iPod to be officially discontinued by Apple

Apple is pulling the plug on the iPod.

After more than 20 years on the market, the game-changing portable digital music device will disappear once the existing stock of iPod Touches is sold via Apple and other authorised sellers, Apple announced on Tuesday 10th May.

“Music has always been part of our core at Apple, and bringing it to hundreds of millions of users in the way iPod did impacted more than just the music industry — it also redefined how music is discovered, listened to, and shared,” reads the statement from Apple. “Today, the spirit of iPod lives on” in its other music-integrated products.

The original iPod classic was released in 2001 and could hold up to 1,000 songs. The popular, colourful iPod mini line followed in 2004, with even tinier Nano and Shuffle models arriving in the mid-2000s. 

About one year ago, rumours swirled that the iPod Touch could be making a comeback, though nothing definitive happened. Back in 2019, Apple launched the latest iteration of the iPod Touch, which was its first new iPod release since 2015. 

Almost as iconic as the iPod itself is its commercials. Watch the memorable 2005 spot featuring Daft Punk’s ‘Technologic’ below.

Photo credit: Apple