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Older iPods can double as external storage once a hidden 'Disk Use' option is switched on via Finder on a Mac or through iTunes or the Apple Devices app on Windows. After enabling it, the iPod shows up like any USB drive, letting users drag files onto it, though those files remain invisible on the iPod's own interface and share space with its music and system data.
A project called Sprout is developing a replacement logic board for select older iPods, including 1st and 2nd-gen iPod minis and 3rd and 4th-gen iPods, adding USB-C charging and, in one version, Wi-Fi support for streaming apps and AirPlay. The feature set is still under development, and the Crowd Supply campaign has not launched, with no pricing or release date confirmed yet.
Apple's original iPod, launched Nov. 10, 2001 at $400, could hold between 1,000 and 2,000 songs and came bundled with white earbuds. To mark the device's 25th anniversary, Apple Music's website now hosts a hidden, functional mockup of the first-generation iPod on its 404 error page, complete with a playable song selection and scroll wheel.
To mark the 25th anniversary of the original iPod's launch, Apple built a fully interactive virtual version of the device into Apple Music's website, triggered when a broken page is loaded. The recreation includes a working click wheel, a library of over 1,000 playable 90-second song snippets, and even the hidden Brick game from the original device.
To mark the 25th anniversary of the iPod's 2001 debut, Apple added a hidden feature to its Apple Music website. Visiting a nonexistent page on music.apple.com, such as music.apple.com/ipod, now displays a fully interactive original iPod model with a working click wheel and buttons, letting users browse and play 90-second previews of songs from artists popular at the device's launch.
Apple has embedded an interactive recreation of the original iPod into Apple Music's error page, discovered by users on social media. The virtual device plays early-2000s tracks like Coldplay's "Viva La Vida" and Gorillaz's "Feel Good Inc," and appears whenever a nonexistent Apple Music URL is visited.
Apple unveiled the original iPod on October 23, 2001, with Steve Jobs presenting it as a hard-disk music player holding 1,000 songs for $399. The device offered 5GB of storage and supported MP3, WAV and AIFF formats, entering a market Jobs said lacked a clear leader despite existing players from Sony, Creative and others.
A new project called Sprout offers two drop-in replacement mainboards, Sprout Pico and Sprout Pi, that upgrade 3rd- and 4th-generation iPods and the iPod mini with modern connectivity. Built on Raspberry Pi RP2350 boards with a custom OS, the no-solder mods add Bluetooth audio, Wi-Fi, USB-C, expandable microSD storage up to 2TB, and support for formats like FLAC and ALAC, while keeping the original click-wheel interface. The pricier Sprout Pi version adds a Compute Module Zero for AirPlay and streaming from Apple Music or Spotify.
A project called Sprout Pi (and a lesser Sprout Pico version) replaces an iPod's motherboard to add Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, USB-C charging, a microSD slot and FLAC playback without requiring soldering. The upgrade supports audio over USB, the original 3.5mm jack, AirPlay and Google Cast streaming, podcast downloads, and on the Pi model, Spotify and Apple Music apps. It works only with 3rd- and 4th-generation iPods and the iPod mini, and will launch via a Crowd Supply crowdfunding campaign with pricing not yet announced.
Steven Levy recalls Apple's October 2001 launch of the iPod, which Steve Jobs told him would be 'a landmark product,' and traces its gradual discontinuation through 2014, 2017 and 2022 as the iPhone absorbed its functions. He argues the iPod's death became inevitable once Jobs unveiled the iPhone in January 2007, folding 'the best iPod ever' into a multipurpose device.
A Verge newsletter recounts how portable digital music began with the MPMan F10 in Asia in March 1998, followed months later by the Diamond Rio PMP300 in the West, which gained attention after the RIAA sued Diamond Multimedia over MP3 piracy concerns. Both devices shipped with just 32MB of storage, enough for about 12 songs, and featured clunky monochrome displays.
In episode 83 of the Overtime podcast, hosts Fernando Silva and Jeff Benjamin discuss Apple's rumored screenless fitness tracker and why it appeals to them. Silva also recounts hands-on impressions of the iPhone 18 Pro, Apple Watch Series 12, and Apple Watch Ultra 4, while the pair note disappointing findings on aftermarket SSD upgrades for the M6 Mac mini.