The iPod Comeback No One Saw Coming — And Gen Z Is Totally Here for It
Apple discontinued the iPod in 2022, but older models are surging in popularity as young people seek distraction-free music and a break from smartphone dependency.
eBay searches rose 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.
Google Trends showed a spike in search interest for “Original iPod” and “iPod Nano” in 2025.
A study by Emily White found 32% of respondents supporting the iPod’s comeback are Gen Z.
Furthermore, 26% of respondents in that study now use an MP3 player instead of streaming services, and 39% have modified, customized, repaired or refurbished their device.
Why People Want iPods Again
The reasons share a common thread: frustration with the way technology dominates everyday life. For many, the iPod represents distraction-free listening — no ads, no Wi-Fi, no notifications, no algorithms.
In a world where picking up a phone to change a song can spiral into 20 minutes of scrolling, that simplicity holds real appeal. For younger users still in school, the iPod also offers a way of getting around smartphone bans.
Nostalgia and emotional connection play a central role as well. The iPod, for many users, is tied to formative memories — the first album they ever owned, long bus rides to school, the excitement of loading new songs.
What Users Are Saying
Many people have taken to TikTok to discuss canceling their streaming subscriptions and investing in old iPods, according to videos shared by Emily White.
Some are even begging Apple to “bring back the iPod” and calling it “Apple’s greatest creation.”
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.
Natalie Constantine, who received an iPod Nano this past Christmas, pointed to something deeper.
“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,” Constantine told Axios.
“So, we kind of attach to things that brought us hope and happiness in the past, like using an iPod,” she added.
iPod Comeback Is Part of a Bigger Trend
The iPod revival is part of a bigger cultural 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 digital dependency and over-optimization.
Loading individual songs onto a device, managing a personal library and scrolling through a click wheel are all deliberate steps away from the frictionless — and often mindless — experience of algorithm-driven streaming.
The iPod’s Legacy — and Streaming’s Dominance
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.
Over the years, Apple expanded the lineup to include the iPod Classic, iPod Touch, iPod Nano, iPod Shuffle and iPod Mini.
Apple last updated the iPod in 2019. The last model produced was the 7th generation iPod Touch, 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.
Three years after discontinuation, the little device that changed the way people listen to music is finding a second life.
But despite the revival, streaming continues to reach new heights.
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.
The iPod’s resurgence is not a rejection of streaming itself so much as a desire for an alternative — a space where music exists without the noise of modern digital life.
BOTTOM LINE: With eBay searches up significantly and Gen Z making up nearly a third of the revival’s participants, the iPod comeback reflects a broader cultural pushback against always-connected digital life — and it shows no signs of slowing down.
Production of this article included the use of AI. It was reviewed and edited by a team of content specialists.
