An iPod retrospective: every model ever!

Apple introduced it's original iPod on October of 2001 and at that time it would have been impossible to predict just how much this product's development would massively impact the way we interact with music, media and the internet at large. 

The very first iPod featured a scroll wheel that you physically turned with your finger. This model came with options for 5 or 10 gigabytes of storage.  It had an actual hard drive inside so dropping your glossy next-wave music device was a terrifying thing.

On the 2nd generation, announced in July of 2002, Apple introduced it's "Touch Wheel". This model came in 10 or 20 GB.

The 3rd generation iPod offered up to 40 GB of storage and featured both a "dock connector" on the bottom and a touch wheel.

This 4th generation iPod had a "click wheel" like the later iPod Mini, though was still limated to a monochrome display.

The color screen was introduced on the "iPod Photo" model here, available in 20 or 60 GB capacity. It was ideal for viewing album artwork or even looking at slideshows.

In what was surely a marketing coup for U2, Apple released it's first and last band-specific special edition in October of 2004. What made it special was it's black plastic exterior and red click wheel -- plus it had engraved signatures of the band members on the back. Several iterations were released through 2006 including one based on a 5th Generation iPod with video.

In October 2005 the 5th Generation iPod added video and featured a large color display a clickwheel, USB for syncing and either 30 or 60 GB of storage. In late 2006 an 80 GB version was made available.

In September of 2007 the iPod Classic was introduced, sporting an anodized aluminum enclosure and offering a whopping 160 gigabytes of storage. It was a simpler music-focused ipod with click wheel for those who wanted to carry their entire music collection with them. These became a fan favorite and future iterations were released in 2008 and 2009 in 120 GB and 160 GB respectively.

In January of 2004 the iPod Mini made it's debut. It came in an array of pastels and was smaller and lighter than previous models. It held 4 GB of songs and featured the new "hold" switch.

New colors were added to the Mini line in February of 2005, available with either 4 or 6 GB of storage.

In 2005 a new concept in listening was born with the iPod Shuffle. It was small and light and skipped the display -- and forced users to give up selection control over the music, only offering choices to skip to the next random song that appeared in your "shuffle," or going back to the previous song. The word "shuffle" was familiar to those of us who had owned 5 disc+ CD players in the pre-iPod era. 

The 2nd generation of the shuffle took on more of the color options that thrilled people across the iMac and iPod Mini lines. The model was the smallest yet -- with just 1 or 2 GB of storage -- and it featured a clip. Keep in mind, we were using wired earbuds this whole time.

The 3rd generation of Shuffle was introduced in March 2009 in a simplified color scheme. It was smaller than the previous models and had 4 GB of storage as well as a headphone port that also connected to your computer via USB and controls built into the headphones/cord.

in 2009 more colors were added to the 3rd generation Shuffle and it shrank in size once again.  At 2 or 4 GB, the shuffle line seemed to be aimed at casual listeners who used it when working out.

In 2010 a freshly elegant and tiny Shuffle (the 4th generation) made its debut in 5 jewel-tones with 2 GB.

Another iteration in 2012 offered seven sort-of-different colors.

In mid-2015 the iPod Shuffle's 4th generation was refreshed with 5 more colors.

In 2005 the iPod Nano was announced, which seemed to be a new spin on the Mini concept. With a color screen and click wheel but less delicate flash memory, this model allowed syncing over a USB 2 cable. It was available in 1, 2, or 4 GB. 

The Nano's 2nd generation came out in 4 colors with up to 8 GB of storage in 2006. 

The 3rd generation iPod Nano got an entirely new form -- shorter and squatter but ever so dainty and thin. It could play video, though was limited to 8 GB of space. 

iPod Nano shapeshifted again in September of 2008 when its 4th generation was introduced. It featured a taller screen and an sleek oval shape when viewed from the side and was offered in 8 or 16 GB models.

In 2009 the 5th generation of Nano added a camera and microphone built into the device.

The 6th generation Nano saw the line shrunk down to the size of a watch-face and indeed many accessories were developed for folks to wear this ipod as a watch. It squeezed up to 16 GB into it's magically small touch-screen color discplay.

In 2012 the Nano line morphed into a vaguely iphone-like shape, with a home button and a larger multi-touch display. It was offered in 8 shades with up to 16GB.

2015 saw another 5 colors released in the 7th generation Nano model.

The original iPod Touch model debuted in September of 2007 and yes, it looked, felt and worked very much like the iPhone. For the first time you could browse the internet, watch YouTube and directly buy songs through the iTunes store right there over WiFi on your iPod. This model came in 8, 6, or 32 GB.

The 2nd generation Touch came out the following year and looked slightly different, but no special spec changes were announced.

The 3rd generation introduced in 2009 offered increased capacity at 64 GB.

In 2010 the iPod Touch got it's first camera in the 4th generation-- two actually, a Facetime HD camera and an iSight camera. The model was available in classic glossy white or black.

The 5th generation of iPod's Touch line arrived in October 2012 with 5 color options and the iSight and FaceTime HD cameras. It was available with 16, 32, or 64 GB of storage.

The 6th generation Touch came with up to 128 GB in 5 new colors starting in the summer of 2015.

The most recent iPod available is the 7th generation Touch that came out in May of 2019. Maxing out at a whopping 256 GB and sporting an 8MP camera plus the FaceTime HD camera it has everything you'd want in a non-phone mobile device!