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The end of an era: Apple discontinues the iPod

May 11, 2022

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More than 20 years after the presentation of the first iPod on October 23, 2001 by the then Apple CEO Steve Jobs, the company from Cupertino is ending an era and is presenting the iPod that was released in 2019 The 7th generation iPod Touch is the last iPod left in the portfolio without a successor.

A slow death on rates

< p class="p text-width">With the words “The music lives on”, Apple begins its official press release on the official farewell to the iPod, which will only be available “while stocks last” in the form of the 7th generation iPod Touch. In truth, however, the Portable Media Player had already taken on the role of an almost imperceptible marginal phenomenon for several years.

And again Apple is letting its once so beloved child die another death.

The iPod is no longer important to Apple and yesterday – with the launch of Apple Music – it got another nail in its coffin got missed.

Apple's music playback device doesn't play a role in its own streaming service.

ComputerBase, June 9, 2015

Already two years before the “refresh” of the 6th generation of the iPod Touch, which comes with the “new” SoC A10-Fusion, a RAM doubled to 2 GB and more flash memory was promoted to the 7th generation in 2019, the editors commented on the situation around the iPod as follows under the title “The iPod is dead. Once again.”

As Apple announced in its press release, the iPod is really dying this time and will only be offered in the company's online shop until the last stocks have been sold.

The heirs took over a long time ago

Aside from a few images, Apple doesn't dwell too much on the iPod's “legacy” either, pointing instead to the iPhone, iPad, the Apple Watch and especially the HomePod mini as legitimate heirs to the portable media player.

< img src="/wp-content/uploads/28a8376d35c3b45b81e8dadb633b78cb.png" /> iPod (1st Gen) (Image: Apple)

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The first iPod, designed by Apple's longtime Chief Design Officer Jonathan Ive, used a 90 MHz ARM SoC from PortalPlayer, which was acquired by Nvidia in 2007. At that time, music was only transferred from the Mac to the 1.8″ HDD with 5 or 10 GB. The so-called “Clickwheel” was particularly innovative. In the 1st generation it was still possible to turn it, making operation of the iPod child's play compared to other MP3 players with cursor keys and a tiny display.

For Windows users, however, there was a problem at the beginning: You needed a computer with FireWire, which was more at home with the Mac. And iTunes for synchronizing should not appear for Windows until years later, until then Apple relied on the Musicmatch Jukebox.

The iPod on ComputerBase

ComputerBase also accompanied the development of the iPod from the beginning and was already able to in 2003 the iPod against the Creative Jukebox Zen (test) in a duel of MP3 players. In the same year, the iPod of the 3rd generation (test) had to prove itself in the ComputerBase test.

Music in the form of MP3 files did not find its way from the computer to the iPod with iTunes at the time, but with the very immature software Musicmatch Jukebox.

At the end of 2005, the iPod of the 5th generation (hands-on) was also allowed to present itself to the editorial team, but from 2007 onwards, in which the first iPhone was also presented and the iPod quickly outstripped the coverage of Apple's little-loved child.

The editors also say: “Thank you and bye bye iPod! “