Hey guys, it’s Greg with Apple Explained, and today we’re going to explore the history
of the iPod Classic.
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So the beginning of the iPod Classic line actually dates back to the original iPod released
in 2001.
Now at this time, Apple was still enjoying the success of their iMac and was looking
to follow it up with another hit product, and they put their money on the iPod.
A device that was miles ahead of any other music player on the market.
And that's part of the reason why Apple decided to release a portable music player, they saw
a huge gap in the industry and recognized it was ripe for disruption.
Now I should mention that the first generation iPod wasn’t actually called the iPod classic.
It wasn’t until the last generation when Apple finally gave the iPod line the Classic
suffix.
Now there are a total of six generations of iPod Classic, including several special edition
models.
And despite the design and functionality differences of every generation, they all had one thing
in common - a 1.8 inch hard drive that was incredibly thin and compact.
And it was this component that allowed for the first iPod model to be created, because
up to that point, there hadn’t been a high-capacity hard drive small enough to fit inside a pocketable
device.
So the original iPod’s hard drive had a capacity of 5GB, or about 1,000 songs.
And we’re going to find out how the iPod went from 1,000 songs in your pocket in 2001,
to 32,000 songs in your pocket by 2007.
The first iPod was available for sale on November 10th, 2001 and people were eager to get their
hands on the new technology.
It could be purchased for $399, which is $564 in today’s money.
So it was definitely a premium device, but many people were willing to pay for its premium
features.
It held 1000 songs, which was really impressive at the time, featured a 2” monochrome LCD
display and a 5GB hard drive.
But the most revolutionary feature of the iPod was the scroll wheel.
It made scrubbing through your music library quick and effortless, and surrounding the
wheel were four function buttons: Menu, skip forward, skip backward, and play/pause.
And I should mention that the first generation iPod was the only one with a mechanical scroll
wheel.
That meant the wheel would actually spin around as you moved it.
Now its battery was estimated to last about ten hours, but this was debated since some
users experienced much less.
Now the first generation iPod was a successful product and generated quite a bit of revenue
for Apple.
But it became clear that 5GB wasn't enough storage space, as users music appetites outgrew
their devices.
So in March 2002, Apple introduced a 10GB model, priced at $499.
Now this model also featured Vcard compatibility, meaning it could display contact information
for contacts synced from a Mac computer.
And just three months later, on July 17th, 2002, Apple introduced the second generation
iPod, and although its design was almost identical, it did featured a few small improvements over
its predecessor.
It allowed for better port accessibility and replaced the mechanical scroll wheel with
a new, touch-sensitive wheel.
This model was available in 10GB for $399, but it also came in 20GB, priced at $499.
And in order to make the iPod line more affordable, Apple decided to keep its first generation
iPod on the market but lowered its price to $299.
Now I should also mention that the second generation iPod was the first to feature special
edition models.
Users could engrave No Doubt’s band logo or the signature of Madonna, Tony Hawk, or
Beck on the back of their iPod.
But it did cost an extra $50.
Now it wasn't until April 29th, 2003, that Apple returned to the stage with a new and
completely redesigned third generation iPod.
This device was significantly thinner than the previous models and it replaced the ordinary
FireWire port with a proprietary 30-pin dock connector that drew a lot of attention.
Placement of the buttons was also changed, being placed in a line beneath the screen
rather than around the touch wheel.
The third generation iPod also featured a sleek design with slightly rounded edges that
made it more comfortable and satisfying to hold.
And as for the storage, there were three options available: 10GB for $299, 15GB for $399, and
30GB for $499.
Unlike prior generations, all models of the third generation iPod were compatible with
both Windows and Mac, although Windows users still had to reformat the device before use.
And this generation actually experienced a drop in battery life, from 10 hours, to 8
hours.
This was because Apple used a lithium-ion battery instead of lithium polymer to reduce
the iPods cost.
The following year in 2004 Apple released the fourth generation iPod as well as two
other special edition devices.
The first special edition was called the iPod+HP, announced on January 8th, 2004, and was a
collaboration between Apple and HP.
Now the device featured an HP logo on the back and was fully distributed through HP
only, making it an official HP product.
In fact, Apple wasn't authorized to service the device, since it had to be taken to an
Authorized HP Service Center for repairs to be made.
Later in July 2004, the fourth generation iPod was released, it was thinner than its
predecessor, and one of its biggest features was the click wheel, which replaced the touch
wheel.
Now the click wheel was originally included in the iPod Mini but Apple decided to use
it for the 4th generation iPod as well.
But that wasn't the only technology Apple borrowed from the iPod Mini.
The fourth generation iPod also used its energy-efficient components, which extended battery life to
12 hours, even though the device was equipped with the same lithium-ion battery as the previous,
third generation model.
And Apple made this fourth generation model more affordable for customers, selling a 20GB
version for only $299, and a 40GB version for $399.
Another special edition iPod was released on October 26th, 2004, but this time featuring
its own unique design.
It was a U2 edition of the iPod, which came out at the same time as U2's album How to
Dismantle an Atomic Bomb, and featured a red and black color scheme that matched the album
art.
Now U2 fans went crazy over this product, even though it sold for a $50 premium over
the standard iPod.
And part of its success was probably due to the bundled content, which was a $50 discount
for the purchase of U2's entire back catalogue, as well as 30 minutes of exclusive video content
available on the iTunes store.
Now around the same time as the U2 iPod, Apple released another model, the iPod Photo, which
was considered to be an advanced, premium version of the fourth generation device.
As such, the iPad Photo featured an LCD screen that could display a total of 65,536 colors
and supported graphic file formats including JPEG, BMP, GIF, TIFF and PNG.
Users could connect their iPod Photo to a television and play slideshows using the included
TV cable.
This model was available in a 40GB version for $499 and a 60GB version for $599, which
was more expensive than any other iPod model up to that point.
Now the iPod Photo was definitely a welcome improvement to the iPod line, but it didn’t
mark a new generation.
That didn’t happen until October 12, 2005, when the fifth generation of iPod was announced.
But before we get into that, I want to mention a special Harry Potter edition of the fourth
generation iPod that was released just one month before.
It went on sale at about the same time as the Harry Potter audio books became available
on iTunes.
The Harry Potter special edition iPod featured the Hogwarts logo on the back and included
all 6 Harry Potter audiobooks.
Now we can talk about the fifth generation iPod that was released just one month later.
It featured a 2.5“ screen and a smaller click wheel.
This was also the first iPod capable of playing videos, and the first standard iPod to be
available in two colors: black and white.
The fifth generation iPod also marked the second time Apple fully redesigned the product.
It featured a completely flat front plate and was much thinner than any of its predecessors.
It could play TV shows, movies, podcasts or music videos in MP4 and H.264 formats.
It also came with an S-cable that allowed it to play videos and slideshows on other
displays.
Now the 30GB version of this iPod was $299, while the 60GB model sold for $399.
Now on September 12th, 2006, Apple updated this model but didn’t consider it a new
generation.
So many users informally referred to the new model as the five-and-a-half generation.
It featured a brighter display, longer video playback time, a new search feature, and better
quality earphones.
But this updated model actually lacked something, and that was the iTunes installation disk,
since users were now able to download iTunes through Apple's website.
There was also a change made to the iPods storage space, since the 60GB model was upgraded
to 80GB, all while lowering the iPods price by $50 for each model.
And finally, on September 5th, 2007, Apple introduced the 6th and final generation of
the iPod and added the “Classic” suffix to its name.
The iPod Classic featured a thinner design and outstanding battery life of up to 36 hours
of music and 6 hours of video.
The model kept the previous generation's 2.5” backlit display but it featured a completely
different user interface.
The biggest change was definitely the front plate, which was now made of anodized aluminum
rather than plastic.
And because of this material change, its signature white color was replaced by silver.
Now this model was available in an 80GB version for $249 as well as a 160GB version for $349,
so you can really see the improvement in the price-to-memory ratio compared to the early
generations of the iPod.
However, on September 9th, 2008, Apple discontinued both of these versions and replaced them with
an even thinner 120GB model that sold for only $249.
This updated version also introduced some new features, including Genius and audio recording.
So the iPod Classic was officially discontinued on September 9th, 2014, likely because of
low sales and waning consumer interest in the product.
But Apple claimed the iPod Classic was discontinued because some of its components were no longer
being manufactured.
But I think it’s clear that, considering how most people listen to music today, the
iPod Classic no longer served much of a purpose.
It had no wireless capabilities at a time when streaming became the status quo.
And it still used the click wheel interface which felt pretty outdated after getting used
to modern touchscreens.
And on top of that, very few people are interested in carrying an iPod with them in addition
to their iPhone.
But despite all that, something interesting happened after the iPod Classic was discontinued.
Its resale price skyrocketed.
During its peak, the 160GB iPod Classic was going for around $500, almost double its previous
retail price.
So I would be mistaken if I said there wasn’t demand for high capacity iPods, but I think
that demand is falling as higher capacity iPhones are released and streaming becomes
even more popular.
So that is the history of the iPod Classic, and if you want to vote for the next video
topic, don’t forget to subscribe.
Thanks for watching, and I’ll see you next time.