Why Apple should bring back the iPod nano 4

It’s my last work week (ever) before iPhoned. That’s why I write with nostalgia about my favorite Apple device of all time: the iPod nano (4th generation).

The iPod nano (4th generation) remains a winner

Let’s start with the fact that I am a music freak. You may have read that in my (somewhat critical) articles about Spotify and Apple Music. Now this week is my very last working week for iPhoned.nl. So it’s high time to highlight my favorite Apple product of all time.

After iPhoned, I will enter the music industry. It won’t surprise you that my favorite Apple device of all time is the iPod nano (4th generation). This is why.

The iPod nano was super innovative

The iPod nano (4th generation) was released in 2008, one year after the iPhone (Apple’s first successful product with a touchscreen). At that time I was skeptical about touchscreen technology, but I wanted to enjoy music. I bought the iPod nano (4th generation) with my pocket money; an MP3 player with a curved surface, 8GB (!) of storage, a bright screen, the famous Click Wheel, three games and many new features.

For example, this iPod nano contained an accelerometer for the first time (or in English: accelerometer). It knew whether you held your iPod horizontally or vertically and moved with the orientation of the screen. In addition, this feature also noticed when you shook the iPod nano; the very first randomization of music was born. This “Shake-to-Shuffle” feature allowed me to discover a ton of music my mom and dad had put on my iPod nano.

The ‘Genius’ function, Apple’s first attempt at curating music, was also a reason for me to play the hits every time. skip and albums to really dive into. In addition, the cover flows (the stylish iTunes rendition of the album covers) that I started to memorize each record. Compared to the difference between the iPhone 13 and the iPhone 14, the iPod nano (4th gen.) seems extremely innovative.

Why I’m nostalgic for the iPod nano

I can tell you many reasons why I would love to own just an iPod nano again. It’s too easy to link it to my rash childhood, the never-ending listening sessions in the car to Italy or mimicking my favorite artists on my bed with the iPod nano in a universal docking station with speakers was pumping.

No, it’s other, existential reasons why I think we should all trade in our brand new iPhone 14 for a 4th gen iPod nano again. I am concerned with the speed and accessibility of modern society that has brought about the advance of the iPhone (and all Android comrades). With the iPod nano, you could still enjoy new technology without it controlling you. Today, with the umpteenth renewed mobile phone, it is the opposite.

Don’t get me wrong, the iPhone has given us many beautiful things, but has also sneaked into our lives due to its rapid development. Much of humanity now spends their lives scrolling endlessly on social media and can’t even remember it being any different a decade before. And it’s only going to get more. A whole generation is now growing up that knows nothing but online digital life, staring at screens, distracted by TikToks. Moreover, the next generation may be used to the Apple Reality headset in 20 years’ time and will no longer live in real life at all.

How the iPod nano and the iPhone 14 represent Apple

I get that I sound like one boomer which modern times can no longer grasp, but it goes beyond that. To me, the iPod nano is about listening to music together through a crappy splitter, rather than being “all alone” in a train compartment. For me, the nano stands for listening to music for the sake of listening to music, instead of as background music while doing the dishes.

The iPod nano represents Apple taking pleasure in the things the company made. For me, the iPhone 14 represents a tech giant that only changes the name of the new iPhone and also has the guts to make it (considerably) more expensive. And that’s why I just want to own an iPod nano again.