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The iconic iPod is facing its swan song as Apple Inc. all but stated that it plans to discontinue the device.
The company stopped selling various iPod models over the years as smartphones became the predominant way people listened to music on the go, but the iPod Touch has lived on — for now. That isn’t likely to last much longer, however, as the company said in a Tuesday release that the iPod Touch “will be available while supplies last.”
The release served as a tribute to the iPod, as Apple
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cataloged its more than two decades of history and described ways in which the device has influenced other Apple categories.
“Today, the spirit of iPod lives on,” Greg Joswiak, the company’s senior vice president of world-wide marketing, said in the release. “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.”
Launched in 2001, the iPod was revolutionary, helping to build Apple into a cultural force and changing the way millions of people listened to music. The iPod helped popularize the idea of purchasing songs individually once Apple introduced the iTunes Music Store in 2003, driving in a new era for the music industry.
“Since its introduction over 20 years ago, iPod has captivated users all over the world who love the ability to take their music with them on the go,” Apple said in its release.
The news led many people to pay tribute to the game-changing portable music player by sharing images, memes and memories of different versions of the iPod from over the past two decades.
The word “iPod” was the No. 1 trending topic on Twitter in the U.S. with more than 23,000 tweets on Tuesday afternoon. And Google searches for “Apple iPod discontinued” and “iPod Touch discontinued” spiked more than 5,000% in just four hours.
