A true revolution in the way of listening to music, the iPod is now coming to an end.
In the early 2000s, Apple is clearly not at its best. Mac computers were no longer selling as well and the company seemed to have trouble innovating, despite its undeniable strengths. Apple's salvation finally came from a small musical accessory that few executives would have bet their shirt on, the iPod. Launched on October 23, 2001, the first iPod is a digital player equipped with a miniature hard drive (1.8 inches) to store a very large collection of songs.
The success was dazzling for this small product that met a real need among users. Countless versions have been marketed from the iPod Mini to the iPod Shuffle through the iPod Nano or the iPod Touch. In August 2010, Apple announced that more than 275 million iPods had been sold worldwide, all versions included. An unprecedented success that logically makes it the best-selling digital music player and we are now talking about more than 450 million units sold. More importantly, for many specialists, the iPod is in a way the first step that will lead Apple to the iPhone and an even greater success.
However, the time of the iPod seems to be over for Apple, which has just announced the end of the production of the last models of its portable music player. For fans, it is still possible to buy one since it will still be available in Apple Stores, while stocks last. Finally, Greg Joswiak, Apple's vice president of worldwide marketing, says, " The spirit of the iPod lives on. We've built an incredible music experience into everything from the iPhone to the Apple Watch," he said, adding, " Music has always been central to Apple, and making it available to hundreds of millions of users the way the iPod did has not only impacted the music industry, but has redefined the way music is discovered, listened to and shared.
