We want to hear from you! What was your first-ever Apple device?

Steve Jobs speaking about the iPod on stage — (Image credit: Kim Kulish/Corbis via Getty Images)

Jump to:

Apple memories from Tom's Guide

Like millions of others, my first Apple device was an iPod. To be specific, the 2nd-generation iPod Classic. I can’t recall the exact date I got it, but it was pre-owned and it must have been sometime around late 2003. It was scratched, monochrome and I lost the iconic white headphones early on. But that little white brick changed everything for me.

It’s hard to overstate how mind-blowing it was to have that much music available all at once in a single gadget. There was no need to carry a stack of cassettes or CDs around with you just to listen to a different album. I was team Sony at the time, owning both a Discman CD player and an MZ-R70 MiniDisc Player. But with both of those formats, you had to plan ahead what you wanted to listen to before leaving the house. The iPod and MP3s changed all that.

The second-generation iPod was the first iPod that worked with Windows and, to this day, is the only piece of tech I’ve ever used that needed a FireWire connection to work!

Article continues below

I eventually progressed through to future iPod models, eventually becoming an iPhone user and then, later, getting my first iPad. The only thing I regret is not holding onto that original iPod, as it would probably be a collector’s item by now.

The original iPod — (Image credit: Apple)

But enough about me, I want to hear from you!

Let me know in the poll below what your first Apple product was. Similarly, please drop into the comments box underneath this article to share your own memories!

Apple memories from Tom's Guide

I asked a few of my colleagues for their memories of early Apple devices and, like me, many of them picked up an iPod as their first gateway into the world of Apple. Here are their thoughts.

Nikita Achanta — Senior Writer, Reviews (iPod Shuffle)

My first Apple product was the 1st gen iPod Shuffle — the one that looked like a USB stick. I remember very vividly returning from a road trip with my family and dropping subtle hints that I wanted an iPod. It was cool and I was blown away by the idea of being able to carry my music anywhere in such a small device. We then went to the store and picked it up.

I honestly can't remember disliking anything about it because as a 10-year-old, my knowledge of tech was very limited, but I remember absolutely loving using the white wired earbuds with them. I felt like I was an edgy teen hanging out at a skatepark in a Disney show.

Once it had lived its life, I moved on to the iPod Nano and then the iPod Touch. I still use my iPod Touch nowadays — it reminds me of a simpler time.

Martin Shore — Staff Writer, Streaming (iPod Nano)

All of the iPods, including iPod Classic, touch and shuffle — (Image credit: Apple)

I still remember feeling like the 3rd Gen iPod Nano that I unwrapped at Christmas in 2007 was a revelation. Up to that point, my portable media experience was limited to trying (and failing) to find a way to cram a portable CD player into my pockets.

However, now I was armed with a mighty 8GB worth of storage space, which was more than enough to ensure I would never be separated from all my favorite 2000s CDs (i.e. every Linkin Park, My Chemical Romance, Paramore and Green Day album that I owned) which I dutifully uploaded to iTunes. I miss that Click Wheel, too. Yes, I know touch screens are more convenient, and I did eventually move on to an iPod Touch, but I was real fond of cycling back and forth through all my albums with that nifty, clicky interface.

Ella Taylor — Engagement Editor (Macintosh LC)

My first encounter with an Apple product was a desktop Mac – I think the Macintosh LC – which my mom invested in for work but my brother and I were allowed to use too.

It was the mid-90s and I remember her and my grandad asserting that Macs couldn’t get viruses like PCs could! I loved that it was different from my friends’ computers, but as we got older we grew frustrated that the computer games we wanted to play weren’t compatible with Macs, so eventually we got a family PC too.

I circled back to Macs during my journalism training and upon starting work in magazines, where the Adobe publishing tools all ran off Macs, and have never looked back. I definitely blame that early grounding for my fondness of Macs!

Mike Prospero — U.S. Editor-in Chief (Apple IIGS)

Like many of my generation, I was introduced to Apple products in my elementary school in the late 80s, which had an entire computer lab filled with Apple's desktops. The company was pretty aggressive in those days with the educational sector.

I don't recall what games or activities we did on the computer, but for some reason I remember the model number — and that it had a color screen. Although many of us would go on to use PCs as we got older, the memory of the Mac stayed with me, and I've been using one ever since.

Follow Tom's Guide on Google News and add us as a preferred source to get our up-to-date news, analysis, and reviews in your feeds.

More from Tom's Guide

TOPICS