The ULTIMATE iPod Tier List! 

Seeing my fav pod at a D stings a little but fair enough as it was the first "cheap" full sized iPod, worse screen than the 3G with less stuff included. At least it charged over USB! I still love you Mono4G 💋

"Even though that model had a measly 512 'GB' of storage" - iPod shuffle 😂 11:45

Up until the iPod was finally cancelled, I always wished that Apple did one last hurrah for the Classic. Stick an SSD in it, give it an absolute tonne of storage, a great DAC, and make it a bit of a celebration of everything the iPod was. The Classic had a pretty big cult following towards the end of the iPod’s life and I’m kinda surprised they didn’t do something like this. Wouldn’t have sold tonnes but I feel like it would’ve made a lot of people very happy. I also had a 3rd gen nano. Amazing iPod and still one of my favourite ever Apple products (but my M1 Air is king).

The 4th Gen iPod Touch not getting iOS 7 update is because of its 256mb of RAM, just like the 1st gen iPad. The iPhone 4 comes with 512mb.

This feels wrong without a green iPad.

We need Snazzy to do a deep dive into DACs on consumer electronics. Especially which ones to get in the Apple Universe for good music playback. Support the audiophiles out there!

11:50 ohh how long we’ve been on gigabytes / terabytes for you to not notice that little flub :p

The 7th gen Nano is definitely a very flawed device. But there's just something about it... I don't know what it is, but I really like it. Still use mine fairly regularly.

i think DankPods would approve of your presentation, well done.

Quinn, I think that I enjoy your Tier List videos the most (out of other channels’ lists), because you back it up with informed history of the devices, which make them extra-nostalgic and fun to see! Thank you!!

as a kid i was on a plane back from london, looking through a magazine and seeing the first gen ipod shuffle. I then looked at the floor and boom. just like magic it was lying there. I simply took it without asking anybody if they dropped/lost it and... was the happiest kid on that plane for sure. used it for many years and really loved that small thing. I really hope the owner didn't regret their loss that much and would have been proud of how much happiness this ipod brought me

Now release the iPod sock tier list! 🧦

The 6th-gen Nano was my first Apple device. I bought it with my own money in first grade, I believe. It was so awesome. The first time I saw the low battery screen is a memory that is forever implanted into my brain: it was this white screen with (I think) two yellow danger icons (⚠️) and low battery icon in the middle with big text saying “LOW BATTERY. CHARGE NOW.” That was the most terrifying shit as a 6 year old. I ran away to my dad sobbing.

I have a SD card modified 5.5G iPod Video and the DAC is just incredible. Super happy with the fact you gave it an S tier. My first iPod was a 2nd gen Touch and I was absolutely pissed that it never got iOS 4.3, because that's what Minecraft Pocket Edition needed. I even tried jailbreaking it to see if I could fake the version so it would install, I was that desperate as a kid. I remember enabling wallpapers that way and it ran just fine.

I loved the 4th generation Nano marketing as a kid. I thought the rainbow barf was such a unique way of advertising it. My funny story with it is that my middle school did a lot of art projects with students and the teacher on the walls around the time I went there, so there’s a mural of 4th gen Nanos by the office. It’s also right by a bunch of “self portraits” students did right before I got there, so around 2008-2009. And they’re all memes and stuff that was relevant at that time. So my middle school hallways are stuck in the mid-late 2000s 😂

I remember I bought an iPod touch 4th generation in a trip to the US in 2011. It was so far ahead of the flip phones of that era that it stunned me and a lot of friends from high school asked me to play games in that between classes. A few years after that the smartphone revolution swiped through, but the iPod touch will always be the device that blew my mind on what would become commonplace in the future.

A girl in my HS used to pretend her iPod touch was an iPhone till someone asked to make a call on it She never recovered from that

When Apple recalled the 1st gen nano my wife opted in for a replacement and they sent her a 6th gen nano. Pretty nice upgrade.

The first iPod Touch was my first “modern” Apple product. I got it in Kuwait during my first deployment before heading to Iraq. That thing with me on 3 deployments. I was amazed how fluid the touch interface was compared to other touch devices I had. Got me through a lot.

My personal favorite and the one I use the most is the 160GB 7th gen Classic, the final one of its lineage (with the software 2.0.5 only for it) - I got it at a local store for 70 bucks and I’ve named it “Golden Boy.”

After the classic change from 80/160GB to 120GB, does have one last edition bringing back 160GB if I remember correctly. Mine is still rocking after all those years.

So many memories. My dad still has half a dozen shuffles in his drawer. I forgot the buttonless shuffle. I remember selling it in the apple stores and everyone not liking it. The USB stick shufle was a huge hit for christmas.

Felt like a proud dad when you were praising the 3rd Gen. nano. That thing NEVER left my side all throughout my middle school days - good times

I know how we listen to music is different now, but I still have my own music library and I wish Apple would bring back "Cover Flow" to the music app. It was just magical to me to scroll in that layout. I still use the "iTunes artwork" screensaver and EVERYONE comments on how cool it is and they never knew that it was a built-in option for over a decade. The way Steve talked about music in his presentations was with great passion and it showed in his UI choices.

Still use a couple of 5.5 and 6th generation ones for travel purposes and in my car as a music source The fact I can set up playlists for moods still makes me very happy

Snazzy does that pencil you got charge properly? I had to return an extremely similar one from Amazon because it would only charge for a few seconds after attaching to the side of the iPad.

The first Apple device I ever owned was a 7th-generation iPod Nano. I loved that thing.

Love your tier list videos. Fun taking a history trip through the years.

My iPod Touch 4th generation was my first portable smart device. Absolutely loved that thing.

I had the nano 5 that I had won in a competition! Still feel nostalgic seeing it here. (Only because I lost it and was never able to get another 😢). Glad to see it make the A tier

this felt more like looking at the evolution of modern UI of hardware devices. I really liked this video and learned a lot, Quinn explaining how good it was for devices each of it's time was so great to hear, because it one of the most important thing engineering wise, but also so easy to forget, what it was like back than. Wish more people could watch this video.

Nice thing about the mini is that the hard drive interface matches with a cf card. Popped mine open and replaced the drive with a 32gb card and it's snappy and great to use.

What a beautiful trip down memory lane, oh how I miss the simplicity of the early 2000s when everything was so new and cool, amazing amazing video!!!

I remember me and my brother getting the 4th gen iPod touch for Christmas. It was an absolute dream, the fact that I could play games on it, watch Netflix and RU-vid, use FaceTime to talk to people and take photos. It was my first ever introduction into the world of smart devices and was the stepping stone for fascination with technology and I’m forever thankful to my parents for gifting me with such technology as a kid.

Thank you for acknowledging my childhood. Still keeping my fingers crossed for an updated classic which supports lossless- I know it won’t happen but one can dream…

I had the last shuffle and 4th Gen Ipod touch. Loved them both. Recently bought a used Nano 3rd and 5th gen, as memorabilia.

Fantastic video Quinn. I have 2 favorites. The iPod touch 4 and the iPod Classic 7th. Loved these two devices. Still use them in fact. The most compelling use these things have is in older cars that don’t have Carplay. It’s a fantastic thing to keep and charge in your car.

To answer your question as to why the iPhone 4 was able to receive iOS 7 but iPod Touch 4th gen was not, it’s because the Touch only had half the RAM of the iPhone 4 (256MB vs 512MB). I remember this because I actually had a 4th gen Touch, and was super salty about being locked out of the flashy new design of iOS 7 at the time.

28:59: I think the wrist stap purpose was, that you could use the device as a compact camera alternative.

😂 The Steve Jobs book said that he regretted the U2 and HP iPod right away.

I posted a short about my iPod recently and now I am binging content! this video is great! I loved my iPod but I didn't get one until the 5th generation. I'm going to bring mine back to life.

5.5 gen iPod was the last iPod I think to feature a Wolfson DAC which is important if you miss the warm sound of the earlier models, and the .5 upgrade gave it a search function and I think more RAM. It's what I use regularly now with 512GB solid state storage installed, and like you I had a 3G iPod that I used from 2003 to at least 2015, with an upgraded 80GB drive installed. It couldn't sync over FW400 anymore after the upgrade and I tried to find some firmware fix but never could. The HDD broke sometime in 2016 or so but I still have it.

It's crazy seeing the Jobs and Post-Jobs era so starkly.

Great Video. I just found my black Classic the other day. Couldn't throw it out so now I have it displayed on my pegboard wall with all my A/V tools.

Glad to know which ones have good dacs and which ones don’t. I didn’t know that. Makes me want to get a 1st gen Shuffle!

I had the privilege of owning several iPods throughout the years, but the 1st gen Mini is definitely my favorite. That blue glow from the screen makes me feel like a kid again.

Gotta object to the fourth-gen iPod ranking - it improved the controls and enabled charging through USB! It was the first big iPod that people on any platform could use without compromises.

What a cool video. Absolutely agree with your tier list Love it

I still use my 7th gen nano. The battery doesn't hold a good charge anymore, so I've attached it to a small battery bank. The best feature about this nano is the volume rocker and play/pause button on the side so I can change songs without looking at the screen. It's a nice feature when used in the car.

This year I won an iPod Classic, 120GB. I work in a Hotel and someday my boss found this extremely conserved iPod Classic, without the box, but with the original charger and charging dock and he told me "I was about to throw this away anyway, would you like to keep it?" and I didn't think twice. SOUNDS AMAZING. It's cool because I don't depend on my phone anymore to listen to music, so I don't need to take it when I'm out at a coffee shop. Of course, it's an extra device to do what my phone already does, but for me it's a Quality of Life improvement.

The iPod shuffle really has the best dac? How does it compare to a usb dragonfly dac? I use that with my macpro but curious is the iPod sounds better?

About the 6th/7th gen classics, I could be mistaking some details but apparently the crappier 6 gen came in both 80gb and 160gb capacity, whereas the better 7 gen (or revisioned 6 gen I guess) was available in 120gb and 160gb. Some sources I see refer to the 120gb as 6.5 gen lol; It's a lil convoluted as there is no true official generational distinction attached to the models by Apple. I got a 160gb 7 gen from the apple store mere months before it was discontinued circa 2014? And my main gripe was I preferred the true black shell of the 6 gen vs the space gray shell of the 7 gen that I got, plus the 6 was a lil chunkier which I found cuter 😅 in hindsight I'm glad I didn't get the 6 gen if it truly had those issues. I still use my 7gen today. I also feel vindicated that anyone else loves the 3rd gen nano, it's my fav.

My first iPod was the 4th gen nano. I bought a 4th gen iPod Touch later. I used both quite a bit. Over the past few years I collected a iPod 4th gen classic mono and photo, a 5.5 gen, a 3rd gen nano, and I bought the 7th gen Touch before they sold out. For iPhones I had the 6s, XR, 12 mini, and now the 14 Plus. I have spent, at this point, over $1000 trying to get really good sound out of the iPhone. Both the 4 and 5.5 gen classic iPods sound better then any combination of headphones/earbuds, dongles, and Bluetooth DAC/amps I have thrown at my phones.

Yay for someone else who loves the 3rd gen Nano. So many people seem to hate on this iPod but I love it!

I bought a late 2009 iPod Classic in perfect condition a few days ago. What a beautiful piece of hardware it is. And I really enjoy mindful music listening, without notifications and distractions.

Cool to see such a condensed run through of all the releases. The iPod touch holds a special place for me, as it got me into jailbreaking. Ended up jailbreaking idk how many devices for friends. The funny part was when they would ask if I needed their pin, and I'd be like nope, can get right past it. Little unsettling in hindsight.

Thank you for rating my first and favorite iPod well ❤ (The Nano 5th Generation). As I was in my early teen years when I picked up this iPod second hand I fell in love with it for the amazing finish of the colors of the iPod, the built in speaker for playing back music (didn’t sound great over the speaker but it was still nice to have) and playing back audio from the videos I shot on it as I have lots of videos I filmed and backed up to my PC as that was my only video camera I owned. Cover flow was amazing and I loved it so much I even paid a developer to create a jailbreak tweak called “CoverFlowM” to bring it back to iOS after it was removed on iOS 8.4 and still use it to this day on my iPhone 11 Pro on iOS 14.8. As far as the Nano 7th Generation I personally would have rated it a little better as I love the colors offered with it as well and like the fact that there was at least one iPod that wasn’t an online based device that had Bluetooth included! I love using it in the car and using the center click button between the volume up and down to skip forward and back tracks without needing to look down. Overall great video and I don’t really disagree with much else as far as rankings (: Was fun to watch as I own every iPod Nano, Shuffle, and almost every Classic and Touch 

The 3rd gen iPod Shuffle is great if you have a compatible aux cable. It's the only iPod Shuffle that had a 4GB option. I would also like to add that there were 3 versions of the metal faceplate iPod Classic. 2007 80/160, 2008 120, and 2009 160. The difference between the 2008 and 2009 versions might seem negligible, but it's not negligible to modders! The 2009 160GB model is the only one that can be modded with more than 128GB of flash storage (yes, even the 2007 160GB model doesn't support 160GB flash storage).

This was one of my favorites in a while-- Going to find my nano 1st gen to check the DAC quality

Everybody used that iPod nano 6 as a watch. :)

My first iPod was the iPod Nano 6th Gen. Used it as both a watch and a music player. However, I fell out of love with it as I come out of my teens. But after seeing the iPod Touch being discontinued, I had decided to buy a second-hand iPod Touch to enjoy music again

The OG iPod def has to be S tier just because it’s the OG

I have a first gen I pod shuffle but it won't hold any charge. Is there anything I can do?

I really don't remember paying for the update to my 1st Gen iPod Touch. And after I purchased it, they released the 32GB model. So, I returned my 16GB. The processor was bad though. So, I agree there. Just outside of a year, I had to visit apple due to it excessive lag, and they just said "you know how older products are", "Huh!?" 😂

I agree with everything on the list, except the iPod Nano 4th gen, it was the first with the oval shape and absolutely thin sides that seemed impossible, the colors were fun and it was overall very popular, i would have put it on B.

The radio receivers on the ipods were amazing in quality it became my primary use case for my ipods, and I love the pause feature

I have a specially modded iPod. It's a 5th Gen with a 256GB flash mod and a 3,000mAh battery. It runs forever and with the Wolfson DAC, sounds pretty good. It also won't skip, because it's entirely solid state. I could have just gotten one of the last gen iPod Touch models, but what's the fun in that?

I’ve only ever had two iPods, an iPod 4th gen with a black and white screen, and an iPod touch 4th gen. The first one made school bus trips more bearable as I didn’t have to listen to the bus driver’s radio station choice. The second one lasted well after my time in college as my computer at the time couldn’t connect to the iPhone I had, so I was briefly rocking an iPod touch and an iPhone simultaneously. Once I upgraded to a new Mac, the iPod touch joined my retired tech.

i have a 7th gen nano and while it is disappointing compared to earlier iPods it is good enough, it did come standard with 16gb which was nice but that was the only capacity. also something great about most iPods is that in BMW cars and cars made by BMW like MINI it has great software support in the sense that you can plug your iPod in and control it from the car, you can even individually browse songs and playlists.

Good analysis. I have both the thick and thin iPod classic. Gonna have to do an close listening A-B comparison with good headphones since I have never previously noticed a difference.

Small correction at 20:50, there was a 7th gen 160GB model of the iPod Classic. It was slim and had the new DAC. The slim have the curved headphone jack, the fatter originals did not. If I recall this was the last iteration of the classic to ever be made.

I still have my Shuffle 4th laying around. But will always regret not asking a Nano 6th for Christmas instead. That squared display was just so so cute omg

the thinnest ipod is 6.9mm (iphone 6) but great video, loved visiting back. I'm happy with my 7th gen classic which Ibought just before they became collectible.

For terms of listening to while studying and portability, i would say, the nano 7th gen. I like it because of how thin it is and the limited space for media, there's a paradox of choice when you can cram your whole library into an ipod. The nano makes you choose your favorites. But i love my modded classic, i haven't really had to charge it for like a 3rd of a year.

Music Match... Now there's a name i haven't heard in some time. This was a blast to the past! Thanks, Quinn!

I had the Ipod touch 1st gen when it came out with the 32gb option. I don't remember it not having the App store though. I loved that thing though, I wish I could go back and play some of those games, unfortunately stuck on 32bit app store. I don't remember having to pay for IOS updates, is that true? Edit: wow you did have to pay, i'm guessing mine came preinstalled with IOS 2 and then I never updated it because I already had the app store.

I like the wrist strap loop on the iPod Touch 5th gen, I replicate this with a bungee type cage I pop over my iPhone when I am taking pictures on holiday; you'd be surprised at the number of times you're wanting to take a picture that if you dropped your phone at that time, you'd lose it - in a river, off a bridge, off a cliff, etc etc

Awesome video as always Quinn. I totally agree with all the list.

So glad you love the "fat Nano"! I got one each for my sisters, and they loved them too.. and one of them lasted 10 years or more. I could never understand why people hated them.

Great video, I just think the iPod 5.5G was worth mentioning in the video. (, if the U2 iPods have a place, the 5.5 for sure deserves a place). The best DAC and the first to introduce Search.

You missed the Gen 7. That was 160gb. The 120gb was a 6.5 model.

dang you really hurt my soul with the U2 iPod, love that thing. its so cool.

Great video! I can't say I really disagree with your rankings. My first iPod was the 5th gen video that I purchased with the money I got for Christmas. I loved that thing! In many ways the iPod is what started my journey to getting hooked on Apple products.

The first gen ipod mini was my first ipod it was great, then the nano came out like a year later and I was feeling the buyers remorse. I got the 4th gen touch and that was my last ipod. the pictures and videos were fun and the games, it was a great time. My friend got a zune hd at the same time and that was pretty cool too. We were always trying to compete with each others players, good times.

I love the iPod, I had an iPod Nano, it was so cool! Thanks for the trip down the memory lane.

my dad bought the iPod Photo for my fam and I remember being heavily confused on why It didnt play video since all my friends had the iPod Video, on the flip side he got it on clearance and it was a great for listening music

my first ipod was the 1st gen Shuffle that i got for christmas 2005 when I was 8. Had that until the Ipod classic came out. Then had ipod touch 1 but had so much music i was still using my classic. Used it until i got the iphone 4 but still had to use my classic lol. Then i got a Galaxy S3 and also used my classic with it. So i guess my favorite is the classic based on how long I used it for.

13:10 the screen getting scratched by just lookimg at it 😂😂😂

The iPod touch 2g is my favorite definition of "not good".

I used so many great iPods, but my S tier would definitely have to be iPod Touch 4th Gen, iPod Mini 1st Gen, iPod Nano 2nd Gen, & iPod Classic 6th Gen

@12:42 -- I wondered if that could be really 4 millimeters, because the headphone jack is already 3.5 mm in diameter. According to wikipedia it's 6.9 mm

I also had the iPod 3rd gen. Loved it, my first apple experience. Still have it but broken parts, just bought a “new” one so I can get it up and running:) Great video

i can't believe that the ipod that invented the clickwheel, had the first metal body, introduced colors, and was under $250 got ranked under a pod that had an exploding battery recall and one that had a button set up that nobody remembers and still needed firewire to charge.

I agree with every single placement. Amazing list. Koss KSC75 and my 1st Generation iPod Shuffle still get play time every week.

My favorite iPod is the 5th gen touch, i have it in blue and that thing was always in my pocket, i used it through pretty much all of college and even a year after that i still carried it everywhere, it sounded really good and it took great pictures!, it is unbearably slow now but i still love it, i would say it is my favorite device ever.

you made me search my iPod classic serial number and it turns out mine is a 160gb iPod classic from late 2009??? you didn't mention it here I wanna know if this particular one I have has the same good DAC you said the 7th gen has? apparently this late 2009 model has only the option for 160gb help

I love the 3rd gen too, even though I admit that the button built into the wheel later on was faster to use. I wish they would have kept the lit up buttons, so much better to use in the dark

I can't believe I watched a 30 minute video ranking every ipod ever

First of all: great video! But I have to say that the touch 1 hasn't aged badly at all (except that you need a PhD to open iTunes without it crashing), and everything runs very smoothly on iOS 3, the touch 4 or especially the touch 5 run much worse today. AppStore, Weather and Mail were also added via software update (although I understand iPods are ranked from a launch perspective). I use mine almost every day. I would also disagree with the Shuffle 1 because, like the Shuffle 2, unlike the Shuffle 3 and 4, it does not support podcasts. I have to say about the touch 2 that it was a huge update compared to the touch 1. Not only speakers and Bluetooth, but also mundane things like a volume rocker have been added here, which is why I think it should be ranked as high as the touch 1. Interestingly, iOS 4 that runs on the touch 2 is the only iOS version up to iOS 7 on which the iTunes store is still fully functional today. My rating is of course much more based on today's perspective and I'm not an audiophile either and hardly even rate sound quality.

The A4 SoC in the iPod touch actually had half the RAM of the iPhone version. That's probably why it never received iOS 7 like the iPhone 4.