It’s officially been 25 years since the original iPod was released. Feel old yet? I sure do, and it’s not solely because of the knee pain I get from just living now. A quarter-century is a long time, generally speaking, but it’s ancient history in consumer tech years. Most of us were only on 2G back then!
The thing is, as old as the iPod is, it also feels weirdly relevant in a way—more so than it has for some time.
It’s still getting ripped off, for example, and the renewed interest in early-2000s tech like wired earbuds (EarPods in particular) and CDs makes the idea of an iPod feel unexpectedly fresh. That relevance doesn’t seem to be lost on Apple, either.
For the iPod’s 25th birthday, Apple brought the first-gen, OG iPod back… as an Easter egg on Apple Music. As noted by TechRadar, Apple Music’s “Page Not Found” currently surfaces an interactive iPod. You can trawl around on the scroll wheel (this was the pre-click wheel era), pressing buttons, playing music, and controlling volume. They even went for the equivalent of a nostalgia kill shot by putting Sum 41 on here and Alien Ant Farm.
Here’s what that looks like in action:
Apple Music's 404 page has a 1st gen iPod emulator that's fully functional, a perfect Easter egg for the iPod's 25th anniversary.https://t.co/NKMaIYD2Ma pic.twitter.com/LixGgDZ3BX
— Michi (@NekoMichiUBC) October 23, 2026
It’s just a bit of nostalgic fun, really—celebrating one of Apple’s most iconic products to date—but it also feels borderline tantalizing.
As I’ve written before, people are basically begging for a new iPod, to the point where old iPods are actually a hot commodity in secondhand stores. Back Market, which sells used and refurbished electronics, told the AP that used iPod sales jumped 48% since 2024. That same interest is also fueling sales of non-Apple digital audio players (DAPs) like the kind made by Snowsky and HiBy.
Apple has given no real indication that it’s ever going to revive the iPod—it wasn’t even officially discontinued until 2022—but if it were trying to either gin up interest or at least gauge the temperature of the water, this would be a good way to do so. I, for one, long for the sweet, sweet tactile nostalgia of an iPod, but with the modern conveniences of Bluetooth, USB-C, and expandable storage.
Here’s to hoping, I guess.
