The iPod is finally discontinued, the end of an era for Apple
It’s official, the iPod is now discontinued. Over the later 21 years since its introduction in 2001, an estimated 450 million units have been sold worldwide.
Initially, Steve Jobs introduced the first iPod as a tool to channel users onto the iTunes platform. With a 5GB capacity and Apple’s minimalist design, the iPod gradually established itself as the go-to MP3 player.
Over this time period, the iPod rode many design trends. It slowly evolved from the firewire and brimstone days to the touchscreen era. Apple slowly diversified the range from the original iPod(which later returned as the iPod Classic). This gave birth to the iPod mini, iPod Nano, iPod Shuffle, and iPod Touch – each aimed at fulfilling a different user’s specific needs.
The iPod Touch is now discontinued
The role of the iPod and iTunes was also pivotal in terms of the profound effect on the music industry. Revenue plummeted at the end of the 1990s and platforms like Napster and KazaA showed the world how easily music could be pirated and shared.
However, it was the growth of iTunes users on both Windows and Mac that convinced the major record companies that digital download was a viable option for distribution. In this process, Apple also solidified itself as a brand. Being closely synonymous with music kept it relevant over the years – and the iPod was a big part of this.
The iPod family. · Source: Apple
So all being said, be sure to get hold of an iPod before they become a vintage collector’s item with an outlandish price tag. Once the current stocks are sold they are out of production for good, so we’ll have to consider alternatives like the latest iPhone models, the Apple Watch, the iPad, or the HomePod Mini.
Which was your favourite iPod of all time?
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5 responses to “The iPod is finally discontinued, the end of an era for Apple”
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incorrect introduction year at top of article. That is unless this is the year 2043.
😂 Thanks for the catch! It’s been fixed 🙂
I have the last version iPod & iTunes (on a PC) …. but so far, nobody has been able to really answer me a simple question … What could be a good replacement of this (iPod & iTunes (on a PC))? …
Winamp – https://hackaday.io/project/180500-airamp-bringing-winamp-into-the-real-world
I never warmed to the iPod / iTunes thing. I have a vast collection of MP3’s, which all work perfectly on every generic portable MP3 player I’ve ever owned over the last 20 odd years – except of course, iPods (not unless I wanted to faff about with a clunky iTunes interface, and convert them all) .
As a PC user (rather than a Mac user), I found iTunes slow and frustrating to use, and abandoned it years ago. Maybe iTunes works better these days on PC’s than it used to, but I’ll certainly not be shedding any tears for the demise of the iPod.
Good riddance and Long Live generic MP3 players!