September 5, 2007: Apple introduces its first new iPods after the release of the iPhone. The lineup includes the third-gen iPod nano, the newly renamed iPod Classic and — most significantly — the debut of the iPod touch.
In doing so, Apple sets out to demonstrate that there is still plenty of life left in the iconic portable music player.
iPod touch launch comes right after the iPhone
The September 2007 refresh of the iPod range marked an important turning point in the music player’s lifecycle. The original iPod, released in 2001, became one of the most iconic products Apple ever created. However, a fatal blow was struck against it in 2007, when Apple introduced the iPhone.
Standing onstage to introduce the new smartphone that January, Apple CEO Steve Jobs described the iPhone as a revolutionary mobile phone and a breakthrough internet communications device, but also as a widescreen iPod with touch controls.
It was a great way to explain to people what the iPhone was, and what it did. However, the pitch also undercut the iPod in the same way that the Macintosh’s arrival undercut the Apple II. If Apple was packaging those three items together in a stunning new device, why would anyone in their right mind want to buy them separately?
The three new iPods represented Apple’s attempt to answer that question.
Upgrades to the iPod nano and iPod Classic
Unlike the iPod touch, the new, third-gen iPod nano competed with the iPhone as a music player by virtue of being tiny. The refreshed nano boasted a 2-inch QVGA display and a shorter, wider design than its predecessors. It also added a new interface, video playback, new colors and support for iPod Games.
The iPod Classic, meanwhile, refreshed Apple’s original iPod brand by giving it a sheen of retro chic. This was the sixth version of Apple’s original clickwheel iPod. Apple marked the occasion by giving it a slimmer body, significantly improved battery life and — for the first time — a new color. This model replaced the signature white polycarbonate plastic exterior with a silver one. This marked the first time you could not buy a white iPod.
Bring on the iPod touch
The most important new iPod launched on this day in 2007 was the iPod touch. It was basically an iPhone without a phone (or, as Jobs would later quip, the “iPhone without a contract.”) The new device ticked many boxes iPod fans had wanted for a number of years. A widescreen, Wi-Fi-enabled portable media device, it offered internet browsing, Apple’s multi-touch interface, an accelerometer, an integrated rear camera and more.
The iPod touch proved important not just because it was the most dramatically different iPod that Apple had released in years. It also made clear how Apple viewed the iPod fitting into its wider product line. Instead of the device Apple built its empire around, the iPod touch became the “training wheels” designed to bring younger customers into the Apple ecosystem. It served as the iPhone you got before your first real iPhone.
It also arguably tested the waters for the first iPad — which some initially viewed as a bigger iPod touch when it arrived in 2010.
Did you buy a new iPod when the iPod touch launched in 2007? If so, which model did you opt for and why? Leave your comments below.
