Bye, Pod! Apple Discontinues iPod After 21 Years
I woke up to Apple discontinuing its iPod after close to 22 years and it truly felt like the end of an era. As a ‘90s kid, I fondly remember long bus rides home from school, listening to music on my sleek iPod Classic—iconic with its nifty scroll wheel and polished steel frame. Weighing in at no less than 6.5 ounces, the pocket-sized gadget was a wonder in its own right when it launched in October 2001. Its white face matched the white earbuds that came along with it, altogether a magical music machine that held a whopping 1,000 songs. For the first time then, we had the option to eschew the heavy CD player, Walkman or even the rather clunky MP3 player.
Photo from Apple
Over the course of the years, the 2000s became somewhat of an iPod generation, where it was common to see earphone wires dangling from the ears on one’s daily commute. Defined by the top hits of the moment, each iPod commercial became as memorable as the product itself.
There was the splashy cross-promotion in 2004, where U2 debuted its new song “Vertigo” in an iPod ad. This was also one of the few iPod ads featuring silhouettes of the band members playing the song. Then, there was the iPod ad with roller skaters grooving to Gorillaz’s “Feel Good Inc.”, a catchy bop that later propelled the UK band to fame.
Photo from Apple
When Apple said goodbye to the iPod, it was also bidding farewell to a two-decade run of a product line that inspired today’s well-loved iPhone. After the first three generations of iPod, which all boasted a similar, minimalist look, the tech giant unveiled the iPod Mini, which would capture the hearts of many with its small size and bright colours.
Along the way, it traded the scroll wheel for a click wheel in the fourth generation of the iPod and released its first screenless iPod Shuffle, also its most affordable iPod. By the time Apple launched the fifth generation of the Apple iPod touch in 2012, there was no doubt it would pave the way for how the iPhone looked today.
Photo from Apple
Aside from the Mac, the iPod remains the longest-lasting Apple product in its line. And while its demise was inevitable—considering how the iPhone’s able to do everything the iPod has done and more, there’s no doubt its loss will stir up nostalgia in the ones who grew up with the feeling of having a whole music library in the palm of their hands.
The iPod touch will be available while supplies last.
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