The Original iPod Went on Sale 25 Years Ago Today
Apple's original iPod went on sale 25 years ago today, on November 10, 2001. The $399 music player initially worked only with a Mac, but it went on to become one of Apple's most significant products and helped the company expand beyond the computer business. Steve Jobs had unveiled the first iPod just over two weeks earlier, on October 23, at a small press event in the Town Hall auditorium at…
On November 10, 2001, the original iPod was released, marking a significant moment in Apple's history. Priced at $399, the device initially operated exclusively with Mac computers. Steve Jobs introduced the iPod at a press event two weeks prior, describing it as a product offering "1,000 songs in your pocket." The original iPod featured a 5GB hard drive, monochrome LCD display, mechanical scroll wheel, and up to 10 hours of battery life.
Music transfer required iTunes and iTunes was necessary to charge the battery. The FireWire connection facilitated music transfer and charging, while automatic synchronization copied songs and playlists from the user's iTunes library. An entire CD could be transferred in under 10 seconds, and 1,000 songs in less than 10 minutes.
The device's initial reception was mixed, with some readers questioning its price, Mac-only compatibility, and significance. However, Apple responded with hardware revisions, including a touch-sensitive scroll wheel for the second generation, the 30-pin Dock Connector in 2003, and a color display in 2004. The iPod mini, introduced in 2004, featured a smaller, anodized aluminum enclosure in various colors and the Click Wheel for playback control.
The iPod lineup continued to evolve with the introduction of the iPod shuffle and iPod nano in 2005. The shuffle lacked a display and offered a simpler design, while the nano replaced the mini with a thin, flash-based device. Later nano models added video playback and a touchscreen. The sixth-generation iPod, released in 2010, came in a square design and could be worn as a wristwatch using third-party straps.
Apple sold 100 million iPods within six years of the device's launch and surpassed 304 million units by October 2011. The iPod touch, released in September 2007, featured a Multi-Touch display, Wi-Fi, Safari, and no cellular plan requirement. Apple discontinued the iPod classic in September 2014, and the last hardware revisions for the iPod nano and iPod shuffle occurred in July 2017.
The seventh-generation iPod touch, released in May 2019, featured an A10 Fusion chip and up to 256GB of storage. Apple discontinued the entire lineup on May 10, 2022, attributing the decision to the integration of music playback across its other products.
Written by urgent.news from MacRumors's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
