The First Truly Personal Computer
Fare thee well, iPod
Apple officially discontinued the iPod Touch today which is a big deal in that it was the last iPod that Apple was still producing. It truly is the end of an era. And not just an important one for Apple, perhaps the most important one for Apple. If the iMac saved the company, the iPod paved the path to greatness. To the iPhone. To a trillion dollar company. To a two trillion dollar company.
And beyond…
The iPod was the first Apple product I ever bought. The year was 2004 — yes, I came that late to Apple — and the iPod was my gateway drug to the ecosystem. I was going to write a whole eulogy about the product and then I remembered that I already had, back in 2017, when Apple killed off the iPod Shuffle, which was my favorite iPod. The writing was on the wall for the entire line back then, and today it was officially put out to pasture.
Honestly, I wish Apple would make a new iPod again. A simple, standalone device solely focused on music. But they’d argue that some mixture of the iPhone, Apple Watch, and AirPods are that device — as they essentially do in their nostalgic press release about the news. It’s interesting to think of the Apple Watch or AirPods as the new iPod, but it’s not quite the same. There’s something to be said for singular purpose. But I get it.
I’ll also link to John Gruber’s post on the news today where he recalls a very specific moment in iPod Touch history, a decade ago, where he and I zigged (to the iPod Touch display) when others zagged (to the iPhone display) at the hands-on area after an Apple event in 2012:
I have two distinctive memories about the iPod Touch and its impressive, forward-looking industrial design. The first was in September 2012, at the event where Apple announced the iPhone 5, and, alongside it, the 4th generation iPod Touch. After the keynote, the media were invited to Apple’s usual hands-on area. I was hanging around with M.G. Siegler that day — Siegler was then covering Apple for TechCrunch — and we were among the first to enter the hands-on area. The table (tables?) with the iPhone 5 models on display were quickly mobbed. M.G. and I left for the table with the new iPod Touch models, which was far less crowded. This was the year when Apple added a small pop-out loop to which you could attach a wrist strap. We both had the same impression: we couldn’t wait to get our hands on iPhone 5 review units, but, the 4th-generation iPod Touch was thinner and sleeker. It still felt like the future of the iPhone, even alongside the sleekest new iPhone to date.
I recall that event distinctly as well. I still have that iPod Touch because I did truly think it was the pinnacle of the form factor — what Apple would make an iPhone look like if they could. Ten years later, the iPhone is closer to that device. But still not quite there in ways.
You know what else I miss? The iPod click wheel. Driving across the entire country. By myself, on the road, on this exhilarating and terrifying journey to my future. The iPod, my only companion. Every song I ever owned in a device I truly could fit in my pocket.
This sounds ho-hum now. It was absolute sorcery back then. It’s a great landmark of what can change in technology in 20 years. 20 years before the iPod was born, I was born. Here’s what tech looked like then, about 4:25 in, you may recognize a company... Farewell, my old friend.
