2-inch QVGA screen, smaller click wheel, and could also play video smoothly.
4. Apple iPod Nano 4th Gen (2008)
In September, 2009, Apple came back with the tall iPod design. The device was quite fantastic, and it came in nine colour options including a “Shake to Shuffle” feature. Even the display panel was quite larger compare to the previous iPod.
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5. Apple iPod Nano 5th Gen (2009)
The 5th generation Nano iPod was first one to come with a video camera, including a larger screen, FM radio and in-built speaker. It was a sensation in the market, no single multimedia device had any feature that was remotely close to what Apple was offering, and because of that it imediately became a success.
6. Apple iPod Nano 6th Gen (2010)
The first iPod Nano to come with a multi-touch display. However, it wasn’t as exciting as the previous gen iPod despite having a touch screen panel, simply because Apple removed video playback, spekars and camera from this one to make the device as small as it could be.
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7. Apple iPod Nano 7th Gen (2012)
The iPod Nano 7th gen came with a 2.5-inch multi-touch display, and had teh classic iPhone home button. This was also the first iPod that came with lightning connector for charging and data transfer. However, in 2017, the Aple iPod Nano was discontinued.
History of Apple iPod Shuffle
1. Apple iPod Shuffle 1st Gen (2005)
In 2005, Apple introduced its first music only compact iPod, it was so small that you could fir it in your jeans. The device had no screen, only few buttons, a 512MB and 1GB of storage variant and that was it. This entry-level iPod was meant for users who just want to enjoy music without anytime, and it worked, the iPod shuffle had an excellent battery life.
2. Apple iPod Shuffle 2nd Gen (2006)
2006 was the year from when we remember iPod shuffle. The clip design, headphone jack, navigation button and nothing more. Simple, crisp and portable. The device cam in 1 & 2GB variant, and was the first choice of music listeners.
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3. Apple iPod Shuffle 3rd Gen (2009)
After three years, Aple again redesigned teh iPod Shuffle and came a with a rectangular design. However, this didn’t work and the company had to change the design back to the clip design.
4. Apple iPod Shuffle 4th Gen (2010)
The iPod shuffle 4th Gen was the final iPod in its series. The same compact design, and more storage options was needed. Apart from that, Apple didn’t introduced any new feature since it’s primary focus was shifted to shining new iPhones. However, the Apple iPod Shuffle was discounted back in 2017.
History of Apple iPod Touch
1. Apple iPod Touch 1st Gen (2007)
The iPod Touch was an spectacular iPod. Honesty, speaking this same series was responsible for the popular iPhone and its genisis. However, in terms of feature the iPod Touch came with Wi-Fi, buit-in Safari browser, access to iTunes directly, YouTube.
2. Apple iPod Touch 2nd Gen (2008)
The 2nd gen iPod touch came with minor improvements, however the design remained the same. It had physical volume button, built-in speakers, support for Bluetooth, and came with iOS 2.0.
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3. Apple iPod Touch 3rd Gen (2009)
The iPod Touch was an upgraded entry to have compatibility with the iPhone 3GS, and included voice control support as well.
4. Apple iPod Touch 4th Gen (2010)
The forth generation of iPod came with a dedicated front camera for Facetime calls, and HD video recording. In addition, the device also featured Retina Display and Apple A4 chipset for faster performance.
5. Apple iPod Touch 5th Gen (2012)
After two years, Apple came out with a new iPod touch 5th gen. The device quite similar to the iPhone, and frankly packed the latest Apple A5 chipset for exceptional performance. It has a 4-inch Retina display, and had a 16GB internal storage.
6. Apple iPod Touch 6nd Gen (2015)
The next generation of iPod touch came with the same idea, it had the specs of the iPhone. However, the only part that was missing, was the cellular functionality.
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7. Apple iPod Touch 7th Gen (2019)
In 2019, after three years Apple launched another iPod touch with similar iPhone like feature but without cellular functionality. It offered, Apple A8 processor, Camera, 256GB storage and excellent battery life.
Rip iPod
iPod was not just a ordinary device that was meant to provide entertainment to users. It was with no doubt a user experience, that shaped culture, created various competitors like Mp3-players, Mp5 and challenged competition of Walkman and casette player, and big humangus DVD players. This tiny device shaped the culture of the 90s kids, and introduced music into all of our life. In addition, it was also the same product that was responsible for the creation of the all time favourite iPhone and the smartphone generation.
Yes! the iPod needed to go away, we all have better version of this tiny device, and for what it is worth the Apple iPod discontinuation is the right step to take. So, it’s an end of an era, until the next one comes. Goodbye!!!
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