Tony Fadell Reflects on Creating the iPod Ahead of Device's 20th Anniversary

[MacRumors]

One day ahead of the 20th anniversary of Steve Jobs unveiling the original iPod on October 23, 2001, Apple's former senior vice president of the iPod team Tony Fadell has reflected on his role in creating the device in an interview with CNET's Roger Cheng.

Fadell said that Apple was on a mission to launch the iPod before Christmas 2001. Impressively, he said that he "really got started" with developing the device in May 2001, just five months before it was introduced by Jobs. "It was nonstop, seven days a week," he said.

When Jobs unveiled the iPod at a small press event at its former Infinite Loop headquarters, the device was not fully finished, according to Fadell. Nevertheless, he said Jobs handed out this early version of the device to the media in attendance, along with a collection of 20 CDs containing the music that had been pre-loaded onto the device.

Fadell added that by 2005, Apple was starting to look into the cell phone market. As he has shared in previous interviews over the years, Fadell said his team toyed with prototypes of a full-screen iPod with a virtual click wheel, adding that the Mac team had separately designed a "massive capacitive touchscreen the size of a pingpong table." Apple ultimately launched the iPhone with a multi-touch display in 2007.

The full interview is a worthwhile read over at CNET for those interested in the days leading up to the original iPod's launch two decades ago.

Article Link: Tony Fadell Reflects on Creating the iPod Ahead of Device's 20th Anniversary

 

[HobeSoundDarryl]

LOVED this device! It single handedly brought me to the Mac/Apple... a halo effect for sure.

Now, years later, I'm near Apple-everything, make a great living on Macs and I have to give much of the credit to this catalyst product that first opened that door.

 

[FightTheFuture]

Loved my first Gen iPod. Along with a cassette adapter I retired the radio in my car. I remember my coworkers joking that it looked like a garage door opener instead of what an MP3 player supposed to look like - those creative labs CD Walkman looking things. iPod went on to become the most successful consumer electronic of all time, until… you know.

Fadell left Apple to co-found Nest labs for those wondering.

 

[satchmo]

This iconic design is right up there with the original 128K Macintosh, G4 Cube and G4 iMac.

BTW, I think 2000-2002 was Apple's peak in product design.

 

[surfsofa]

I was one of the early adopters and still have my 1st gen. The disk died a long time ago, so if anyone knows of a working contemporary replacement solution, please share. ?

 

[tonywalker23]

I say it again, I would love something just like this--same form and size an all. Just change the port to USB-C, the HD to a huge SSD, add Bluetooth for Airpods, and wifi for syncing with iTunes.

I'd give up my four classic iPods (two that function and two that are dead) for it in a heartbeat.

 

[MacFather]

The 4th generation nano was my favorite!

View attachment 1874703

 

[emulator]

I say it again, I would love something just like this--same form and size an all. Just change the port to USB-C, the HD to a huge SSD, add Bluetooth for Airpods, and wifi for syncing with iTunes.

I'd give up my four classic iPods (two that function and two that are dead) for it in a heartbeat.

Very much a missed opportunity not to release something like that as a limited anniversary edition. Just for the fun factor, a nice collector's item.

But the Tim Apple era won't be remembered for fun at all.

 

[diggy33]

I would love it if Apple were ever to make something like the iPod Classic again. Dont need internet, dont need to run any additional apps, just lemme play mah musics!!

 

[w5jck]

The device that saved Apple from total oblivion. There were plenty of companies churning out MP3 players in the years preceding the iPod, but they mostly focused on cheap, no frills devices. Apple decided to go for elegance and usability. Yep, they actually had form and function. Function, that thing Apple seems to have forgotten about these days, oh how I miss function. And after the era of Napster, people could have an MP3 player without worrying if the RIAA would come after them for unauthorized MP3s. Plus Apple made it easy to organize your music, rather than my generation's old concept of a "mixed tape" which was all we could create back in the dark ages. I still remember keeping a small suitcase like storage container in my car with 100 cassette tapes in it. Bulky, awkward, and the tapes didn't last long before they wore out. CDs lasted longer, but were still bulky and awkward to use. The iPod took an existing idea of MP3 players and made it easy to use in an elegant form factor.

 

[dukebound85]

This iconic design is right up there with the original 128K Macintosh, G4 Cube and G4 iMac.

BTW, I think 2000-2002 was Apple's peak in product design.

lol what? iconic design != good design

 

[nwcs]

How many victory laps do some people need for creating something?

 

[dukebound85]

How many victory laps do some people need for creating something?

maybe once a year at least ha

 

[citysnaps]

A little bit of essential history was left out; Apple collaborating with Motorola on the razr.

 

[TheYayAreaLiving 🎗️]

We you miss Forstall! You are a legend

 

[DaveN]

When I see stories like this it reminds me that I was lucky enough to buy Apple stock months before the introduction of the iPod. Still have it. I bought it because I installed NextStep on my computer and thought the operating system had great potential vs the Classic Mac OS. Things didn't work out as I thought they would but they worked out pretty well anyway.

 

[satchmo]

lol what? iconic design != good design

Huh?

 

[827538]

The iPod Mini was my first Apple device and had me hooked ever since. It was so cool being able to listen to my music wherever I wanted.

 

[MrTangent]

I was one of the early adopters and still have my 1st gen. The disk died a long time ago, so if anyone knows of a working contemporary replacement solution, please share. ?

iPhone.

 

[827538]

The device that saved Apple from total oblivion. There were plenty of companies churning out MP3 players in the years preceding the iPod, but they mostly focused on cheap, no frills devices. Apple decided to go for elegance and usability. Yep, they actually had form and function. Function, that thing Apple seems to have forgotten about these days, oh how I miss function. And after the era of Napster, people could have an MP3 player without worrying if the RIAA would come after them for unauthorized MP3s. Plus Apple made it easy to organize your music, rather than my generation's old concept of a "mixed tape" which was all we could create back in the dark ages. I still remember keeping a small suitcase like storage container in my car with 100 cassette tapes in it. Bulky, awkward, and the tapes didn't last long before they wore out. CDs lasted longer, but were still bulky and awkward to use. The iPod took an existing idea of MP3 players and made it easy to use in an elegant form factor.

I'd say my iPhone 13 Pro, Apple Watch S6, and soon to arrive gen 3 AirPods and 14" MacBook Pro all offer huge amounts of functionality. I'd go as far as to say the iPhone is as close to perfect a phone as you could ever want.

 

[Naraxus]

A little bit of essential history was left out; Apple collaborating with Motorola on the razr.

Wasn't it the Rokr?

 

[Daws]

In 20 years, I can’t wait for the interview with the developer of the Polishing Cloth.

 

[rpmurray]

The 4th generation nano was my favorite!

View attachment 1874703

That's when Apple still knew what color really meant. It's too bad we can't get these bright and bold colors for the new iMacs and iPads.

 

[rpmurray]

I remember my second generation iPod had that beautiful shiny back, until I got my fingerprints all over it and then the scratches.

 

[Pro Apple Silicon]

But the Tim Apple era won't be remembered for fun at all.

Nope, it will be remembered for dreary bean counting, soulless robot presentations that insult our intelligence, and having lawyers instead of designers dictate the OS.