Apple Inc. said Tuesday that it will stop production of the “iPod.” The iPod was one of the company’s first popular handheld products and helped boost its profile with music consumers.
In a press release, Apple noted that the “iPod touch will be available while supplies last,” meaning that new production has been discontinued. Apple said “the music will live on” through a new integrated music experience.
“Music has always been part of our core at Apple and bringing it to hundreds of millions of users in the way iPod did impact more than just the music industry — it also redefined how music is discovered, listened to, and shared,” said Greg Joswiak, Apple’s senior vice president of Worldwide Marketing, in the release.
Apple plans to maintain “the spirit of iPod.” The company announced it will be adding an advanced way to access and listen to music across all of its products on Tuesday.
“We’ve integrated an incredible music experience across all of our products, from the iPhone to the Apple Watch to HomePod mini, and across Mac, iPad, and Apple TV. And Apple Music delivers industry-leading sound quality with support for spatial audio — there’s no better way to enjoy, discover, and experience music,” the release added.
Apple first introduced the iPod in 2001. It allowed users to have an upgraded experience from a CD player or an MP3 player. The iPod Touch, which was released in 2007, was also one of the tech giant’s most popular products, with about 100 million sold within six years. The iPod became less relevant with the growth of smartphones.
There have been seven iPod models. The last iPod Touch model was released in May 2019.
RIP iPod
you changed the game pic.twitter.com/m2Mp9NmAhV
— Sam Sheffer (@samsheffer) May 10, 2022
Apple has officially discontinued….. the iPod
RIP to my first ever tech purchase, an iPod touch 2nd gen pic.twitter.com/KjCpmWDLqL
— Marques Brownlee (@MKBHD) May 10, 2022
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