Urban Outfitters Got Into the Vintage iPod Business

Last year, Apple announced the end of the iPod Touch — and with it, the end of the iPod as something that you could buy a new edition of from Apple. That doesn’t mean that there still aren’t iPods out there; it doesn’t take much digging to find a thriving community of people maintaining and upgrading old iPods in 2023.

It’s not hard to see why; the iPod Classic is a fantastic piece of industrial design, and there’s something to be said for having a dedicated device for one purpose that fulfills that purpose very well. (Full disclosure: I have an upgraded iPod classic here and am considering upgrading a second one.)

That said, it’s one thing when speciality electronics stores and mail-order businesses embrace customizing and transforming iPods — it’s something else when a large retailer enters the mix. As reported by Mashable, Urban Outfitters was selling souped-up first-generation iPods — by way of restoration company Retrospekt — for $199.00 apiece.

Urban Outfitters seems to have found a number of takers for the devices — as Mashable’s Elizabeth de Luna reported, the iPods are no longer available for sale, which feels like a good sign that they’re sold out. Retrospekt’s own inventory of refurbished iPods also appears to be tapped out at the moment.

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That doesn’t mean that there aren’t plenty of vintage iPods out there to buy — or plenty of parts and kits to upgrade yours at home, if you’re so inclined. As of this writing, the company Elite Obsolete Electronics currently has a number of different iPods for sale, from the first generation of the device on through more recent iterations of it.

As someone who’s found a lot to like about revisiting having a dedicated music player on hand, I heartily recommend the experience. It’s a welcome reminder that not every device needs to do everything — and of the elegant design of the old-school iPod.