iPods are making a comeback. Here are 3 reasons why

Gen Z is driving a rebound in iconic iPods, which were officially discontinued in 2022.

Now, the Apple $AAPL music device is making a comeback with younger generations who are craving a break from the distractions of internet-based phone apps, with a product from a time that felt more hopeful in what many see as a current period of angst. Searches for the iPod and iPod Nano rose in 2025, per Google $GOOGL Trends. Additionally, according to Back Market, total sales of refurbished iPods are up an average of 15.6% per year over the past two years.

What’s more, even the so-called “Father of the iPod,” ex-Apple engineer and product creator Tony Fadell, said the iPod deserves an encore.

"I think there are smarter ways of making an AirPod that has an iPod in it. So, I think they need to bring back the iPod," Fadell told technology industry veteran Eric Newcomer during a recent interview on the Newcomer Podcast.

Other experts say the iPod's resurgence isn't a big surprise.

“The iPod revival is something I've been watching closely, not just academically but practically,” said Liam James Ward, CEO and co-founder at UK-based Something Something, a content strategy studio.

Ward said his studio, which has worked with artists like Billie Eilish, Laufey, and Djo, has increasingly been weaving iPods and wired headphones into its content marketing releases. “That’s because we knew this aesthetic was resonating deeply with our audiences,” he noted. “You can see the same instinct showing up in music videos like Role Model's Sally When The Wine Runs Out and Addison Rae's Headphones On.”

A few months back, Ward said he purchased an iPod Classic for himself. “This isn't nostalgia for nostalgia's sake,” he noted. “It's a cultural signal worth taking seriously.”

Here’s what’s behind the iPod’s renaissance

First off, Apple doesn’t have any official plans to reboot the iPod. The company hasn’t released a new iPod product since 2019, with the 7th-generation iPod Touch. Yet the iPod reboot vibe is real, and there are a few big reasons for that trend. Music and cultural experts point to the following focus factors.

Digital unplugging is a real phenomenon

Digital product fatigue is a big part of the iPod’s rebound story.

“I use a dumb phone on weekends and bought the iPod specifically so I could still access music while stepping away from everything else the smartphone demands of me,” Ward said.

Yet the larger, less-discussed driver is conscious consumption. “Streaming has made all music available everywhere at all times, and paradoxically, that abundance has made music feel cheaper and less meaningful,” Ward noted.

Ward said the music sector has seen the same tension play out in the recent vinyl records boom. 

A case in point. Lucian Grainge, CEO of Universal Music, has noted that over 50% of vinyl records sold are never taken out of the clingfilm. “That tells you this isn't purely about sound quality or analogue warmth,” Ward added. “It's about having a physical manifestation of something you love deeply enough to want to own. The iPod trend is a continuation of that same impulse in a different form.”

A different link between younger users and technology

Theresa Bertrand, head of strategy and planning U.S. at the New York City-based strategic communications company Zeno, says the iPod provides one suddenly in-demand service: It doesn’t try to optimize you or track your metrics while doing it.

“The iPod turns music back into an intentional act instead of background noise in an otherwise always-on system,” Bertrand said. “In a moment where every screen is a portal to work, news, metrics, and distraction, younger people are carving out smaller, more intentional digital spaces.”

That would make the iPod rally more about control and agency than it is about nostalgia or music. “It's a pattern we're seeing more broadly,” Bertrand noted. “People are narrowing where they place trust and incorporating intentional friction into their lives to stay functional.”

For Gen Z and younger Millennials in particular, the iPod isn’t retro. Instead, it's a different relationship with technology.

“The iPod represents a tool that serves you, instead of a platform that shapes you,” Bertrand said.  “Young consumers are skeptical of systems that promise connection but deliver distraction. Using an iPod is almost a quiet sort of rebellion against the idea that every moment needs to be optimized, shared, or monetized.”

Getting offline on purpose

Structurally, an iPod offers what digitally distressed consumers want.

“A dedicated music player is a simple and intentional tool,” said Daniel Burrus, futurist, global technology analyst, and founder of San Diego-based Burrus Research. “It doesn't have notifications, there are no endless feeds, and no haptics nudging you to respond.”

Plus, iPods are relatively affordable, with units routinely priced at $140 or $150 on Amazon $AMZN. “Mix in that iPods are refurbished and easy, and I’d call this a predictable pattern,” Burrus said.  “When there’s digital overload, people will look for focused tech that gives them a way to feel in control."

Burrus also says the feeling of nostalgia is a comfort issue for younger users. “For Gen Z, older technology is likely more of a look and a statement that says: I’m offline on purpose,” he added.

The iPod reboot is bigger than a trend

Culturally, for younger consumers who never owned one, the iPod isn't a nostalgic object; it's a mythological one. “It represents a version of the technology era that felt more optimistic, before the attention economy fully revealed what it was taking in return,” Ward said.

The so-called ‘doomscrolling generation’ has also grown up with a phone in hand and chronic anxiety as background noise. “Now, they’re reaching, quite consciously, for objects that carry the warmth of a time they perceive as safer and simpler, even if they never lived through it,” Bertrand noted. “We’re seeing a profound cultural tell.”

That’s a big reason why robust iPod use right now has a sheen of sustainability.

“The trend is real and durable because the underlying behavior is real,” Ward said. “Whether it expresses itself through iPods, vinyl, or something we haven't seen yet, the appetite for intentional single-purpose engagement with music is not going away.”

That’s especially the case as smartphones become even more demanding. “The countercultural value of a device that just plays music will only increase as a result,” Bertrand noted.

Historical nostalgia should also continue to feed the iPod comeback.

Ward said he grew up working-class in 1990s Britain, working in music shops and venues, when music was the thing that made the world feel bigger and more possible. “That's what young people are reaching for when they pick up an iPod today,” he added. “Not the device itself, but the feeling it promises.”