May 10, 2022 - Technology

Apple is discontinuing the iPod

Erin Doherty

A picture of the iPod touch in 2015. — A 2015 iPod Touch device, taken on August 12, 2015. Photo: Neil Godwin/T3 Magazine/Future via Getty Images

Apple is discontinuing the iPod more than two decades after the technology was first introduced, the company announced Tuesday.

Flashback: The iPod was introduced in October 2001 and became a cultural staple that would go on to revolutionize portable music. The latest version of the iPod touch was introduced in 2019.

Thought bubble via Axios' Ina Fried: The iPod became a less popular product when smartphones went mainstream and the iPod touch suffered from a lack of updates in recent years.

But the technology served as an on-ramp to iOS for kids too young to get an iPhone.

Driving the news: "Today, the spirit of iPod lives on," Apple’s senior vice president of Worldwide Marketing Greg Joswiak said in a statement.

"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," Joswiak said.
The iPod Touch, the last version of the portable music player the company still sells, will be available while supplies last, per the company.

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Apple is discontinuing the iPod

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