October 16, 2003: Six months after opening the iTunes Music Store for Mac owners, Apple expands the service to cover Windows PCs as well.
Steve Jobs later quips that making iTunes available to Windows owners is akin to “giving a glass of ice water to somebody in hell.”
July 19, 2004: The fourth-generation iPod brings neat innovations to the popular audio device, including the Click Wheel interface recently introduced on the iPod mini.
“The best digital music player just got better,” says Steve Jobs on the day the product launches, and yet some people feel disappointed.
A device that you carry around with you, day in and day out, for several years is going to prompt some kind of emotional attachment. Every scratch triggers a certain memory, every dent takes you back to a certain time and place. Add in the fact that you upload your most cherished media to it, and it becomes kind of like a diary, charting your development over time.
When said gadget dies it can therefore be a pretty sombre occasion. That was certainly the case for one Reddit user, who recently posted a memorial to their dearly departed 160GB iPod. Only for something totally unexpected to happen.
This year’s iPhone lineup will come without a Lightning connector, according to a sketchy new report out of Asia.
Apple is expected to use an alternate method of charging and syncing that will please a lot of iPhone users. However, it could mean that all your existing iPhone accessories will no longer be compatible.
May 30, 2013: Apple marks the sale of the 100 millionth iPod touch by launching a new, stripped-down model with a budget price of $229.
The new 16GB music player lacks some features of its high-end siblings. However, the smaller price tag and a savvy selfie cam make it appealing to new customers.
May 12, 2005: Longtime Apple frenemy Bill Gates tells a German newspaper that Apple may have hit it big with the iPod, but that its success isn’t going to last forever.
The reason? Mobile phones are going to steal the iPod’s market share. The good news for Gates is that he was right on the money. The bad news for Microsoft is that Apple cannibalized itself by making the iPhone, which became even more successful than the iPod.
April 9, 2007: Apple sells its 100 millionth iPod. Coming five-and-a-half years after the portable music player went on sale, the landmark event confirms the iPod as Apple’s most popular product of all time.
Until the iPhone arrives a couple months later, that is!
Apple improves the speakers in iPhones, iPads and iPods with each release — usually making them louder than the previous generation. Still, people constantly complain that iPhones are not loud enough.
In our latest Quick Tips video, I’ll show you a super-easy way to boost those tiny speakers. Check out the video below to see how to make iPhone speakers louder!
Apple’s new HomePod is flying off shelves with shipping times already slipping, but some Apple fans are already dreaming up what the next generation HomePod will look like.
Concept designer Martin Hajek published a beautiful new set of renders that imagine what HomePod might look like if Apple expands the product category to include larger and smaller versions of the HomePod just like with the iPhone. One of the mockups even brings back the iPod’s iconic click wheel.
Take a look:
Get an extra eye on the road with the awesome Owl Car Cam. Founded by Andy Hodge, a former iPod product leader, this dash camera was designed to give you home-grade security behind the wheel. It’s packed with stellar features you won’t find elsewhere.
