Apple's iPod touch is being discontinued. Take a look back at where it all began
We reported on May 10, when Apple made the official announcement, it has discontinued the iPod touch, the last remaining iPod Apple makes. This marks the end of the iPod.
You can still snap an iPod touch up, starting at £199 for the 32GB model, while stocks last but when they're gone, they're gone.
iPod truly is a fantastic gadget that has changed the way we've listened to music over the years. Thanks to its portability, ease of use, classic design and as times went on, the ever-increasing amount of tracks you could store on the pocketable music machines.
Let's take a trip down memory lane showcasing various versions of the iPod, right up to the iPod touch of the present day.
The original iPod
Remember this? Say hello to the original iPod. This is where the iPod era started and where we'd see a mountain of these mighty music players be produced, all under the 'iPod' line, in different formats.
The original iPod was launched on October 23, 2001 and looked an absolute unit. Apple say it was the first MP3 player (because that's essentially what iPod was), to hold 1,000, which was an awful lot of tracks in those days. It had a 10 hour battery life too and was 6.5 ounces.
This design, albeit slightly different on the 'click wheel' front, goes on to inspire the look of iPod Classic.
iPod mini
iPod mini was introduced by Apple on February 20, 2004. As you can see by its form factor above, it was smaller than the original iPod and was available to buy in a range of colours.
You'll notice the 'click wheel' is different to that of the original iPod. Instead of iPod mini having its play/pause, skip track right/left and menu buttons above the wheel, they were re-designed to sit beneath the wheel, meaning you just had to click the symbol and the action would happen.
iPod nano
Pictured above is the second generation iPod nano, which was introduced in September 25, 2006. It had a thin design that was easy to pick in the pocket and pack in to tight spaces and small bags. It had a colour design and came in a choice of six bright colours. This model also had a 24 hour battery life and could hold up to 2,000 music tracks.
There were many generations of iPod nano, 7 in total. Some of which were re-designed from previous iPod nano models and packed in different features with every new release. In our opinion, iPod nano was one of the best ranges of iPod.
The 7th generation iPod nano was announced at an Apple event on September 9, 2008. It had an accelerometer built-in, allowing the user to shake the iPod nano to play a random song. It had a small selection of games built-in and had a video camera and microphone on the back of the nano, allowing you to record video and the audio that went along with it! iPod nano 7th generation had a built-in speaker, too, so you could listen to your music library without having to plug earphones in. You could also buy a 'sock' style pouch, marketed and sold by Apple in the same colours as the iPod nano, to store it in when not in use. This really was a top-class music listening experience.
iPod touch
The first of its kind. This was the first iPod touch which was introduced on September 5, 2007. It had that first-class 3.5 inch touchscreen and the 'Home' button that we have all grown to know since its release.
You may remember the 'YouTube' app which had the app icon of an old-style TV, seen in the above image. It's is shame this version of the YouTube app isn't around anymore. You could quickly search for and watch videos. You could save them to a 'Favourites' tab and quickly access them. No sign-in required.
As with iPod nano, there have been different versions of iPod touch over the years. We've seen the addition of the front-facing camera, even the rear camera. A loop to hang your headphones on, support on newer models for the Lightening port and charging connector when it was released, which replaced the original Apple 30-pin charging connector.
The 4th generation iPod touch, released in September 2010, saw the addition of the front-facing camera, which meant you could use FaceTime, just like on iPhone. It shipped with iOS 5 too. The 4th generation iPod touch had a shiny mirror-like back coating that was prone to scratches. It was a solid gadget and once we liked.
iPod nano
Back on the iPod nano again, which this time, is in its 7th generation and it has quite the update since we last saw it (above). This generation, introduced on September 12, 2012, has a 2.5 colourful touchscreen display, with the 'Home' button to exit out of menus.
There was only one storage size available: 16GB. Colour choices were: Space Gray, Gold, Silver, Pink, Blue and (PRODUCT)RED. It had support for Bluetooth 4.0 and charged using the Lightening connector.
iPod shuffle
Notice something different about this iPod compared to the rest you've seen? It doesn't have a screen, making it possibly the smallest iPod ever and the most possible iPod to loose down the back of the sofa. We've checked, we can't find it either.
The fourth generation iPod shuffle, pictured above, introduced on July 15, 2015, had 2GB of storage, still enough space for a load of songs and had up to 15 hours battery life, pretty good for a device the size of a postage stamp. There is also a VoiceOver button. When pressed, you could hear the song title, name of the playlist and how much battery your iPod shuffle had before you had to charge it up. Some generations had a clip on the back so you could attach it to your t-shirt.
iPod touch
The final chapter. This is the final iPod touch Apple will make. The 7th generation iPod touch was introduced by Apple on May 28, 2019. It is still (while stocks last) available to purchase from Apple. Its storage options are: 32GB (£199), 128GB (£299) and £256GB (£399). Colour choices are: Space Grey, Silver, Pink, Blue, Gold and (PRODUCT)RED.
iPod touch 7th generation has the A10 Fusion chip baked in, which is the same processor found on iPhone 7 and 7 Plus, which were introduced on September 7, 2016), so you know it's powerful enough to play the games you want. It provides support for Group FaceTime, AR, that third tier of storage (256GB) and more. Thankfully, you still get a pair of 3.5mm EarPods in the box. Not even iPhones are shipped with earphones in the box anymore, so if you do decide to pick at iPod touch up, take a moment whilst you unbox it. You're getting a gadget that has been around for a lifetime and one that'll certainly make a statement in the technological history books.
You've made it to the end of our delve in the history books for iPod. Thank you for reading. We hope you've enjoyed reminiscing as much as we've enjoyed writing it.
Goodbye iPod.
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