Bring back the iPod! Apple should start manufacturing its dedicated music player again. With iPhones increasingly banned from schools, a simple entertainment device could fill the gap.
That said, creating a new iPod for the streaming era would not be as simple as bringing previous models back to life.
Apple needs a new iPod because schools keep banning phones
Currently, 31 U.S. states and the District of Columbia have laws designed to limit students’ use of phones in classrooms. Four states — Florida, Louisiana, South Carolina and Utah — ban smartphones completely.
One reason for the ban is obvious. Kids should pay attention in class, rather than texting their friends. But the problem goes beyond that.
In a study done by West Texas A&M University, researchers looked at a high school where administrators banned phones. They “saw student anxiety plummet — mainly because students weren’t afraid of being filmed at any moment and embarrassing themselves,” NPR reported.
Blocking students from texting or filming each other doesn’t mean they shouldn’t be able to listen to music, podcasts or even classroom lectures between classes. A device that could play songs but do nothing else would give students options. Now, what does that sound like? Oh yeah, an iPod!
Apple should update and relaunch a new iPod for 2026 and beyond. There hasn’t been as great a need since the iPhone debuted in 2007.
The new iPod must clearly not be a smartphone
Image: Apple/Cult of Mac
The goal of mobile devices today is to cram as much functionality into as small a space as possible. That won’t work for the new iPod. It should play music and nothing else. That means no camera and no App Store. The device must look and function nothing like a smartphone. That way, when an educator sees it, they can’t accuse the student of breaking the law.
That means Apple must carefully choose the design. Perhaps what’s needed is an updated sixth-generation iPod nano: a square that’s all screen and a mere 1.5 inches on a side. Maybe even a new iPod shuffle, which had no screen at all.
The major upgrade versus the old models would be the addition of Bluetooth, so the new iPod could connect to AirPods.
Downloaded, not streamed music
Admittedly, this new device would require a change in habits. Everyone in middle school or high school grew up in the streaming age. Most of them are used to listening to songs streamed via Apple Music or Spotify. They likely don’t have a collection of MP3s ready to load onto an iPod like people did in the old days.
But that’s not too serious a problem. A subscription to Apple Music lets users download songs, albums and playlists to an iPhone to play offline. This should be available on iPod, too … except Apple discontinued the last iPod model in 2022.
Today’s students need the iPod to come back. As it is, they’re stuck buying obsolete models off eBay.
A new iPod for a new generation
The iPod became a beloved gadget because it let people take their music anywhere. An updated version could make the iPod popular again.
It’s a win-win. Apple gets to sell iPods to students who already have iPhones. And students get to listen to music on the bus, during lunch and anytime they’re on a break.
