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.

Apple’s vintage and obsolete products list is where all its devices end up eventually. However, nothing is added to the list until five years after the product is no longer sold. The iPod nano is close to that mark.

Later this month, the device will be declared a vintage Apple product, MacRumors reports.

iPod nano will become a vintage Apple product

Vintage products continue to receive hardware service from Apple and its authorized service partners, subject to the availability of inventory, or as required by law. After seven years, they are declared obsolete.

Obsolete products are no longer eligible for hardware service, “with no exceptions,” Apple says. Service partners are no longer able to order parts for obsolete Apple products, so users are on their own.

In other words, if you’re still using a seventh-generation iPod nano, you have a little over two years before Apple will refuse you service when you need a repair.

iPod nano a game-changer

Apple’s first iPod nano was introduced in 2005 as a smaller, more compact alternative to a regular iPod. It launched with as much as 4GB of storage initially; the seventh-generation model offered 16GB.

As of late 2006, one selling point of the iPod nano was its large variety of color options. The sixth-generation model, launch in 2010, was the smallest — a 1.55-inch display with no front-facing buttons.

The 2010 iPod nano was so small that many Apple fans wore theirs on their wrist using third-party iPod nano bands. It became an Apple watch five years before the actual Apple Watch was a thing.

The last iPod nano was the first to use a Lightning connector, iPhone-like Home button, and Bluetooth connectivity.

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