Apple officially kills iPod Touch and iPod product line

Tiny music players saved Apple and catapulted the company into a powerhouse in the music industry, but its days are over. The era of the iPod is officially over.

Apple says the last model of the iPod line, the iPod Touch, has only one final stock left.

The iPod came out in 2001 and immediately revolutionized the music industry, making MP3s popular. Hailed as the Walkman of the 21st century, it's hard to underestimate the cultural significance of the iPod during the first decade of this century. You can see ads with dancers wearing white headphones plugged into iPods popping up everywhere.

And don't be in a hurry to assume that iPod is only for stylish boys and girls. Former US President George W. Bush in an interview talked about his iPod playlist, Oprah Winfrey also shared that iPod is one of her favorite things.

But those things happened decades ago and now the world has changed a lot. Apple must also acknowledge that change in its press release.

Apple officially kills iPod Touch and iPod product line Picture 1

"Today, personal music experiences are integrated across Apple's product lines, from iPhones and Apple Watches to iPads and Macs," Apple said. Therefore, it is not difficult to realize that the iPod has become obsolete.

During the launch of the first iPod model in 2001, the late Apple CEO Steve Jobs held up the iPod. He says the 5GB hard drive inside it can store "1,000 songs in your pocket".

Now, with everyone carrying a multifunction device in their pocket, it's hard to accept the fact that the original iPod could only do one thing: play music. However, the device became a major game changer as the world's first easy-to-use MP3 player.

In the following years, the iPod continuously decreased in size but increased in capacity. This helped its sales continue, the 100 millionth iPod was sold in 2007.

But 2007 was also the year that the iPhone was born, the beginning of the end of the iPod with only one function. Then the Apple Watch hammered another nail into the iPod's "coffin".

Apple said it will continue to sell the 2019 version of the iPod Touch until the supply runs out. But the reality is that the iPod era ended in 2017 when Apple killed off the iPod nano and iPod shuffle, the last true iPods. The iPod Touch is really just a small tablet or an iPhone without cellular connectivity.

Marvin Fry

Update 11 May 2022