After 20 Years, Apple Is Discontinuing The iPod

More than 20 years ago, Apple introduced a rectangular device called the iPod that could store up to 1,000 songs and fit in your pocket. The gadget, deemed the "world's coolest MP3 player" by PCMag at its debut, was soon a status symbol that changed the way people listened to music. 

Now, the music has stopped for the iPod, with Apple saying on Tuesday that it is discontinuing the iPod Touch. People can still get their hands on the product, but only as long as supplies last, the company said. 

The reason, Apple said in the statement, is that its other devices have melded music into their functionality. The iPhone, Apple Watch, iPad and HomePod mini all duplicate the iPod's music streaming abilities, the company noted. 

"Today, the spirit of iPod lives on," said Greg Joswiak, Apple's senior vice president of worldwide marketing, in the statement.

On social media, fans of the iPod mourned the device's discontinuation as they reminisced about buying their first music player.

"RIP to my first ever tech purchase, an iPod touch 2nd gen," one Twitter user wrote. 

Introduced by Apple co-founder Steve Jobs in 2001, the device also helped remake Apple by expanding the company's product line beyond computers. Six years later, Jobs introduced the iPhone, which he described as "like having your life in your pocket." 

Apple had previously discontinued earlier versions of the iPod, such as the iPod Shuffle and iPod Nano, leaving the 2019 iPod touch as the only device in its line of dedicated music players. But sales of iPods have fallen since their peak in 2008 as consumers shifted to streaming music on smartphones and other devices, according to Insider.

First published on May 10, 2022 / 4:36 PM

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