Grab your corded headphones: People are snapping up Apple's retired MP3 players for nostalgia and a break from smartphones.

The big picture: For younger generations especially, the comeback is part of a broader return to offline devices and hobbies, driven by digital burnout.

By the numbers: Search interest for the original iPod and the iPod Nano spiked last year — even though Apple discontinued the product line in 2022, according to Google Trends data.

• eBay searches jumped for the iPod Classic (+25%) and iPod Nano (+20%) between January and October 2025 compared with the same period in 2024, per internal data shared with Axios.
• Apple did not respond to requests for comment.

How it works: Older tech tends to be "single-purpose," says Cal Newport, a computer science professor and author of "Digital Minimalism." "All you can do with an iPod, for example, is listen to music."

• Smartphones, by contrast, bundle music, messages, social feeds, news and more, making it "nearly impossible to control your technology use with any consistency," Newport says.

What they're saying: Katherine Esters, who "grew up with the rise and fall of iPods," recently purchased a Classic model for $100 on Facebook Marketplace.

• She listens to it when she's "trying to cleanse myself of being on my phone."
• "Sometimes, I just want to go out, take a walk, and I want to listen to music, but I don't necessarily want 20 notifications," Esters tells Axios.

And iPods can evoke memories of slower, less chaotic times.

• "Gen Z and young adults are experiencing a lot of uncertainty in our lives, and it's very hard for us to have a lot of hope in the future," says Natalie Constantine, who received a secondhand iPod Nano this past Christmas.
• "So, we kind of attach to things that brought us hope and happiness in the past, like using an iPod."

Between the lines: ​​The MP3 revival also taps into so-called "friction-maxxing," as younger people embrace more hands-on experiences over algorithmic ease, says Libby Rodney, chief strategy officer at The Harris Poll.

• Think: Manually loading a set number of songs onto an iPod instead of letting a streaming app curate a playlist for you.
• "We're moving away from total, seamless, convenience culture and back to finding meaning in friction," Rodney tells Axios.

The intrigue: Some students are even using iPods to get around phone bans at school, the New York Times reports.

Reality check: Music streaming isn't fading anytime soon.

• U.S. on-demand audio streaming reached 1.4 trillion song streams in 2025, up from 1.3 trillion the year before, according to Luminate, an industry data firm.

The bottom line: What goes around comes back around, click wheel and all.

A music-centered night out doesn't have to mean a concert: Expect more vinyl nights, pop-up choirs and music bingo this year.

Why it matters: Gen Zers and millennials are seeking "uncurated, unfiltered experiences," according to Eventbrite's new trends report.

By the numbers: Nationwide, there were 36% more vinyl night events from August 2024 to July 2025 than the year before, feeding a growing demand for analog music. Attendance jumped 95%.

• "One-day choirs" — temporary singing sessions that don't require auditions — also saw a surge in events (+87%) and turnout (+149%).

The big picture: Polished production is out.

• Nearly 60% of Gen Z and millennial respondents across the U.S. and U.K. say they want events to feel one-of-a-kind, while roughly half say they wish events felt "less curated and more real," Eventbrite's survey finds.
• Around 80% say spontaneity is important at events.

"Soft socializing" is in. Some 60% of respondents say socializing matters, but they don't want it to be the focus of a gathering.

• U.S. music bingo attendance is up 149%, per the report. The twist on classic bingo swaps in songs and artist names, giving people something low-pressure to do while they connect.
• And Japanese-style listening bars, where patrons sip and tune in to curated tracks, are gaining ground over nightclubs, Smithsonian magazine reports.

The bottom line: "Live events are becoming more human, authentic, and alive than ever," according to Eventbrite's report.

Taylor Swift's "The Life of a Showgirl" — the biggest album release in music history — sold 1.6 million vinyl copies in the U.S. last year, representing over 3% of all units sold, per industry data firm Luminate.

Why it matters: Swift helped as U.S. vinyl sales rose for the 19th straight year in 2025.

• Sales climbed 9% to nearly 48 million units, according to Luminate's Year-End Music Report.

Reality check: The year's next top-selling vinyl albums, Sabrina Carpenter's "Man's Best Friend" (292,000 units) and Kendrick Lamar's "GNX" (279,000 units), weren't even close to Swift's tally.

State of play: As vinyl becomes more mainstream, helped by younger listeners leaning into offline activities and physical media, its audience is diversifying, per the report.

• Black, Asian, Hispanic and other nonwhite consumers made up roughly half of all vinyl buyers, up 18 percentage points from the previous year.

Follow the money: Around 2 in 5 vinyl records were sold at indie stores, per the report.

• Millennials posted the biggest increase in vinyl purchases over the past year.

What's next: Record Store Day returns April 18, bringing special releases to indie shops, including titles from Pink Floyd, Bruce Springsteen, Charli XCX, Bruno Mars and the "KPop Demon Hunters" soundtrack.

When Apple launched the iPod in 2001, its pitch was simple: "1,000 songs in your pocket."

• It cost $399. (That's around $725 today.)

Here's what Apple's homepage looked like that day, captured via the Wayback Machine.