The iPod Shuffles Off This Mortal Coil As Apple Discontinues Its Innovative Music Delivery Device
The iPod is dead. All hail the iPhone.
Apple announced the demise of the iconic music player, first introduced in 2001, on Tuesday, saying that while the online stores would still sell the remaining stock “while supplies last,” the company won’t manufacture any more of the devices.
“Music has always been part of our core at Apple, and bringing it to hundreds of millions of users in the way iPod did impacted more than just the music industry — it also redefined how music is discovered, listened to and shared,” Apple Senior Vice President of Worldwide Marketing Greg Joswiac said in a statement.
The company noted that portable music fans could still get their fix from their other Apple devices, like the iPhone, iPad and Apple Watch.
Apple introduced the first iPod in 2001, boasting about the device’s “1,000 CD-quality song” capacity. The device had a view screen and a satisfying touch-sensitive click wheel that allowed listeners to easily peruse their entire music library. The iPod had various iterations, like the Shuffle and the Nano, both which came in Apple’s signature candy colors and allowed for more music storage capacity.
Apple launched the iPod touch, which like an iPhone had apps, played video as well as audio, and eventually a camera and even phone capabilities, in 2007. The most recent iPod Touch model was released in 2019.
Many took to social media today to mourn the “game-changing” device that allowed them to take their music – all of it, not just what fit on a few tapes or CDs – with them wherever they went.