The iPod Mini (stylized and marketed as the iPod mini) is a discontinued, smaller
digital audio player
A portable media player (PMP) (also including the related digital audio player (DAP)) is a portable consumer electronics device capable of storing and playing digital media such as audio, images, and video files. The data is typically stored o ...
that was designed and marketed by
Apple Inc.
Apple Inc. is an American multinational technology company headquartered in Cupertino, California, United States. Apple is the largest technology company by revenue (totaling in 2021) and, as of June 2022, is the world's biggest company ...
While it was sold, it was the midrange model in Apple's
iPod product line. It was announced on January 6, 2004, and released on February 20 of the same year. A second generation version was announced on February 23, 2005, and released immediately. While it was in production, it was one of the most popular electronic products on the market,
["supply shortages in Walmart: iPod Mini 2G, iPod Classic" - 2004 Walmart Announcement] with consumers often unable to find a retailer with the product in stock.
The iPod Mini was discontinued on September 7, 2005 after 1 year of being made, and was replaced by the
iPod Nano
The iPod Nano (stylised and marketed as iPod nano) is a discontinued portable media player designed and formerly marketed by Apple Inc. The first generation model was introduced on September 7, 2005, as a replacement for the iPod Mini, usin ...
.
The iPod Mini used the touch-sensitive scroll wheel of the third generation iPod. However, instead of the four touch buttons located above the wheel, the buttons were redesigned as mechanical switches beneath the wheel itself—hence the name ''click wheel''. To use one of the four buttons, the user physically pushes the edge of the wheel inward over one of the four labels. Like its predecessors, the wheel was developed for Apple by
Synaptics
Synaptics is a publicly owned San Jose, California-based developer of human interface (HMI) hardware and software, including touchpads for computer laptops; touch, display driver, and fingerprint biometrics technology for smartphones; and touc ...
. The click wheel was also used in the
fourth,
fifth and
sixth generation iPods and the iPod Nano, from first generation through the fifth; however, in the Nano and 5G iPods onwards, the click wheel used was developed by Apple.
Above the wheel was a monochrome 138x110 LCD that displayed a menu or information about the selected track. Newer-generation iPods have since adopted color displays.
Models
Details
The two generations of iPod Mini were almost identical in their external features, except for two noticeable differences: the first generation model has gray control symbols on the click wheel, while those on the second generation matched the color of the body, and the player's storage capacity was etched on the back of the second generation body. Their major functional differences lay in their storage capacity and battery life. Both versions were 3.6x2.0x0.5 inches (91x51x13 mm) and weigh 3.6
ounce
The ounce () is any of several different units of mass, weight or volume and is derived almost unchanged from the , an Ancient Roman unit of measurement.
The avoirdupois ounce (exactly ) is avoirdupois pound; this is the United States customa ...
s (102
gram
The gram (originally gramme; SI unit symbol g) is a unit of mass in the International System of Units (SI) equal to one one thousandth of a kilogram.
Originally defined as of 1795 as "the absolute weight of a volume of pure water equal to th ...
s). The case consists of
anodized
Anodizing is an electrolytic passivation process used to increase the thickness of the natural oxide layer on the surface of metal parts.
The process is called ''anodizing'' because the part to be treated forms the anode electrode of an electr ...
aluminium
Aluminium (aluminum in American and Canadian English) is a chemical element with the symbol Al and atomic number 13. Aluminium has a density lower than those of other common metals, at approximately one third that of steel. I ...
. First generation iPod Minis were available in five colors: silver, gold, pink, blue, and green. The gold model was dropped from the second generation range, likely due to its unpopularity. The pink, blue, and green models had brighter hues in the second generation; the silver model remained unchanged.
The iPod Mini used
Microdrive
The Microdrive is a registered trademark for miniature, 1-inch hard disks produced by IBM and Hitachi. These rotational media storage devices were designed to fit in CompactFlash (CF) Type II slots. The release of similar drives by other ...
hard drives (
CompactFlash II) made by
Hitachi and
Seagate. First generation models were available in a 4 GB size, while second generation models were available in both 4 GB and 6 GB versions (quoted as capable of storing roughly 1,000 and 1,500 songs, respectively) and eventually the second generation had the capacity
laser etched into the aluminum case.
The battery life of the first generation of iPod Mini was about 8 hours, similar to the third generation iPod that was available when the Mini was released, which some criticised for its short duration. Apple addressed this problem in the second generation models, which had a nominal battery life of about 18 hours. However, the second generation iPod Minis no longer came with a
FireWire cable or an
AC power adapter, which were left out to reduce the selling prices of the new iPod Minis. iPod Mini batteries, like many
Lithium Ion
A lithium-ion or Li-ion battery is a type of rechargeable battery which uses the reversible reduction of lithium ions to store energy. It is the predominant battery type used in portable consumer electronics and electric vehicles. It also se ...
batteries, run down to 80% capacity after 400 full charge cycles. A