Today marks the 20th anniversary of Steve Jobs' presentation of the first iPod at a small product launch at Apple's former headquarters, Infinity Loop, which has become one of the most defining moments in Apple's history. Jobs single-handedly brought the perilous Apple back to the ascending channel.
The image above is a snapshot of Apple's website on October 23, 2001, the day the iPod was released, courtesy of Wayback Machine.
In fact, when the iPod first appeared, it was not a popular and coke product, with some critics describing the iPod as "far from revolutionary" and another commenter writing: "So much hype for such a ridiculous thing!" What happened next has become familiar: The iPod went on to become one of the most important products in Apple's history, and along with successful upgrades of iMac products, the iPod helped the company succeed again after it was on the verge of bankruptcy in the late 1990s, and then Apple created the revolutionary iPhone in 2007.
Jobs, known for providing "1,000 songs in his pocket," pulled the device out of his pocket and unveiled it. Apple said in a press release: "With the iPod, Apple has invented a brand new digital music player that lets you keep your entire music collection in your pocket and hear it wherever you go." With the iPod, listening to music is never the same again."
After the advent of the iPhone, because the function can already completely cover the iPod, so this Walkman has become a niche product of Apple, the iPod Classic was discontinued in 2014, the iPod nano and iPod shuffle were discontinued in 2017, and the iPod touch is currently the only model available for purchase. In fact, as of this week, the iPod touch's product page only has a less conspicuous entrance in the footer of Apple's website.
Tony Fadell, Apple's former senior vice president in charge of the iPod team, reviewed the process of creating the iPod in an interview published yesterday.