Apple is discontinuing the iPod

Apple is discontinuing the iPod more than two decades after the technology was first introduced, the company announced Tuesday.

Flashback: The iPod was introduced in October 2001 and became a cultural staple that would go on to revolutionize portable music. The latest version of the iPod touch was introduced in 2019.

Thought bubble via Axios’ Ina Fried: The iPod became a less popular product when smartphones went mainstream and the iPod touch suffered from a lack of updates in recent years.

• But the technology served as an on-ramp to iOS for kids too young to get an iPhone.

Driving the news: “Today, the spirit of iPod lives on,” Apple’s senior vice president of Worldwide Marketing Greg Joswiak said in a statement.

• “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,” Joswiak said.
• The iPod Touch, the last version of the portable music player the company still sells, will be available while supplies last, per the company.