Again in 2001, Steve Jobs and Apple launched the world to the iPod, a cell media participant that allowed customers to carry as much as 1,000 distinct songs on them. The product was a significant leap into the long run, and when paired with the recently-introduced iTunes platform, the iPod wound up spearheading the digital period of music consumption.
Twenty years later, Apple has introduced that they’re formally discontinuing the iPod. The newest mannequin to be manufactured and launched was the seventh Era iPod Contact, which was first put out in Might of 2019. For over a decade, a lot of the iPod’s options have been included within the firm’s different merchandise.
“Music has all the time been a part of our core at Apple, and bringing it to tons of of hundreds of thousands of customers in the way in which iPod did impacted extra than simply the music {industry} — it additionally redefined how music is found, listened to, and shared,” mentioned Greg Joswiak, Apple’s senior vp of Worldwide Advertising and marketing. “As we speak, the spirit of iPod lives on. We’ve built-in an unimaginable music expertise throughout all of our merchandise, from the iPhone to the Apple Watch to HomePod mini, and throughout Mac, iPad, and Apple TV. And Apple Music delivers industry-leading sound high quality with assist for spatial audio — there’s no higher method to take pleasure in, uncover, and expertise music.”
Over the course of 20 years, Apple continued to fabricate new fashions of the iPod, together with the Mini, video-capable basic iPods, the Nano, and the iPod Shuffle. When Apple launched the iPhone in 2007, it contained a music app that basically crammed the operate of the iPod. iPhone gross sales overtook these of the iPod in 2010, and gross sales for brand spanking new generations of iPods have plummetted.
Regardless of now having lengthy been built-in into the corporate’s signature product, the iPhone, iPods had been revolutionary to each the tech {industry} and the music {industry}. In the course of the resurgence of Apple within the new millennium, the iPod rapidly grew to become the corporate’s signature product. Commercials and ads rapidly entered popular culture, and because the web grew to become a a lot bigger connector for individuals all over the world, Apple lead the cost.
iPods had been additionally indicative of the company world embracing digital media in a reputable and authorized manner. Bodily gross sales of albums, together with vinyl, cassettes, and CDs, noticed huge drops as soon as the unique iPod was launched. Apple labored with file labels and artists to create authorized MP3 sharing networks, though the proliferation of unlawful downloading websites like Napster was nonetheless prevalent. Quickly, shopping for bodily media grew to become a rarity, as music, movies, and tv reveals may all be watched on an iPod.
iPod Touches, the ultimate remaining mannequin in manufacturing, will stay on sale by way of the corporate’s web site and in Apple shops “whereas provides final.”
