End of an era: Apple discontinues its last IPod model

Apple Inc.’s iPod, a groundbreaking device that upended the music and electronics industries more than two decades ago, is no more.

The company announced Tuesday that it would discontinue the iPod Touch, the last remnant of a product line that first went on sale in October 2001. The touchscreen model, which launched in 2007, will remain on sale until supplies run out. Apple released dozens of versions of the iPod over the years, but the product was gradually eclipsed by its other devices, especially the iPhone. That led the company to begin phasing out models in 2014. At the time, the company stopped making the iPod classic, a version with a click wheel and small screen that was most similar to the original version. In 2017, Apple stopped making its smallest music players, the iPod Nano and iPod Shuffle. The iPod Touch — popular as a cheaper alternative to the iPhone — held on a few more years. The device was last updated in 2019 and cost $199.