Rest In Peace to the first modern tech device ever created and the first piece of actual "tech" I ever owned, the iPod.
Today, Apple announced it is discontinuing the iPod touch, meaning for the first time since 2001, you will soon no longer be able to walk into an Apple Store and buy an iPod.
This is fundamentally the correct decision. The only reasonable use case for an iPod touch anymore is as an entertainment device for younger kids, but most kids graduate directly from iPad to iPhone nowadays with no intermediary step included. It seems like over the last few years, the iPod has been subsisting on nostalgia alone rather than any strong business case. It was time to take it behind the barn and shoot it.
But it's still sad to see it end. The iPhone made Apple the most valuable device company in the world, but the iPod made Apple a device company. It's easy to forget that 2001 was still a time where Apple — then called Apple Computer — had a hardware portfolio fully consisting of laptop and desktop computers. The roadmap from the Apple of then to the Apple of now is impossible to draw until you bring in the iPod, and then the whole narrative falls into place. Steve Jobs wasn't introducing a better MP3 player when he pulled the iPod out of his pocket on that stage in October 2001; he was introducing a new charter for Apple to focus on building a true ecosystem of personal devices that handle all of their customers' digital needs. I think they succeeded.
I got a purple 4th generation iPod nano for my 10th birthday in 2008, and I don't remember any other present that amazed me as much as that one on first glimpse. We weren't exactly a well-off family, so I was shocked we could even afford such a luxury, but rather than ask silly questions like that, I just dove right into the device. The first three songs I downloaded were "Sugar, We're Going Down" by Fall Out Boy, "Check Yes Juliet" by We The Kings, and "Shake It" by Metro Station, all three of which are impressively strong choices for a ten-year-old. But while I absolutely loved having my favorite songs in my pocket at any given time, it was the accelerometer that amazed me most. Being able to play a labyrinth game on my iPod and physically tilt the device certain directions to get the ball on the screen to roll certain ways was absolutely mesmerizing to me. I still have this iPod nano in my apartment today, and the design still looks as sharp as the day it was released. And if you think about the design principles of these early iPods — clean and simple UIs, an intuitive and innovative input method, software design that puts the user's content front-and-center — it certainly set a lot of precedents that are still being carried forward today.
And let's not forget the utterly iconic dancing silhouettes ad campaign. Any branding course that doesn't include a case study on this campaign has a hole in its syllabus.
The ironic piece here is that even if the iPod is getting discontinued, Apple appears to be more committed to music than ever. Apple Music is growing subscriber numbers at a very healthy rate. Logic Pro is gaining more and more traction as a music industry mainstay. HomePod mini is filling a nice whole for a home-oriented music device. And most importantly, AirPods have cemented themselves as Apple's biggest home run product launch arguably since the original iPad (or even the iPhone).
So like all good things, the iPod's reign had to come to an end eventually, and it was time. But cheers to the iPod, the cornerstone of modern tech devices and the anchor to the most strategically impressive company pivot in American history. You will be missed.
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