Apple's Beats brand in April unveiled the Powerbeats Pro, a redesigned wire-free version of its popular fitness-oriented Powerbeats earbuds.
Happy 17th Birthday to Apple's Original iPod
17 years ago today, then Apple CEO Steve Jobs stood on stage at the Apple Town Hall in Cupertino, California and showed off the very first iPod, a palm-sized device that held an entire music library and helped bring Apple back to profitability.
As Jobs introduced the first iPod, he called it a quantum leap forward in technology and outlined its three major breakthrough features: ultra-portability, Apple's legendary ease of use, and auto-sync with iTunes.
The commercial that was shown during the keynote event where Jobs introduced the iPod
Apple's original iPod featured a black and white LCD and Apple's first scroll wheel, a simple, intuitive mechanical scrolling interface designed to let users quickly scroll through long lists of music.
The scroll wheel led to the click wheel, which became an iconic feature of Apple's iPod lineup, included easy access buttons for playing, pausing, rewinding, and fast forwarding through music content.
A later version of the iPod classic
Following the launch of the first iPod, new versions followed on a yearly basis.
Other notable updates included the iPod Photo in 2004, which had the first color display; the smaller iPod mini, which also came in 2004; the smaller and more portable iPod nano, introduced in 2005; the tiny iPod shuffle, even smaller than the nano, which came in 2005; the third-generation iPod nano "fatty" with a wider, squatter body, introduced in 2007; and the first iPod touch, also released in 2007.
Today, the iPod has been largely replaced with the iPhone, which was first introduced in 2007. Today's iPhone XS, XS Max, and XR feature music storage and Apple Music, along with messaging and calling capabilities, a full App Store, and so much more.
The iPhone XR comes in multiple colors, much like Apple's iPods did
Apple retired the iPod nano and the iPod shuffle in July of 2017, and has slimmed down the iPod lineup to a single iPod -- the iPod touch. Apple has not updated the iPod touch since 2015, and it's likely that at some point, the entire iPod lineup may be put to rest for good.
It's not clear when that might happen, and for now, the iPod touch remains available for sale. It can be purchased from Apple for $199 for 32GB of storage or $299 for 128GB of storage.
Unfortunately, there have been no rumors of an update, so Apple's future plans for the iPod remain up in the air.
As Jobs introduced the first iPod, he called it a quantum leap forward in technology and outlined its three major breakthrough features: ultra-portability, Apple's legendary ease of use, and auto-sync with iTunes.
iPod is an MP3 music player, has CD quality music, and it plays all of the popular formats of open music. The biggest thing about iPod is that it holds a thousand songs. Now this is a quantum leap because for most people, it's their entire music library. This is huge.The first-generation iPod was advertised as the device that put "1,000 songs in your pocket," with the music stored on its 5GB 1.8-inch hard drive. Priced starting at $399, the first iPod lasted for 10 hours before needing to be recharged.
How many times have you gone on the road with a CD player and said 'Oh God, I didn't bring the CD I wanted to listen to.' To have your whole music library with you at all times is a quantum leap in listening to music. The coolest thing about iPod is that your whole music library fits right in your pocket. Never before possible.
Apple's original iPod featured a black and white LCD and Apple's first scroll wheel, a simple, intuitive mechanical scrolling interface designed to let users quickly scroll through long lists of music.
The scroll wheel led to the click wheel, which became an iconic feature of Apple's iPod lineup, included easy access buttons for playing, pausing, rewinding, and fast forwarding through music content.
Following the launch of the first iPod, new versions followed on a yearly basis.
Other notable updates included the iPod Photo in 2004, which had the first color display; the smaller iPod mini, which also came in 2004; the smaller and more portable iPod nano, introduced in 2005; the tiny iPod shuffle, even smaller than the nano, which came in 2005; the third-generation iPod nano "fatty" with a wider, squatter body, introduced in 2007; and the first iPod touch, also released in 2007.
Today, the iPod has been largely replaced with the iPhone, which was first introduced in 2007. Today's iPhone XS, XS Max, and XR feature music storage and Apple Music, along with messaging and calling capabilities, a full App Store, and so much more.
Apple retired the iPod nano and the iPod shuffle in July of 2017, and has slimmed down the iPod lineup to a single iPod -- the iPod touch. Apple has not updated the iPod touch since 2015, and it's likely that at some point, the entire iPod lineup may be put to rest for good.
It's not clear when that might happen, and for now, the iPod touch remains available for sale. It can be purchased from Apple for $199 for 32GB of storage or $299 for 128GB of storage.
Unfortunately, there have been no rumors of an update, so Apple's future plans for the iPod remain up in the air.
Related Roundup: iPod touch
Buyer's Guide: iPod Touch (Buy Now)
[ 153 comments ]
Top Rated Comments
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10 months ago
Amazing product that started it all.
Little known fact: Tim Cook cornered the storage market that locked out competitors from competing with the fast storage found in iPod.
He was the genius behind the iPod execution.
Little known fact: Tim Cook cornered the storage market that locked out competitors from competing with the fast storage found in iPod.
He was the genius behind the iPod execution.
10 months ago
For a laugh, it’s always fun to take a look at the infamous Thread 500: https://www.macrumors.com/2001/10/23/apples-new-thing-ipod/
10 months ago
I wish they would bring back a plain ol' music player with the 6th Gen Classic chassis and faster storage.
Indeed. Apple Music, the service, has absolutely ruined Music the app, IMO. I want the Music app back that allowed my iPhone to function as an iPod used to, without all the cloud and service cruft. They could easily achieve this through settings or making AM it's own app.
10 months ago
I wish they would bring back a plain ol' music player with the 6th Gen Classic chassis and faster storage.
10 months ago
How the contingent of forum complainers likely reviewed the ipod 17 years ago...
"No wireless. Less space than a nomad. Lame." :D:rolleyes:
"No wireless. Less space than a nomad. Lame." :D:rolleyes:
10 months ago
I remember my iPod second generation. Touch wheel, firewire charger. very reliable device that is tucked away in a box. Used it all the time. Co-workers thought I was silly walking around with the earbuds when I went to the break room. Two years later they were all wearing them and claiming to be early adopters.
10 months ago
I still use my 3rd gen "Fatty" frequently. It is so much more convenient than carrying around my iPhone 6 Plus.
I know Apple wants to transition to the Apple Watch and Bluetooth headphones for portable music, but I still like having a tiny, separate device with a headphone jack.
I know Apple wants to transition to the Apple Watch and Bluetooth headphones for portable music, but I still like having a tiny, separate device with a headphone jack.
10 months ago
This was also the device that created an entire cottage industry of third-party accessory makers for things like cases, cables, and, in the case of my first-gen iPod, FM transmitters.
The first-gen iPod is in the list of top 10 most influential devices, IMNSHO.
The first-gen iPod is in the list of top 10 most influential devices, IMNSHO.
10 months ago
I miss my 160GB iPod Classic. I was so hoping for a 320GB version so I could put all my music at full 256kbps. That never happened.
I wish the iPod Touch was still a thing (why does Apple keep selling this severely outdated item) because I'd love to get one for a small child.
I wish the iPod Touch was still a thing (why does Apple keep selling this severely outdated item) because I'd love to get one for a small child.
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