The End Of iPod: Apple Suddenly Announces Surprise Cancellation Of iPod Touch

Apple has today announced that the days of the iPod are over. There’s only one iPod available to buy these days, and that’s the iPod touch.

It means that this last iPod will only be available “while supplies last” and then, well, that’s it, you won’t be able to buy any kind of iPod any more.

The first iPod was announced in October 2001 and it changed how people listen to music—and revolutionized Apple. Instead of a CD or cassette in a Walkman, or one of the rare-and-clunky rival digital players, Apple had devised a beautiful gadget that was exceptionally easy to use and had storage space for 1,000 songs.

It became hugely popular as soon as a version that was compatible with Windows was released and then CEO Steve Jobs joked that it was nice to be the dominant player in a particular market for a change.

Today, Greg Joswiak, Apple’s senior VP of Worldwide Marketing, broke the news by affirming that music has “always been part of our core at Apple and bringing it to hundreds of millions of users in the way iPod did impacted more than just the music industry — it also redefined how music is discovered, listened to, and shared.”

But the truth is that the iPod touch had become less relevant now that everything it could do, I mean every single thing, was also available on the iPhone, iPad and beyond.

Additionally, the iPod was never updated to add Face ID or an advanced camera, sticking with the four-inch display first seen on the iPhone 5. That said, it was dinky device that was effortlessly cool, with six neat colors including a punch pink and authoritative blue.

My first iPod, since you ask, was the iPod mini, in a searingly bright green. It still works. I loved the iPod nano with its stunningly small design. And I bought one of the first iPod shuffles, on the day it was announced (Steve Jobs had said it was “shipping today” and there might be some stock in the San Francisco branch, so I rushed over to grab one.

But the iPod touch was the best iPod, with enough power to do lots of the things the iPhone could do, but at a fraction of the price—you can snap one up today for $199.

Apart from the Mac, the iPod is the longest-lasting Apple product, so today’s sudden announcement is a big change. It wasn’t completely unexpected as the current model hadn’t been updated for a very long time. Apple had the choice between a big update or a sudden ending.

I can’t blame Apple for waving it goodbye. And I’m already feeling a little nostalgic.