You Won’t Believe How The iPod Revolutionized Music - A Journey From Its Humble Beginnings To The Classic Icon!
The iPod is a true icon of the 21st century. Apple’s music player completely revolutionized the music industry in the early 2000s, and no other device has had quite the same impact on how we listen to music.
The origins of the iPod can be traced back to the mid-1990s when Apple’s co-founder Steve Jobs began to identify digital music as the future of the industry. In 1998, Apple released the first-ever computer with built-in support for the MP3 digital music format, paving the way for what would become the iPod.
The original iPod was announced in 2001, and it was immediately clear that it was something special. The device could hold 1,000 songs, which was a significant improvement over the small amount of music storage available on other MP3 players at the time.
The iPod’s design was sleek and intuitive, with a click-wheel and a simple interface that made it easy to navigate through your music library. It was also incredibly easy to sync the device with your computer, allowing you to add new music to your iPod in just a few clicks.
As the iPod became more popular, Apple continued to refine and improve upon the device. The iPod Mini was released in 2004, offering a smaller and more portable option for music lovers. The iPod Shuffle followed in 2005, which was even smaller than the Mini and offered a completely new way of listening to music with its randomized playback feature.
In 2007, Apple released the iPod Touch, which was essentially a miniaturized version of the iPhone without the ability to make phone calls. This was a huge step forward for the iPod, as it offered users the ability to browse the internet, play games, and download apps, all on a device that was specifically designed for music.
Perhaps the most significant impact of the iPod was on the music industry itself. The device allowed users to carry around their entire music library in their pocket, and it made it incredibly easy to discover new music and artists. The iPod also played a significant role in the rise of digital music sales, as users could purchase and download songs directly from the iTunes store.
The iPod was also a cultural icon in its own right. From the white earbuds that were instantly recognizable on the streets of major cities to the iconic silhouette commercials that showcased the device’s sleek design, the iPod became much more than just a music player.
While the iPod is no longer the dominant force in the music industry that it once was, its impact is still felt to this day. Without the iPod, we may not have services like Spotify and Apple Music, and our relationship with music might be very different.
So, the next time you see someone with a pair of white earbuds in their ears, remember that they are part of a legacy that began with an innovative device that changed the way we listen to music forever.
The iPod wasn’t the first MP3 player. A number of companies had released MP3 players before Apple unveiled what came to be one of its flagship products. But the iPod was the first truly great MP3 player, and it as the one that turned the MP3 player into a must-have device for most people.
The original iPod didn’t have the most storage capacity or the most features, but it did have a dead-simple user interface, terrific industrial design, and the polish that define Apple products (it also has an interesting story about how it got its name).
Looking back to when the iPod was introduced, it’s hard to remember just how different the world of computing and portable devices was. There was no Facebook, no Twitter, no apps, no iPhone, no Netflix. The world was a very different place.
As technology evolved, the iPod evolved with it, often helping to drive innovations and evolutions. This article looks back at the history of the iPod, one model at a time. Each entry features a different model from the original iPod line and shows how they changed and improved over tim. (We have separate articles tracing the history of the iPod touch and the history of the iPod Shuffle.)
Want to know just how successful the iPod really was? Check out This is the Number of iPods Sold All-Time.
The Original (1st Generation) iPod
Introduced: Oct. 2001Released: Nov. 2001Discontinued: July 2002
The 1st generation iPod can be identified by its scroll wheel, surrounded by four buttons (clockwise from the top: menu, forward, play/pause, backward), and its center button for selecting items. When it was introduced, the iPod was a Mac-only product. It required Mac OS 9 or Mac OS X 10.1.
While it was not the first MP3 player, the original iPod was both smaller and easier to use than many of its competitors. As a result, it quickly attracted accolades and strong sales. The iTunes Store wasn’t introduced until 2003, so users had to add music to their iPods from CDs or other online sources.
At the time of its introduction, Apple wasn’t the powerhouse company it later became. The initial success of the iPod, and its successor products, were major factors in the company’s explosive growth.
Capacity5 GB (about 1,000 songs)10 GB (about 2,000 songs) - released in March 2002Mechanical hard drive used for storage
Supported Audio FormatsMP3WAVAIFF
ColorsWhite
Screen160 x 128 pixels2 inchGrayscale
ConnectorsFireWire
Battery Life10 hours
Dimensions4.02 x 2.43 x 0.78 inches
Weight6.5 ounces
Original PriceUS$399 - 5 GB$499 - 10 GB
RequirementsMac: Mac OS 9 or higher; iTunes 2 or higher
The Second Generation iPod
Released: July 2002Discontinued: April 2003
The 2nd Generation iPod debuted less than a year after the original model’s great success. The second generation model added a number of new features: Windows support, increased storage capacity, and a touch-sensitive wheel, as opposed to the mechanical wheel that the original iPod had used.
While the body of the device was largely the same as the first generation model, the front of the second generation sported rounded corners. At the time of its introduction, the iTunes Store still had not been introduced (it would appear in 2003).
The second generation iPod also came in four limited-edition models, featuring the signatures of Madonna, Tony Hawk, or Beck, or the logo of the band No Doubt, engraved on the back of the device for an additional $50.
Capacity5 GB (about 1,000 songs)10 GB (about 2,000 songs)20 GB (about 4,000 songs)Mechanical hard drive used for storage
Supported Audio FormatsMP3WAVAIFFAudible audiobooks (Mac only)
Screen160 x 128 pixels2 inchGrayscale
Dimensions 4 x 2.4 x 0.78 inches - 5 GB Model4 x 2.4 x 0.72 inches - 10 GB Model4 x 2.4 x 0.84 inches - 20 GB Model
Weight6.5 ounces - 5 GB and 10 GB models7.2 ounces - 20 GB model
Original Price$299 - 5 GB$399 - 10 GB$499 - 20 GB
RequirementsMac: Mac OS 9.2.2 or Mac OS X 10.1.4 or higher; iTunes 2 (for OS 9) or 3 (for OS X)Windows: Windows ME, 2000, or XP; MusicMatch Jukebox Plus
The Third Generation iPod
Released: April 2003Discontinued: July 2004
This iPod model marked a break in design from the previous models. The third-generation iPod introduced a new body style for the device, which was thinner and had more-rounded corners. It also introduced the touch wheel, which was a touch-sensitive means of scrolling through content on the device. The forward/backward, play/pause, and menu buttons were removed from around the wheel and placed in a row between the touch wheel and screen.
In addition, the 3rd gen. iPod introduced the Dock Connector port on the bottom, which became the standard means of connecting most future iPods models (except the Shuffle) to computers and compatible accessories.
The iTunes Store was introduced at the same time as this model. A Windows-compatible version of iTunes was introduced in Oct. 2003, five months after the third-generation iPod debuted. Windows users were required to reformat the iPod for Windows before they could use it.
Capacity10 GB (about 2,500 songs)15 GB (about 3,700 songs)20 GB (about 5,000 songs) - replaced 15GB model in Sept. 200330 GB (about 7,500 songs)40 GB (about 10,000 songs) - replaced 30GB model in Sept. 2003Mechanical hard drive used for storage
Supported Audio FormatsAAC (Mac only)MP3WAVAIFF
ConnectorsDock ConnectorOptional FireWire-to-USB adapter
Battery Life8 hours
Dimensions 4.1 x 2.4 x 0.62 inches - 10, 15, 20 GB Models4.1 x 2.4 x 0.73 inches - 30 and 40 GB models
Weight5.6 ounces - 10, 15, 20 GB models6.2 ounces - 30 and 40 GB models
Original Price$299 - 10 GB$399 - 15 GB & 20 GB$499 - 30 GB & 40 GB
RequirementsMac: Mac OS X 10.1.5 or higher; iTunesWindows: Windows ME, 2000, or XP; MusicMatch Jukebox Plus 7.5; later iTunes 4.1
The Fourth Generation iPod (a.k.a. iPod Photo)
Released: July 2004Discontinued: October 2005
The 4th Generation iPod was another complete redesign and included a handful of spin-off iPod products that were eventually merged into the 4th Generation iPod line.
This model iPod brought the Clickwheel, which was introduced on the original iPod mini, to the main iPod line. The Clickwheel was both touch-sensitive for scrolling and had buttons built in that allowed the user to click the wheel to select menu, forward/backward, and play/pause. The center button was still used to select onscreen items.
This model also featured two special editions: a 30 GB U2 edition that included the band’s How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb album pre-loaded on the iPod, engraved signatures from the band, and a coupon to purchase the band’s entire catalog from iTunes (Oct. 2004); a Harry Potter edition that included that Hogwarts logo engraved on the iPod and all 6 then-available Potter books pre-loaded as audiobooks (Sept. 2005).
Also debuting around this time was the iPod Photo, a version of the 4th generation iPod that included a color screen and the ability to display photos. The iPod Photo line was merged into the original line in fall 2005.
Capacity20 GB (about 5,000 songs) - Clickwheel model only30 GB (about 7,500 songs) - Clickwheel model only40 GB (about 10,000 songs)60 GB (about 15,000 songs) - iPod Photo model onlyMechanical hard drive used for storage
Supported FormatsMusic:
- AAC
- MP3
- WAV
- AIFF
- Apple Lossless
- Audible audiobooks
Photos (iPod Photo only):
- JPEG
- BMP
- GIF
- TIFF
- PSD
- PNG
ColorsWhiteRed and Black (U2 special edition)
ScreenClickwheel models: 160 x 128 pixels; 2 inch; GrayscaleiPod Photo: 220 x 176 pixels; 2 inch; 65,536 colors
ConnectorsDock Connector
Battery LifeClickwheel: 12 hoursiPod Photo: 15 hours
Dimensions 4.1 x 2.4 x 0.57 inches - 20 & 30 GB Clickwheel Models4.1 x 2.4 x 0.69 inches - 40 GB Clickwheel Model4.1 x 2.4 x 0.74 inches - iPod Photo Models
Weight5.6 ounces - 20 & 30 GB Clickwheel models6.2 ounces - 40 GB Clickwheel model6.4 ounces - iPod Photo model
Original Price$299 - 20 GB Clickwheel$349 - 30 GB U2 Edition$399 - 40 GB Clickwheel$499 - 40 GB iPod Photo$599 - 60 GB iPod Photo ($440 in Feb. 2005; $399 in June 2005)
RequirementsMac: Mac OS X 10.2.8 or higher; iTunesWindows: Windows 2000 or XP; iTunes
Also Known As: iPod Photo, iPod with Color Display, Clickwheel iPod
The Hewlett-Packard iPod
Released: January 2004Discontinued: July 2005
Apple is known for not being interested in licensing its technology. For instance, it was one of the only major computer companies never to have licensed its hardware or software to “clone” computer makers who created compatible and competing Macs. (Well, almost; That changed briefly in the 1990s, but as soon as Steve Jobs returned to Apple, he ended that practice.)
Because of this, you might expect that Apple would not have been interested in licensing the iPod or allowing anyone else to sell a version of it. But that’s not the case.
Perhaps because the company had learned from its failure to license the Mac OS (some observers think that Apple would have a much larger computer market share in the ’80s and ’90s if it had done so) or perhaps because it wanted to expand possible sales, Apple licensed the iPod to Hewlett-Packard (HP) in 2004.
On January 8, 2004, HP announced that it would begin selling its own version of the iPod—basically, it was a standard iPod with the HP logo on it. It sold this iPod for a while and even launched a TV advertising campaign for it. At one time, HP’s iPod accounted for 5% of total iPod sales.
Less than 18 months later, though, HP announced it would no longer sell its HP-branded iPod, citing Apple’s difficult terms (something many telecoms complained about when Apple was shopping for a deal for the original iPhone).
After that, no other company ever licensed the iPod (or really any hardware or software from Apple).
Models sold: 20GB and 40GB 4th Generation iPods; iPod mini; iPod Photo; iPod Shuffle
The Fifth Generation iPod (a.k.a. iPod Video)
Released: Oct. 2005Discontinued: Sept. 2007
The 5th Generation iPod improved on the iPod Photo by adding the ability to play videos on its 2.5-inch color screen. It came in two colors, sported a smaller Clickwheel, and had a flat face, instead of the rounded ones used on previous models.
The initial models were 30 GB and 60 GB, with an 80 GB model replacing the 60 GB in 2006. A 30 GB U2 Special Edition was also available at launch. By this point, videos were available at the iTunes Store for use with the iPod Video.
Capacity30 GB (about 7,500 songs)60 GB (about 15,000 songs)80 GB (about 20,000 songs)Mechanical hard drive used for storage
Photos:
- JPEGBMPGIFTIFFPSDPNG
Video:
- H.264
- MPEG-4
ColorsWhiteBlack
Screen320 x 240 pixels2.5 inch65,000 Colors
Battery Life14 hours - 30 GB Model20 hours - 60 & 80 GB Models
Dimensions4.1 x 2.4 x 0.43 inches - 30 GB Model4.1 x 2.4 x 0.55 inches - 60 & 80 GB Models
Weight4.8 ounces - 30 GB Model5.5 ounces - 60 & 80 GB Models
Original Price$299 ($249 in Sept. 2006) - 30 GB Model$349 - Special Edition U2 30 GB model$399 - 60 GB Model$349 - 80 GB Model; introduced Sept. 2006
RequirementsMac: Mac OS X 10.3.9 or higher; iTunesWindows: 2000 or XP; iTunes
Also Known As: iPod with Video, iPod Video
The iPod Classic (a.k.a. Sixth Generation iPod)
Released: Sept. 2007Discontinued: Sept. 9, 2014
The iPod Classic (a.k.a. the 6th Generation iPod) was part of the continued evolution of the original iPod line that began in 2001. It was also the final iPod from the original line. When Apple discontinued the device in 2014, smartphones (including iOS-based devices like the iPhone) dominated the market and made standalone MP3 players irrelevant.
The iPod Classic replaced the iPod Video, or 5th Generation iPod, in Fall 2007. It was renamed the iPod Classic to distinguish it from other new iPod models introduced at the time, including the iPod touch.
The iPod Classic plays music, audiobooks, and videos, and adds the CoverFlow interface to the standard iPod line. The CoverFlow interface debuted on Apple’s portable products on the iPhone in summer 2007.
While the original versions of the iPod Classic offered 80 GB and 120 GB models, they were later replaced by the 160 GB model.
Capacity80 GB (about 20,000 songs)120 GB (about 30,000 songs)160 GB (about 40,000 songs)Mechanical hard drive used for storage
Curious how this final version of the iPod Classic compared to the final version of other iPod models? Check out our iPod comparison chart.
AACMP3WAVAIFFApple LosslessAudible audiobooks
H.264MPEG-4
Battery Life30 hours - 80 GB Model36 hours - 120 GB Model40 hours - 160 GB Model
Dimensions4.1 x 2.4 x 0.41 inches - 80 GB Model4.1 x 2.4 x 0.41 inches - 120 GB Model4.1 x 2.4 x 0.53 inches - 160 GB Model
Weight4.9 ounces - 80 GB Model4.9 ounces - 120 GB Model5.7 ounces - 160 GB Model
Original Price$249 - 80 GB Model$299 - 120 GB Model$249 (introduced Sept. 2009) - 160 GB Model
RequirementsMac: Mac OS X 10.4.8 or higher (10.4.11 for 120 GB model); iTunes 7.4 or higher (8.0 for 120 GB model)Windows: Vista or XP; iTunes 7.4 or higher (8.0 for 120 GB model)
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