End of an era: Apple officially retires iPod after 20 years

Pour out for a real one because Apple’s iPod, the portable music player that revolutionized the industry, is officially retired. On Tuesday, Apple announced the discontinuation of the iPod touch, which will be available until supplies last, ending the product line that defined my teen years. I can go into heavy detail, and I’ll respect the history of the handheld device that never left my side with my Blackberry.

On October 23, 2001, the original iPod was born, and while it wasn’t the first MP3 playerit was the first of its kind. The Walkman pales in comparison to the 1,000-song capacity and 10-hour battery life of the iPod. The user-friendly interface and attractive design of the iPod make it an easy choice among MP3 players. Together with Apple’s digital iTunes platform, the tech company forever changed the way music is discovered, consumed and shared.

It was a risk for Apple to release a music product, given that they were known as a computer company and nearly went bankrupt a few years ago, but it paid off. The success of the iPod and the success of Apple have always depended on innovation. Taking your own product and making it a little better year after year. The classic iPod product line expanded to include the iPod mini, iPod nano, and iPod shuffle, which Apple stopped selling between 20142017. I’ll never forget my blue iPod nano filled with 2000s hits like Sean Kingston’s “Fire Burning”, Timbaland’s “The Way I Are” and The Pussycat Dolls’ “Don’t Cha”.

The release of the iPhone in 2007 finally rendered the iPod dispensable for combining an iPod, a phone, and an Internet communicator into a single device. When I switched from Blackberry to iPhone, I also retired my iPod nano and its widely curated library of music that took me hours to download and transfer.

The iPod touch was also released in 2007 as the iPhone without a phone, and 20 years later is the last of its kind. For nostalgic reasons, if you want to buy an iPod touch before the supplies sell out, they’re available on the Apple website starting at $199 each. They are available in 32GB, 128GB and 256GB and in six colors including Silver, Pink, Blue and Gold.

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