5 September 2007 · iPod

iPod Classic (6th gen)

iPod Classic

iPod Classic (6th gen) product photograph

es:Usuario:House · CC BY-SA 3.0

Why it mattered

The 6th-generation iPod was the first to carry the name "classic", an admission that the iPhone and iPod touch were the future. It got an all-metal front and 80 GB or 160 GB drives, and then barely changed for seven years. When Apple discontinued it in September 2014, used prices rose; today it is a popular modding base with flash storage swapped in.

Models and prices

Model / configReleasedKey specsUS launch priceIn 2025 dollars (estimate)
iPod classic 80 GBSep 20071.8-inch HDD$249≈ $390
iPod classic 160 GBSep 2007thick HDD$349≈ $540
iPod classic 160 GB (thin)Sep 2009single model$249≈ $370

Inflation-adjusted prices are estimates: launch price × (US CPI-U 2025 annual average 321.943 ÷ CPI-U annual average of the launch year), rounded to the nearest $10. Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, series CUUR0000SA0. US list prices only; they ignore currency, taxes and carrier subsidies.

What came before and after

Before: iPod 5th gen (video). After: none; the iPod touch carried on until 2022.

Buying and collecting notes

Hard drives fail; many sellers swap in SD/flash adapters. Check the click wheel and headphone jack.

Questions

When was the iPod classic discontinued?
September 2014.
What capacities did the iPod classic come in?
80 GB and 160 GB in 2007, then 120 GB in 2008 and a single 160 GB model from 2009.
Why do people still buy the iPod classic?
Large local storage, a physical click wheel and moddability.
What replaced the iPod classic?
No direct replacement; Apple focused on the iPod touch and iPhone.

Sources

iPod Classic (6th gen) was released on 5 September 2007, alongside 2 other products.

The iPod Classic (stylized and marketed as iPod classic and originally simply iPod) is a discontinued portable media player created and formerly marketed by Apple.

There were six generations of the iPod Classic, as well as a spin-off (the iPod Photo) that was later re-integrated into the main iPod line. All generations used a 1.8-inch (46 mm) hard drive for storage. The "classic" suffix was formally introduced with the rollout of the sixth-generation iPod on September 5, 2007. Prior generations of the device had simply been marketed as the "iPod". It was available in silver or black from 2007 onwards, replacing the "signature iPod white".

On September 9, 2014, Apple discontinued the iPod Classic. The sixth-generation 160 GB iPod Classic was the last Apple product to use the original 30-pin dock connector and the distinctive click wheel.

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