iPod – 2001
On October 23, 2001, Apple CEO Steve Jobs officially launched the first iPod model. With the slogan “1000 songs in your pocket”, iPod is Apple’s emphasis on stylish design, easy-to-use interface with physical rotation, super-fast data transfer and 10-hour battery life. .
Inside the iPod is a 1.8-inch super-small hard drive, at a time when competitors still use larger 2.5-inch hard drives. The machine has two versions of hard drive capacity, 5GB and 10GB, and the price starts at 399 USD.
To achieve fast music transfer speeds, the iPod uses the FireWire port, a proprietary connection that only Macs have. This made the first generation iPod completely incompatible with Windows PCs – although this was changed in the second generation iPod with USB connectivity.
iPod mini – 2004
The iPod mini was the first variant of the iPod, focused on a smaller size but still packed with the same features as the full-sized version. The secret behind this small size is Hitachi’s “microdrive” hard drive technology, which measures just 1 inch, about the same size as a CompactFlash II memory card.
Not only that, iPod mini is also the first iPod model where users have many color choices (besides white) such as green, blue, pink, yellow. The iPod mini’s shell is made entirely of aluminum.
iPod Photo – 2004
iPod Photo is the 4th generation of iPod. It carries the design that is considered to be the most complete and is maintained by Apple until the last version of the iPod classic. The most outstanding feature of the iPod Photo, as the name suggests, is the ability to view photos. It was also the first iPod model with a color display.
Not long after that, Apple also released a limited version of the iPod Photo in collaboration with the group U2. Unlike regular iPods with a white exterior, the iPod U2 has a black finish, a red clickwheel, and the band members’ signatures on the back.
The iPod Photo was replaced by the 5th generation iPod Video in 2005. The iPod Video has a similar design, but has the ability to view videos instead of just photos like iPod Photo.
iPod nano – 2005
Just over 1.5 years after the introduction of the iPod mini, Apple replaced it with the iPod nano. The iPod nano can be considered a “mini iPod Photo” when it has a color screen and similar image viewing capabilities, but is extremely small in size with a thickness of 6.9mm and a weight of 42 grams.
iPod nano is also the first iPod model to apply flash memory technology instead of hard drives with 2GB and 4GB capacities and prices starting at 199 USD.
iPod Shuffle – 2005
It seemed that the iPod nano was the smallest music player model that Apple launched, but it was surprised when it announced the iPod Shuffle also in 2005. Apple’s goal with the iPod Shuffle was to create products with super cheap prices to compete in the low-end segment.
The iPod Shuffle has a “couldn’t be simpler” design, when it’s like a USB flash drive with built-in buttons and no screen at all. The name “shuffle” means that the user will not be able to choose a song, but will play music in an improvised style. Simple in features, the iPod shuffle is also the cheapest iPod model, at $99 for the 512MB version.
iPod touch – 2007
After the huge success with the iPhone, Apple began to bring the technology of this phone to the iPod. iPod touch fully inherits the advantages of iPhone with 3.5-inch screen that supports multi-touch operation, Wi-Fi connection and iPhone OS operating system (formerly known as iOS) with applications such as Safari, Youtube. , Mail, Google Maps…
In iPhone OS 2.0 version, iPod touch also added App Store app store like iPhone, providing endless source of entertainment with a series of attractive games – something that no previous iPod could do.
One of the biggest factors in the iPod touch’s success was the $299 price tag for the 8GB version, significantly cheaper than the $599 without contract for a comparable 2G iPhone.
iPod nano (6th generation) – 2010
If the iPod nano generations from 1 to 5 have the same overall design as a small iPod, then the 6th generation iPod nano is a complete makeover. iPod nano 6 marks Apple’s transformation in orientation: when iPod touch has dominated the iPod market share, Apple does not want to integrate too many features into iPod nano anymore, but wants to turn this into a music player. literally small.
iPod nano 6 is designed like an iPod shuffle, but with a touch screen. Due to its small size and built-in clock app, the iPod nano 6 was once considered an early Apple Watch.
However, due to its small size, the iPod touch 6 also lost some features compared to the previous version such as video playback or camera.
iPod touch (7th generation) – 2009
The iPod touch 7 isn’t a device that gets too much attention for its features. Because, iPod touch 7 is essentially just a configuration upgrade compared to the old generation, while the design remains the same compared to iPod touch 5 (launched 2012).
The most striking feature of the iPod touch 7 is the fact that it was the last iPod released by Apple. At the time of 2019, Apple killed all remaining iPod models, except for the iPod touch. Many people had been skeptical that the iPod touch would soon be retiring – but then Apple surprised them with the release of the iPod touch 7.
Because it is the last iPod model, so iPod touch 7 is also the most “modern” iPod model with Apple A10 Fusion chip, 4-inch screen, 32/128/256GB internal memory and 8MP/1.2MP camera duo. It can still run the latest iOS 15 operating system.
Recently, with the news that Apple officially discontinued the iPod, Apple’s iPod touch 7 inventory was quickly sold out on the Apple Store after just over a day.
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