iPod nano

Today in Apple history: iPod nano gets colorful aluminum upgrade

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iPod nano
The second-gen iPod nano was totally metal.
Photo: Dongyi Liu/Flickr CC

Sept 25: Today in Apple history: Second-generation iPod nano gets colorful aluminum upgrade September 25, 2006: Apple ships its second-generation iPod nano, offering a fancy redesign of the pocket-size original.

Among the new iPod nano’s improvements are a slimmer, anodized aluminum casing; a brighter screen; longer battery life, and a wide range of colors. And, oh yes, it also includes gapless music playback for the first time!

R.I.P. iPod: Apple discontinues its tiny music player

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R.I.P., iPod. Apple discontinues iPod touch. It's the end of the iPod product line.
R.I.P., iPod.
Photo: Apple

It’s the end of an era — Apple has stopped making the once-iconic iPod. The little music player helped save Apple, and made the company a powerhouse in the music industry, but its day is over.

The last model is the iPod touch, which “will be available while supplies last,” Apple said Tuesday in a press release.

An illustrated history of the iPod and its massive impact [Updated]

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Steve Jobs on the cover of NewsWeek
Steve Jobs and the iPod make the cover of NewsWeek.
Photo: NewsWeek

Editor’s note: We originally published this illustrated history of the iPod to celebrate the device’s 10th anniversary on Oct. 22, 2011 (and updated it a decade later). We republished it on May 10, 2022, when Apple finally pulled the plug on the iPod.

The iPod grew out of Steve Jobs’ digital hub strategy. Life was going digital. People were plugging all kinds of devices into their computers: digital cameras, camcorders, MP3 players.

The computer was the central device, the “digital hub,” that could be used to edit photos and movies or manage a large music library. Jobs tasked Apple’s programmers with making software for editing photos, movies and managing digital music. While they were doing this, they discovered that all the early MP3 players were horrible. Jobs asked his top hardware guy, Jon Rubinstein, to see if Apple could do better.

Photos reveal early Apple Watch prototype disguised as iPod nano

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Apple Watch prototype disguised as iPod nano
That case isn't fooling anyone.
Photo: AppleDemoYT

New photos reveal an original Apple Watch prototype apparently used for internal testing before the wearable made its official debut in 2015.

The device is protected by a security case, which looks a little like an iPod nano, to disguise it during transportation. It also comes in a brown cardboard box marked “Apple Confidential.”

Apple’s last iPod nano goes ‘vintage’ later this month

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ipod-nano-new
It's almost the end of the line for the last iPod nano.
Photo: Apple

The seventh-generation iPod nano, Apple’s last model, will be added to the company’s list of “vintage” products later this month.

First introduced in 2015, the device was marketed as the thinnest iPod ever, with the ability to connect to Bluetooth headphones and speakers, a built-in FM radio tuner, and a 2.5-inch color display.

The watchOS improvements I want to see at WWDC [Mockups]

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How Apple could give watchOS a tune-up
How Apple could give watchOS a tune-up.
Photo: Graham Bower/Cult of Mac

In the three short years since Apple Watch debuted, Cupertino has massively improved its smartwatch. Remember the early days, when Glances took ages to load, only to show out-of-date information? When the Fitness app refused to stay in the foreground during a workout? Or when the side button launched a doodling app?

Since the launch, Apple has rolled out big upgrades to watchOS every year at its Worldwide Developers Conference. But there is still loads more that could be done to really unleash Apple Watch’s full potential.

With this year’s WWDC confirmed for June, here’s my wish list of the all the new watchOS stuff I’m hoping will be announced in San Jose, California. It’s a pretty long list, so I’ve broken it down into three separate posts, starting with usability. In followup posts, I’ll focus on fitness, apps and setup.

Apple will no longer repair or service your sixth-gen iPod nano

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iPod nano
Don't ask Apple to fix your broken sixth-gen iPod nano.
Photo: Apple

Apple is no longer providing repairs or service for the sixth-generation iPod nano.

The device was added to the company’s list of vintage and obsolete products on August 30, and a memo distributed to Apple stores and Authorized Service Providers confirms that repairs are no longer being carried out… unless you live in California.

Apple discontinues iPod nano and iPod shuffle

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iPod nano
Apple pulls the plug on its old-school music players.
Photo: Jim Merithew/Cult of Mac

Apple pulled the iPod nano and iPod shuffle from its website today, confirming that the models have been discontinued.

The iPod touch, which just received a storage boost, remains as the company’s only dedicated music player.

RED or dead? Apple’s best and worst PRODUCT(RED) devices

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Which Apple PRODUCT(RED) product has us seeing red?
Which Apple PRODUCT(RED) products have you seeing red?
Image: Ste Smith/Cult of Mac

The new PRODUCT(RED) iPhone is the latest limited-edition Apple product to turn a crimson paint job into a pile of green, all for a worthy charity.

Apple got involved 11 years ago with The Global Fund to benefit AIDS programs in Africa. In that time, Apple has raised millions of dollars for the charity — and released some pretty sweet special-edition products to boot.

Here are our picks for the best Apple PRODUCT(RED) products (plus, the absolute worst of all time).

The value of old iPods could be music to your ears

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Tony Hawk, Madonna and No Doubt are just a few of the names whose signatures graced Special Edition models of the iPod Classic.
Tony Hawk, Madonna and No Doubt are just a few of the names whose signatures graced Special Edition models of the iPod Classic.
Photo: Ivan Chernov

Cult of Mac 2.0 bug Nick Wellings listens to music on his iPhone, preferring not to disturb any one of his 108 iPods.

He figures his collection would hold 231,000 songs, but only one has ever been touched or seen the light of day. They remain factory-sealed in their boxes.

The iPod’s status as an icon was brief but seismic, a sleek and at-times-colorful trigger of upheaval to the music industry in the middle of the century’s first decade. Soon the iPhone, which grew more powerful with each generation, relegated the iPod to junk drawers, closets and boxes, next to that cassette-tape-playing Sony Walkman.

iPod gets new lease on life as ATM PIN stealer

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iPod nano
Crime doesn't Apple Pay.
Photo: Photo: Jim Merithew/Cult of Mac

Looking for a way to put your existing iPod to good use? How about a career in crime?

Police in Manchester, U.K., have issued a warning to local using ATMs, after a cash machine was discovered fitted with a converted iPod rigged to record footage of customers’ PIN numbers, while also trapping their bank cards.

Apple unveils new iPods in six colors

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iPod, therefore I am.
iPod, therefore I am.
Photo: Apple

After a short amount of time offline, the Apple Online Store is back up and running — selling a refreshed line of iPods, featuring some feature upgrades, and a nifty new gold color option.

Apple has released new iPod shuffle, nano, and touch devices, representing the first major upgrade for the product lines since way back in 2012. While the shuffle and nano both get the new gold color — alongside five other color options — the biggest upgrade is reserved for the iPod touch.

Vibrant new iPod colors revealed in iTunes update

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apple-ipod-itunes-leaked-colors
Apple revealed some new iPod colors in the iTunes 12.2 update.
Photo: Apple

You may have written off the iPod as something Apple doesn’t care to breathe new life into by this point, but the iPod is exactly what appears to be getting an update. Alongside the release of iTunes 12.2 to support Apple Music, some users quickly discovered that images of the iPod family within the app feature new, unreleased colors.

Thieves use iPod nano to try and steal cash from ATM

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Would Apple be more upset at the use of its products in a crime, or the general shoddiness of the execution? Photo:
Would Apple be more upset at the use of its products in a crime, or the general shoddiness of the execution? Photo:Greater Manchester Police

Looking for a use for that old iPod nano you’ve got lying around the house, gathering dust? Why not become a credit card thief?

Okay, so that’s probably the worst piece of advice you’ve received today, but it was still good enough for a pair of ne’er-do-wells from Stockport, England.

Using an iPod nano, a bit of duct tape, and a plastic contraption which attaches to the card slot of ATMs, the duo discovered a way to record videos of people entering their PIN numbers to withdraw money — using Apple’s one-time music players as a makeshift spy camera.

‘It’s been way too long’ since Apple updated these products

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Apple's new improved TV could be coming as early as this fall.
Will there be a new Apple TV next week? If so, it's been a long time coming. Photo: Robert S. Donovan/Flickr CC
Photo: Robert S. DonovanFlickr CC

The tagline for next week’s Apple media event is “It’s been way too long.” While that might be nothing more than a sarcastic nod to the fact that Cupertino announced the Apple Watch and iPhone 6 just last month, it could be a cryptic indication that we’ll see updates to some of the company’s neglected products.

Rumors suggest new iPads and Macs will share the stage at Apple’s October 16 event, and we’ll probably get OS X Yosemite’s release date and more talk about iOS 8 and Apple Pay, but what about the rest of the product lineup?

Here’s a look at Apple products currently languishing in update hell, along with some rumors and speculation about what the future might hold.

Curvy and Colorful: Let’s Hope the iPhone 6 Looks Like This

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iphone6concept3

We’re still months away from the big reveal of the iPhone 6, which means concept designers still have plenty of time to toss around fanciful dreams of what Apple might do for the redesign of the iPhone.

Teaming up with Martin Hajeck, iCulture created the following concept mockups that would see the iPhone taking some design cues from the iPod Nano, with curved edges, a narrower bezel, and larger screen to boot.

Take a look:

What If The iWatch Isn’t A Watch At All?

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What if Apple’s iWatch is’t an iWatch at all? What if it’s a spec, like CarPlay, that lets folks like Casio and Rolex put an Apple chip inside their watches to make them talk to your iPhone?

Problems solved:

  • Apple doesn’t have to get into the fashion watch game, or make “ladies” and “gents” watches.
  • The watch industry gets a shot in the arm (pun intended) as watches get useful again.
  • You don’t need a power-sucking display. The iPhone is the display.

iPod Touch, Nano, And Shuffle Get New ‘Space Gray’ Color Option

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spacegreyiPodnano

 

This morning’s keynote focused on the iPhone and iOS 7, but Apple pushed out a few quiet updates this afternoon as well, including a new color option for iPods.

Apple is now selling the iPod Nano, Touch, and Shuffle in the new Space Gray color option the iPhone 5S just received. The space gray iPod Touch won’t be available at Apple Stores until the iPhone 5S and iPhone 5C arrive on September 20th, but Apple.com says you should be able to pickup the new Nano and Shuffle as soon as September 12th.

Everything We Think We Know About The iWatch So Far

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A designer's iWatch mockup.
A designer's iWatch mockup.

Apple is becoming a victim of its own success. It’s been several years since the company launched the iPad and revolutionized yet another product category, but we haven’t seen anything truly groundbreaking since then. Sure, we’ve had the iPad mini, the Retina MacBook Pro, and the awesome new iMac, but they’re all variations or improvements on existing products.

Now the world is clamoring for something completely new — something that’ll take off just like the iPod, iPhone and iPad.

Some reports suggest it will be the Apple “iTV,” the company first television set, which is said to be in development inside the company’s Cupertino headquarters. But it’s more likely that Apple’s immediate concern is with the “iWatch,” a smartwatch powered by iOS that will bring all kinds of crazy-cool technology to your wrist.

I had suspicions Apple might be working on its own watch when it redesigned the iPod nano last year. A lot of fans used the tiny nano as a watch thanks to third-party strap accessories, and it seemed like its form factor and design were changed for a reason — to make way for something new.

We’ve been reading iWatch rumors for the past few months, so it’s time to put them all together and establish what we think we know about the iWatch so far.