Apple Introduces the First iPod (2001)

Apple introduced the iPod on October 23, 2001 with a promise short enough for a billboard: 1,000 songs in your pocket. The original stored them on a 5 GB hard drive and could load a whole CD in under 10 seconds over FireWire, the practical details that explain why it beat the bulkier players already on sale. For anyone studying launches, this is where Apple's later formula takes shape: one device, one plain promise, and a direct link to the company's own software, here iTunes, which synced the music automatically. It is a modest event next to the keynotes that follow, which makes the template easier to see.