20 years after the first iPod a giant prototype of it appears out of the blue

Remember the first-ever iPod? Steve Jobs introduced the groundbreaking MP3 player back in 2001 and changed the way we listen to music forever. 20 years later, pictures of a prototype of the first iPod were published by app developer Panic on its company blog.

The pictures of the iPod prototype show a really interesting testing prototype of the device. An oversized enclosure with an early version of the Scroll Wheel and navigation buttons are all this prototype is about. It also has a cutout for the small screen that displays the iPod’s interface, which is located next to the Scroll Wheel, and not above it, as in the production version.


From the looks of it, this prototype was probably used for testing the software and the device's functionality during the development of the iconic audio device. A look inside the rather large prototype unit shows its insides are almost empty, with the motherboard, charging port, and headphone jack taking up only a small amount of the space.

Apple’s original iPod is also shown in the pictures sitting on top of the prototype. By the looks of it, the prototype is multiple times larger than the portable music player. It looks like it is roughly the same size as an iPad mini.

The bulky-looking iPod prototype has identifying markers like the SPG Development sticker and Apple’s name, which implies the item is genuine. There is also a date marked on the internals of the device. According to the date the device was made about two months before the OG iPod’s public announcement. It is unclear how app developer Panic got a hold of the prototype.


The original iPod was introduced on October 23, 2001. It had 5GB of storage and 32MB of RAM. The storage was good for 1000 songs. A year later a 10GB variant was released. The iPod was available in only one color - White. It had a 2-inch monochrome screen with a 160x128 resolution. Battery life was up to 10 hours of playback from its 1,200mAh battery.

When launched the OG iPod retailed for $399. The latest iPod is the 7th Gen iPod Touch which was released in 2019. Reports say that this will be the latest iPod ever, as Apple plans to discontinue the iPod series forever.