The iPod Was Discontinued in 2022 but Gen Z Is Bringing It Back Anyway
Apple killed the iPod in 2022. Three years later, Gen Z is bringing it back.
Across TikTok, eBay, and online forums, young adults are snapping up used iPod Classics and Nanos, loading them with music, and in some cases canceling their streaming subscriptions entirely.
The trend is fueled by something more than retro aesthetics: it’s a deliberate push for mental space in an always-connected world.
Search Interest and Resale Demand Are Spiking
The data backs up what’s visible on social media. Google Trends showed a spike in search interest for “Original iPod” and “iPod Nano” in 2025.
On eBay, searches increased by 25% for the iPod Classic and 20% for the iPod Nano between January and October 2025 compared with the same period in 2024, according to Axios.
A study conducted by Emily White in December found that 32% of those taking part in the trend were Gen Z.
Of those surveyed, 26% now use their MP3 player instead of streaming services, and 39% have modified, customized, repaired or refurbished their device.
People aren’t just buying these things. They’re putting real time into making them their own.
The iPod Comeback Is About More Than Nostalgia
The iPod revival isn’t really about music hardware or nostalgia. It’s about reclaiming some peace from a relentless digital environment.
“Gen Z and young adults are experiencing a lot of uncertainty in our lives, and it’s very hard for us to have a lot of hope in the future,” Natalie Constantine, who received an iPod Nano this past Christmas, told Axios.
“So, we kind of attach to things that brought us hope and happiness in the past, like using an iPod,” she added.
For a generation navigating economic anxiety and constant digital noise, a device that just plays music — no ads, no wifi, no notifications, no algorithms — has obvious appeal.
Katherine Esters told Axios she bought a classic iPod for $100 on eBay because she wanted to “cleanse myself of being on my phone.”
“Sometimes, I just want to go out, take a walk, and I want to listen to music, but I don’t necessarily want 20 notifications,” Esters told Axios.
Many people have taken to TikTok to discuss their decision to cancel their streaming subscription and invest in an old iPod, according to videos shared by Emily White.
Some are even begging Apple to “bring back the iPod” and calling it “Apple’s greatest creation.”
An entire community is forming around the idea that owning your music on a dedicated device — one that can’t ping you with emails or bait you into scrolling — is a better way to experience it.
This Fits a Larger Trend Called ‘Friction-Maxxing’
The iPod’s revival is part of a bigger movement known as “friction-maxxing.”
Coined by The Cut’s Kathryn Jezer-Morton, friction-maxxing is a 2026 trend that involves intentionally adding inconvenience and analog, “slow” processes back into daily life to combat over-optimization, digital dependency, and laziness driven by technology.
It is a conscious choice to prioritize experience and human connection over efficiency.
Loading songs onto an iPod is objectively less convenient than opening Spotify. You have to choose what goes on the device. You have to be intentional. In a world engineered to keep you scrolling, choosing friction is the point.
Streaming Still Dominates the Music Landscape
The original iPod, introduced on October 23, 2001, was the first MP3 player to pack 1,000 songs and a 10-hour battery into a 6.5-ounce package, according to Apple.
The different models include iPod Classic, iPod Touch, iPod Nano, iPod Shuffle and iPod Mini. Apple last updated the iPod in 2019, and the last model produced — the 7th generation iPod Touch — was officially discontinued on May 10, 2022.
Today, the iPod has been replaced by Apple Music on other Apple products, such as the iPhone, iPad and Apple Watch.
Apple moved on. And while the iPod is making a comeback, that doesn’t mean streaming is shrinking.
U.S. on-demand audio streaming reached 1.4 trillion song streams in 2025, up from 1.3 trillion the year before, according to Luminate.
Nobody’s debating that the iPod will replace Apple Music. This is about carving out space — a walk, a commute, an hour — where a device isn’t competing for your attention with everything else in your life.
And if the trend data, the TikTok discourse, and the voices of people like Constantine and Esters are any indication, this movement is still growing.
Production of this article included the use of AI. It was reviewed and edited by a team of content specialists.
