An ode to the iPod: Why Apple's OG music player will be missed
Over 20 years since it was first introduced, Apple is finally pulling the plug on the iPod. This OG device was a gamechanger and it will be missed for a lot of reasons.
This music player was one of the first Apple products I ever got my hands on. My mom shared her shiny silver iPod Classic with me and my siblings, and I fondly remember listening to early 2010s pop songs by the Jonas Brothers, Black Eyed Peas, and Glee whenever it was my turn to listen to tunes.
But music and memories aside, the iPod and its different iterations—like the Mini, the Nano, and the touch—boasted features that were groundbreaking at the time. Sure, the phones in our pockets can pretty much do more than the retro piece of tech, but it had a charm about it that will make you yearn for simpler gadgets. All you needed were a pair of earphones to be transported to a world of tunes.
The original iPod, introduced in 2001.
The iPod Mini, introduced in 2004.
The 2nd Generation iPod Nano, introduced in 2006.
The iPod Touch, introduced in 2007.
The 7th Gen iPod Nano, introduced in 2012.
The iPod Shuffle, introduced in 2015.
The 7th Gen iPod Touch, introduced in 2019.
The original iPod, introduced in 2001.
The iPod Mini, introduced in 2004.
The 2nd Generation iPod Nano, introduced in 2006.
The iPod Touch, introduced in 2007.
The 7th Gen iPod Nano, introduced in 2012.
The iPod Shuffle, introduced in 2015.
The 7th Gen iPod Touch, introduced in 2019.
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In honor of the iPod, here are some features that we miss from the OG music player.
The iconic click-wheel
Before the popularity of touchscreen devices, the iPod Classic had an iconic click wheel. The device's button layout was simple: a menu, forward, backward, pause/play, and a select button.
What was most satisfying about the iPod was sliding your finger around the wheel to browse through your music instead of pressing buttons. It had a different feel to it from how scrolling up and down on your phone now.
The games
Despite having a small screen, the iPod had fun games—in particular, the iPod Music Quiz game was a blast to play. This game tested your knowledge of your own music library. It would ask you trivia questions like which song is playing, what the title is, or what year the tune is from.
While Apple has somewhat revived this music quiz game through shortcuts, it's still different to have a whole interface and game dedicated to the experience.
Other games that you could play on the iPod were Zuma, Vortex, Bejeweled, and other fun puzzle games.
The simplicity of a music player
Since the iPod was the precursor to the iPhone, they share similar features. The last generation of the iPod Touch, which bears similarities with the iPhone 6, was basically an iPhone with no SIM card, but that was the beauty of it.
Before the advent of smartphones, people had separate devices for listening to music, watching videos, and playing games apart from their mobile phones for texting and calling. Since the iPod was mainly a music player, its storage was dedicated to music and videos—you didn't have to worry about other things like app cache taking up your memory.
While modern apps like Spotify give you access to listen to and discover more music, listening offline comes behind a paywall. With the iPod, you didn't need to be connected to the internet to access your vast music library.
The iPod was, in nature, a device for entertainment, and indeed, it kept us entertained during its heyday.
Rest in peace, iPod. You will be missed.