IPod | Definition, Models, & Facts

iPod, portable media player developed by Apple Inc., released in 2001, and compatible with the company’s Macintosh personal computers. A version for Microsoft Corporation’s Windows operating system was released in 2002. The small, sleekly designed player, coupled with its accompanying online music store, was one of the most successful and revolutionary products of the 2000s.

Apple’s chief executive officer, Steve Jobs, who recognized potential in the nascent personal media player market, commissioned Apple engineer Jon Rubinstein to create a product in keeping with Apple’s minimalist, user-friendly style. Tied to Apple’s iTunes media management software and originally touting the ability to put 1,000 songs in a consumer’s pocket, the iPod was easy to use and featured a simple, clean design. Small white earbud headphones became an iconic trademark of the product in Apple’s pervasive and award-winning advertising campaigns. With its ease of use and eventual cross-platform compatibility, the device gained market dominance beyond any Apple had ever enjoyed in the personal computer (PC) sector.

In 2003 Apple introduced the iTunes Store, a massive media library that allowed iPod users to legally purchase music over the Internet and download the music files to their computers for transfer to their iPods. Full-length television programs and motion pictures later became available for download through iTunes as well. The success of the iTunes Store allowed Apple to become one of the leading retailers of music in the United States.

Later releases in the iPod product line featured greater storage capacity, smaller sizes, more colours for the case, game and video playback capability, accelerometer input, and touchscreen interfaces. From the small, inexpensive iPod Shuffle to the larger storage capabilities of the iPod Touch, Apple diversified its product line to appeal to different consumers. Thousands of third-party accessories, which were specifically tied to the device, enabled users to further integrate the product into their daily rituals. Users could plug their iPods into various products to play music on a home or car stereo system, track exercise statistics, or record audio. The popularity of the iPod even led to a new form of Internet-distributed audio program, the podcast. With the rise of smartphones and streaming music, Apple discontinued the original iPod Classic in 2014 and the smaller Shuffle and Nano models in 2017.