Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.

MacRumors

macrumors bot
Original poster
Apr 12, 2001
67,961
38,674


MacRumors has learned that Apple later this month will add the seventh-generation iPod nano to its list of Vintage and Obsolete products, officially marking the final iPod in the iconic nano lineup as "vintage."

ipod_nano_2015_lineup.jpg

The vintage products list features devices that have not been sold for more than five and less than seven years ago. After products pass the seven year mark, they are considered obsolete. Apple debuted a refreshed version of the seventh-generation iPod nano in mid-2015, and that was the final iPod nano that came out. Now that the device is five years old, it is being added to the vintage list.

Apple launched the first iPod nano in September 2005, and over the course of the nano's lifetime, it got several redesigns. The first iPod nano model was similar in design to a standard iPod but with a slimmer, easier to pocket shape.

ipodnano1.jpg

The second-generation version cut down on the size and introduced bright aluminum colors, but it offered a similar design as the first iPod nano model.

ipodnano2.jpg

The third-generation iPod nano was popularly known as the "nano fatty" for its squat, wide design, and it was the first significant design iteration that Apple made to the nano lineup.

ipodnano3.png

With the fourth-generation iPod nano, Apple again cut down on the size and abandoned the wide design from the third-generation models, and the fifth-generation looked largely the same.

ipodnano5.jpg

Another major design change came with the 6th-generation iPod nano in 2010, with Apple doing away with the iconic click wheel in favor of an all-screen design that looked a lot like the Apple Watch does today.

iPod_nano_Hero_PRINT.jpg

The seventh-generation iPod nano, which ended up being the final model that was introduced, came out in October 2012 with an iPod touch-style multi-touch display and a Home button, and the nano and touch product lines were ultimately so similar that Apple did away with the iPod nano.

ipod_nano_colors.jpg

Apple refreshed the seventh-generation iPod nano in 2015 to add new colors, but did not tweak the design, signaling the impending end of life for the device. The iPod nano was discontinued along with the iPod shuffle in mid-2017, leaving the iPod touch as the sole iPod that Apple sells.

While devices on the vintage list are able to receive hardware service from Apple and Apple service providers, it is subject to the availability of repair components and where required by law. Obsolete products have no hardware service available with no exceptions.

Apple is planning to officially add the seventh-generation iPod nano to the Vintage and Obsolete list on September 30, along with the 5th-generation iPod touch, originally released on October 11, 2012.

Article Link: Apple to Declare Last iPod Nano Model 'Vintage' Later This Month
 
Last edited:
The iPhone 11 Pro Max is arguably the iPad Nano. ;)

The original iPod Nano was the first Apple product I owned, if not the first Apple product I actually bought (that being a Pismo PowerBook G3 for a friend as payment for a ton of graphic design work I commissioned that they would be doing on it).
 
iPod Nano was my first Apple Product. While I've bought and sold many iPhones and iPads over the years I still have my iPod Nano.

Also confused - if the Nano was sold until 2017, don't they have to wait until 2022 (i.e. 5 years from end of sale) to declare it vintage?
 
I still don't understand why it was discontinued. Very useful portable player, and mine still works just fine.
Probably sales fell off. Remember how they sold the iPad 2 well into the iPad 4? People were still buying it so they kept selling it. And it just played music really. The iPod Touch is still popular because it can do most of what the phone can do without the making phone calls part so it's still popular with kids as something that goes easily in the pocket.

Also, I think it was a Steve Jobs sort of thing. There were a few products that saw updates in 2012 that he probably had a hand in the year before but then didn't see updates for years, *cough*MAC MINI*cough*...
I still believe he was the energy source for Apple's five years of insane yearly product updates and that no one at Apple probably got a full nights sleep from 2006 through 2011. Once Steve had passed, tho, things slowed down dramatically.
 
What does this mean for MacOS support? Does that mean that at some point in time MacOS won't sync to them anymore? I have a bunch of iPod Touches and iPods that have a ton of music on them, and MacOS still will sync music to them.

Never thought about it until now. Maybe they won't make the ARM transition? That would be sad.
 
What does this mean for MacOS support? Does that mean that at some point in time MacOS won't sync to them anymore? I have a bunch of iPod Touches and iPods that have a ton of music on them, and MacOS still will sync music to them.

Never thought about it until now. Maybe they won't make the ARM transition? That would be sad.
Since you can still sync the original iPod I'm pretty sure they will still work. It means Apple won't provide tech or software support for them.
 
  • Like
Reactions: KeithBN
Register on MacRumors! This sidebar will go away, and you'll see fewer ads.