The iPod turns 25: the device that revolutionized the way we listen to music and still arouses nostalgia

Apple is of birthday with the original iPoda device that, although now discontinued, continues to be iconic for the brand after turning 25 years this Friday, putting on the table his role in revolutionizing the music sector and propelling Apple towards the company it is today.

The apple technology company presented the Original iPod on October 23, 2001 under the motto of ‘1,000 songs in your pocket’which marked the beginning of a golden era for Apple in consumer electronics, gaining great popularity in the following years.

Specifically, this MP3 music player was capable of Store up to 1,000 CD-quality songs on a 5GB hard drive inside a “ultraportable” design” of around 184 grams, hence Apple emphasized that it could be kept in a pocket.

Likewise, its recognizable rectangular design had a resolution screen 162 x 128, with a white LED rear light to provide visibility of the text. Likewise, it included a unique wheel-shaped control to access and navigate through your music collection, conveniently with just one hand.

However, at the time, the iPod also stood out for combining its design advances in portable music devices, with the ease of use and its Auto-Sync function, which allowed, when connected to a Mac computer, automatically download all songs and playlists from iTunes inside the iPod, thus staying up to date in seconds.

Thus, users could use the iPod, with its lightweight and portable design, to listening to music while doing any activitywhether it was sport, like walking or carrying out other tasks. This is also due to its autonomy of up to 10 hours of continuous music, optimized by a rechargeable lithium polymer battery.

The original iPod was launched for $399 (around 356 euros at the current exchange rate) under the mandate of the then CEO of Apple, Steve Jobs.

THE REVOLUTION OF MUSIC LISTENING

During the first year of life, Apple managed to sell more than 380,000 iPod units and a limited edition was launched that included the signature of famous actors and singers such as Tom Hanks or Madonna. In In 2003, more than 930,000 units were sold.coinciding with the arrival of iTunes Music Store, digital store associated with the iTunes ‘software’ that demonstrated that I could sell music online for a few cents.

Apple had not invented anything new and required its closed ecosystem, but it was revolutionizing the way we listened to music. at the time, since, although MP3 players already existed, it created a very easy-to-use device adapted to the needs of users y popularized the purchase and download of digital songs, marking the step to include music players in portable devices such as phones.

Since then, the company was adding different models within the categories Classic with up to six generations. In addition, over the years, Apple launched other categories of iPod, such as the iPod Miniwith 4GB of memory; he iPod Shuffle, which did not include a screen and offered from 512 MB to 1GB; and the iPod Touchwhich integrated touch screens and offered a capacity of 80 or 160 GB, with the seventh generation iPod Touch being the latest launch in this product category in 2019.

In the year In 2004, more than 4.4 million users already had an iPod in their hands and, in 2005 Apple had achieved 22.4 million sales of its player and had defined the line of its main models.

APPLE MARKED ITS END IN 2022 BUT USERS HAVE RECOVERED IT

With the arrival of the iPhone in 2007, las iPod sales began to decline in subsequent years as the iPhone gained ground. Finally, iPhone sales surpassed iPod sales in 2011 and, eleven years later, the firm decided to discontinue iPods in May 2022, ending this product category.

Today, the iPod meets 25 years since the first release and, despite the fact that it was completely replaced by the ‘smartphone’ and has been discontinued for years, it is being observed how classic models have once again awakened interest among current users, who try to get them through second hand marketsas a more analog way of listening to music and getting away from the constant stimuli of smartphones.