In 2001, some of the top songs were Fallin’ by Alicia Keys, Ms Jackson by Outkast and Nelly’s Ride Wit Me. When people wanted to listen to these songs but weren’t near a car stereo or their home audio equipment, most people carried music with them on skip-the-line portable CD players, boom boxes, or maybe even a homemade mix tape.
Sure, some early adopters already carried a small collection of songs on a portable MP3 player (MP3s: the new-new thing!) like the Diamond Rio or Creative’s Nomad jukebox. But these weren’t common, and you didn’t see them that often. There was still no sign anywhere that times were changing musically in a digital direction.
Enter Apple with its original iPod, a small hard drive encased in smooth white plastic that could stash between 1,000 and 2,000 songs, an amount that seemed divine at the time.
Who would ever need to listen to 1,000 songs (or have access to that many) at their fingertips? What mortal would dare it?
The iPod, which was announced on October 23, 2001 and released on November 10, 2001, had a starting price of $400. It ushered in the smartphone era before smartphones were a thing, making portable electronics more tactile, user-friendly and information-forward. The white headphones bundled with the device were the beacon of that era. Before long it seemed that everyone had white wires coming out of their ears.
For the 25th anniversary of Apple’s game-changing music player, the device’s creators are waxing nostalgic about its silver anniversary. On the Apple Music website, on its 404 Not Found page, you’ll find a playful mockup of the OG iPod with its pleasant-to-use scroll wheel and a selection of songs you might have on your iPod at some point.
CNET writers and editors had a good time playing around with the fully functional iPod online, sharing favorite hits from his music library and enjoying some nostalgic ASMR.
We also looked back at CNET’s previous write-ups, including one from CNET’s former editor-in-chief Connie Guglielmo, explaining what it was like to introduce Steve Jobs to the iPod. There’s also a great 2021 piece by CNET’s Scott Stein on the evolution of the iPod, and a commentary by CNET’s Ty Pendlebury on how the iPod was caught and held the throne for so long, surviving music streaming and rival games.
Read more: iPhone Duo review: Late to the foldable party, but it steals the show
As Tony Fadell looks back, collectors and new fans are still listening
If the iPod can be credited mainly to one person – leading a team of many – it is generally recognized to be Tony Fadell, who joined Apple as a contractor and led one of its most successful product divisions. These days, Fadell is thinking a lot about the future of AI assistant devices, but he took time on his LinkedIn to acknowledge the iPod’s anniversary this week.
“We took it from approval to shipping in less than eight months,” he wrote. “There was no time for endless refinements. We had to make decisions, trust our experience and focus on one clear promise: 1,000 songs in your pocket.”
While Fadell says the iPod took a few generations to really take off and eventually arrive in iterations like the Nano, some music fans who still love the original iPod design have been using the device for decades. If you have a hard drive based gadget that lasts this long, count yourself lucky.
In addition to those old enough to remember what a hoobastank is, iPods are also becoming popular again with younger generations on a nostalgia kick, many of whom would rather carry a separate physical device for their music than stream their Spotify accounts on their phone for the millionth time. Axios reports that iPods and MP3s are back in a big way in a trend called “friction maxxing.” You don’t have to use that term to indulge yourself, we promise.
Old iPods, new life
Getting into the hobby isn’t cheap: working iPod models can cost several hundred dollars on eBay. And one that has never been opened? Try $25,000 to $60,000.
A cheaper way might be to keep the familiar outer casing, but replace the guts with a new motherboard. A group called Crowd Supply promises a new way to bring dysfunctional iPods back to life in a YouTube video. It hasn’t launched yet, but you can keep up with the project on the Crowd Supply website. Other tinkerers have years and years to work on hundreds of iPod hacks; You can find many of them on Hackaday.
Alternatively, it may be the functionality that a modern MP3 enthusiast is looking for, not necessarily the Apple branding or hardware. Other companies, like Fosi Audio, have their own take on the modern music player, like the $80 DAP Neo. CNET has a list of the best MP3 players of 2026, with devices like the Shanling M0s and the Android-based HiBy R4 coming out on top.
Finally, if you want to relive the iPod’s glory days, you don’t necessarily need new (or old) hardware at all; Your phone can do it with iOS apps like RetroPod, My Classic – Retro Console or, if you’re feeling Android, ClassiPod.
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