It is likely that more than one person was not surprised this praise and farewell to the iPod TouchNo, but because I actually thought Apple’s portable media player had long since left its catalog. This is not the case until today Apple continues to offer the latest player in a long and memorable range of devices that once changed the paradigm of MP3 players and has probably been the main responsibility for the company’s success since the middle of the first decade of this century.

Steve Jobs introduced the first generation iPod on October 23, 2001and was revolutionary thanks to the enormous storage capacity it offered, no less than five gigabytes, and its original and practical management system. Shortly afterwards, Apple introduced a new model that doubled its capacity to 10 gigabytes, but its range was severely limited because this first-generation iPod was only compatible with the Mac, but its popularity skyrocketed.

It was possible that Apple would not trip over the same stone again. The second generation iPod, which was introduced in July of the following year, marked the beginning of Windows compatibility and from his hand the advent of iTunes, the iPod music library management software. There were two milestones for iTunes, the first being to bring a school of design for MP3 players from Apple to Windows (Winamp was still king at the time). The second that still exists was the creation of the most important digital music store in history.

Although the second and third generations of iPods helped further popularize Apple’s portable player, it was with the fourth generation in the Photo and Color versions, introduced in 2004 and 2005, when the streets of half the world were filled with people with characteristic and very recognizable white headphoneswhich has been an iconic image of the iPod for years. With capacities between 20 and 60 gigabytes, this device was the first contact with Apple for millions of users.

The sixth was the latest development of the original iPod and in fact, he was the one who gave all these models the surname “Classic.” And the fact is that the family has grown significantly with the advent of new lines, such as the even more portable iPod Mini, the very small Nano and the smaller and lighter model, which did not have a screen, the iPod Shuffle. But everything changed with the advent of the iPod Touch, which, strictly speaking, was and has remained a iPhone without a phone (and with some other restrictions).

The iPhone has changed everything in Apple and although various iPod families, with the exception of the Classic and Mini, received some revisions with the Touch that were already on the market, attention was paid to this new model, which inherited the design and interface of the Apple smartphone. Gradually, but relentlessly, the decline began. The seventh and final generation Nano was introduced in 2012 and has adopted many touch features, such as a screen occupying almost the entire front and a Home button. The last generation Shuffle was introduced in 2010, although it is true that re-editions with different colors were produced in 2012 and 2015.

The iPod Touch has meant seven generations in the meantimewhile the last one was introduced in May 2019. However, as the possibilities for the iPhone grew, we could also see how this model, the most advanced, was also losing market share in the already decadent market today, as with MP3 players.

Smartphones and streaming services have changed the way we consume music. Wear a limited selection of music (however wide), have to manage its content, etc., these are ways of use that interfere with the convenience and immediacy provided by services such as Spotify, Apple Music and others, always available … provided they have in that time connectivity, of course.

Goodbye iPod Touch is official, Apple itself has published a statement in which it discusses the history of its player and take an inventory. Of course, it’s interesting to know its version, but it’s even more interesting for those of us who were iPod users at the time to remember our own stories with what was undoubtedly one of Apple’s most iconic and successful devices. history..

In my case, as in many others, the first time I was with a fourth-generation iPod, and until the end, I remained loyal to the Classic family practically until the end. However, when I switched from Blackberry to iPhone (until then I used the unreliable Storm), I gradually began to limit the use of the player, until after a few months it ended up stored in a drawer, from which it took a long time for him to return. to leave … and it was on the move.

What is certain is that for many people The iPhone was a logical continuation of the iPod. Without the brilliant success of the apple player in its many variations, it is quite likely that the history of those of Cupertino would be very, very different. Today, Apple’s great success is the iPhone, but at the time, the role fell to the iPod, which was also responsible for paving the way. It may sound a little extreme, I know, but I have very serious doubts about whether the iPhone would exist if the iPod didn’t exist before.

Did you have an iPod? And if so, what model? What are your memories of him? Why did you stop using it (and this question also applies to other MP3 players)? Do you know anyone who still uses this type of device?