When you tend to think of the amazing products Apple has released over the years, the likes of the iPhone and MacBook will immediately spring to mind. But, what about the iPod, Apple Time Band, and Apple’s own answer to AOL with eWorld? While not quite as weird as Nintendo's out-there inventions like the Virtual Boy, remember we also spent actual money on iPod Socks. Of all Apple's forgotten tech, though, let's spare a thought for the iPod Hi-Fi.
Long before we had the Apple HomePod doing it all, we were shelling out $349 for the iPod Hi-Fi. The giant speaker designed to be used with your iPod was the coolest bit of tech when it was around, but that's just the problem…it wasn’t around for long.
Released in February 2006 and vanishing from our lives in September 2007, the iPod Hi-Fi lasted just 554 days.
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While the iPod Hi-Fi was just as well built as you'd expect an Apple product to be, it's high price tag and a lack of radio meant it was decimated by the competition. Still, as we love to unearth retro tech and some are shelling out $190,000 for an OG iPhone, the iPod Hi-Fi could make a serious comeback.
Over on Reddit, fans were cheering this obsolete bit of tech and saying that even in 2024, the iPod Hi-Fi can (almost) do it all.
One fan said: "If you still use an iPod it’s a steal at around $100. You don’t have to fiddle with Bluetooth or a phone call interrupting your music and there’s a remote so you can control it from across the room.
"As just a Bluetooth speaker it might not be as appealing but even then i feel like this gets way wider than a normal bluetooth speaker at the sub $100 mark. it’s a niche item for sure, that’s why it didn’t sell back then, but it’s far from a bad product."
Others pointed out that as well as picking them up for a decent price, you can buy Bluetooth adapters that sit in the 30-pin connector and will let you stream music from your iPhone.
See, as well as owning a bit of old Apple tech that could be worth something one day, you also get a great Bluetooth speaker that won't cost the same as an Apple HomePod.
Someone else added: "I got this used several years ago in 8.5/10 condition and I feel that this speaker didn't get the credit it deserved. What people may not have realized that the height an distance and even location of where its place can have a significant impact to how it sounds."
Many said they feel 'old' by remembering when the iPod Hi-Fi came out, and with 2006 being the year before the original iPhone came out, we can't help but echo the sentiment.
Unfortunately, it seems that others have had the same idea, as the iPod Hi-Fi is becoming increasingly hard to find. A quick search on eBay shows that the few auctions there are for them are becoming increasingly popular.
If you can nab an iPod Hi-Fi for yourselves, now might be the time to do it.