Bye-bye, iPod 😢

May 10, 2022

Apple knows how to bury the lede.

The company's surprisingly long press release this morning rambles for several paragraphs about the joy of digital music before dropping the bomb: The last iPod -- the iPod touch -- will only be available while supplies last.

Steve Jobs was always ruthless about killing his own babies. If anybody was going to make iPod obsolete, he wanted it to be Apple. And so it was with the iPhone, which obviated the need to carry a dedicated music device.

It's a cliche, but it's the end of an era. The iPod was such a hugely important product for Apple. It transformed the company, paved the way for iPhone, and introduced millions of people to the delight of Apple tech. It was a joyous product. It made music come alive.

Good night, sweet prince; you'll be missed.

-- Leander Kahney, EIC.

It’s the end of an era — Apple has stopped making the once-iconic iPod. The little music player helped save Apple, and made the company a powerhouse in the music industry, but its day is over. The last model is the iPod touch, which “will be available while supplies last,” Apple said Tuesday.

Fire, the wheel, and the iPod. In the history of invention, gadgets don’t come more iconic than Apple’s digital music player. The iPod is to the 21st century what the big band was to the ’20s, the radio to the ’40s, or the juke-box to the ’50s — the signature technology that defines the musical culture of the era.

From tech influencers to industry analysts to garden-variety music lovers — you know, the folks whose ears lit up when Apple gave them a device that put 1,000 songs in their pockets — today's sad news sparked a genuine iPod lovefest.

Many of Elago's awesome Apple accessories take their cues from vintage Apple gear. Like these iPod-inspired accessories for AirPods, AirTags and Apple Watch, for instance. But that's just the start. Elago makes all kinds of products that will help get the most out of your Apple devices -- and the entire Elago lineup is on sale now for 20% off.

The robotics engineering student who made a name for himself replacing an iPhone’s Lightning connector with USB-C is at it again.

The former Apple design chief lists a dozen tools he finds indispensable “for making, for marking, for measuring, and carrying with you every day.”

Folded up, DJI's new Mini Pro 3 fits in the palm of your hand. However, it packs features associated with bigger, pricier drones.

The Motion Boom Plus is built to blast out the tunes wherever you go this summer. The speaker packs an array of new features designed to deliver “punchy bass and detailed high end."

Tweet o' the day

One more thing ...

"If there was ever a product that catalyzed what's Apple's reason for being, it's this. Because it combines Apple's incredible technology base with Apple's legendary ease of use with Apple's awesome design... it's like, this is what we do. So if anybody was ever wondering why is Apple on the earth, I would hold this up as a good example." — Steve Jobs on the iPod

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