Is the iPod making a comeback in Washington?

Back in the dark ages, the only mobile music system available to the public was somebody singing or playing an instrument. Other than that, it was just all about the music in your head. Then the transistor was invented and the world changed.  

The transistor radio. 

It was portable, it was handheld, and for the most part it came from Japan. (Batteries not included) The transistor radio. The first handheld transistor radio came out in 1954, it was the regency TR-1, and it changed everything. Now you could carry your music with you wherever you went. 

The next mobile music innovation, as far as I'm concerned, was the Walkman from Sony. It came out in March of 1979 and it revolutionized mobile music because now you could make your own playlist on an audio cassette and carry it with you everywhere you went. 

Then the world went digital.

In August of 1982, the first compact disc came out. it was 1984 when the first Sony discman arrived, it was the Sony D-50. It weighed in at about 1.5 lbs. and even though carrying it around felt like you were carrying a small brick, The audio quality was good, and it was portable. It was somewhat delicate and sensitive to vibration, so you didn't use it while you were jogging. I have one of them, but it no longer works. 

Then the world changed again. 

The first Apple iPod was released in November 2001. Over the years, the iPod has morphed again and again and again. You had the iPod, the iPod Nano, the iPod Shuffle, The iPod touch, and multiple generations of each one of those iPods. 

Microsoft came up with the Zune in 2006. (no longer available) Other iPod clones are the Sony Walkman NW-A 105, Fiio M 11, SanDisk Clip Sport Plus, and the Mighty Vibe to name a few. Screen shot / ebay.com

The iPod is coming back. 

All of these portable digital audio systems eventually wound up on the shelf gathering dust, and nobody used them again but now the iPod in particular is coming back. 

According to axios.com,
‘People are snapping up Apple's retired MP3 players for nostalgia and a break from smartphones. 
For younger generations especially, the comeback is part of a broader return to offline devices and hobbies, driven by digital burnout.' 

So, it seems that Gen. Z is into everything retro, certainly from a music point of view. A large number of Gen. Z are collecting vinyl, playing it on turntables. It seems that Gen. Z is also collecting CDs, because CDs are cheaper than vintage vinyl. There's also a lot of interest in vintage audio cassettes. (I'm not sure about that one.) 

Right now, there's a lot of attention going to the Apple iPod Classic. eBay claims that searches Between January and October of 2025 for the iPod classic have jumped by 25%. Searches for the iPod Nano have jumped 20 percent. That’s up from 2024 during the same period. 

What about Zune?

My youngest son, John, (who is an adult now) never got into the iPod craze, as he calls it. His first personal digital music player was a Microsoft Zune. The much-maligned knockoff of the iPod. He still has one in a box somewhere (He's not completely unpacked yet.) and is thinking about investing in an additional vintage unit. 

For some, the idea of playing music without apps, ads, or interruptions is a positive experience. They're leaving the smartphone behind and loving music again.  

Personally, I have to say that I think this is a good trend. Not all the things I see Gen. Z doing I consider to be good trends, but this is certainly one of them. 

I may not personally like the music they're listening to. But I am gratified that they're listening.