It is a sad day for those who were teens in the 2000s.
From low-rise jeans to funky hairdos, those truly were the years. And it got even better when Apple released the first iPod, a completely new way to listen to music at the time.
But after more than 20 years alive, Apple announced on 10 May (Tuesday) that it will be discontinuing the beloved music player.
Face of Portable Music
In case you were born after the era and have never gotten the opportunity to see the iPod or you wish to take a nostalgic trip down memory lane, here’s what the very first version looked like.
Released in 2001, the iPod became the face of portable music and kickstarted Apple’s journey into becoming the world’s biggest company.
It took on a storm of competing music players before being “defeated” by smartphones, online music streaming and the iPhone.
Over the years, the iPod has also undergone several iterations featuring a scroll wheel, the capacity to store 1,000 songs and a 10-hour battery-life.
Redefined Listening to Music
The iPod, which brought music to hundreds of millions of users, surely did impact more than just the music industry, it also “redefined how music is discovered, listened to and shared”, said Greg Joswiak, Apple’s senior vice president of Worldwide Marketing.
He added that the “spirit of the iPod lives on”.
The experience of taking music on the go that was first introduced by the iPod has since been integrated across Apple’s product line — from iPhone and Apple Watch to iPad and Mac — along with access to more than 90 million songs and over 30,000 playlists available via Apple Music.
iPod Touch Selling While Stocks Last
At present, the iPod Touch is the only version still being carried. It was first launched in 2007, the same year as the iPhone.
Not to fret though, if you wish to have the last version of the monumental device, the iPod Touch will be available till supplies last, Apple said in a blog post.
So say goodbye to the face of an era. Because maybe, just maybe we should have all seen it coming when Apple stopped reporting iPod sales in 2015.
Featured Image: Apple