End of an Era: Apple Discontinues the iPod After 20 Years.

Just as Apple is entering the iPhone’s 15th year since release, the iPod Touch, its less popular cousin, will no longer be made. Apple introduced the first iPod 21 years ago in October 2001, and at the time, it was a revolutionary music device that put thousands of songs in the pockets of Apple fans. Apple introduced many iterations of the iPod in the years that followed, including the iPod Shuffle, the iPod nano, and the ‌iPod touch‌, but all have since been phased out and discontinued.

While Apple may be done with making dedicated music players, the company says that “the spirit of iPod lives on” in all of its devices that play music, such as the iPhone, iPad, Apple Watch and HomePod Mini.

“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. Today, the spirit of iPod lives on. We’ve integrated an incredible music experience across all of our products, from the iPhone to the Apple Watch to HomePod mini, and across Mac, iPad, and Apple TV. And Apple Music delivers industry-leading sound quality with support for spatial audio — there’s no better way to enjoy, discover, and experience music.”

Greg Joswiak, Apple’s senior vice president of Worldwide Marketing.

The ‌iPod touch‌, however, will still be available for purchase through Apple’s website, Apple retail stores, and through Apple Authorized Resellers “while supplies last”, according to a press release from Apple.

The seventh-generation ‌iPod touch‌ is priced starting at $199. The company offers the device in 32GB, 128GB and 256GB models. It also features a 4-inch display with thick bezels, a standard Home button with no biometric unlocking mechanism, and an A10 Fusion chip. It is available in Pink, (PRODUCT)RED, Space Gray, Silver, Gold, and Blue.