# The rise, fall, and rise of portable MP3 players

> This is The Stepback, a weekly newsletter breaking down one essential story from the tech world. For more on the collapse and the resurgence of the portable media player, follow Terrence O’Brien.

- **Source:** [The Verge](https://www.theverge.com/column/1003566/history-apple-ipod-mp3-music-player?utm_source=gearopen.com&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=feed&utm_content=6ac244e6db17ed12708396c6)
- **Published:** 2026-10-04
- **Category:** Phones
- **Tags:** #apple
- **Canonical:** http://localhost:4321/a/6ac244e6db17ed12708396c6

---

_GearOpen's distilled summary. The full original article is published at The Verge (source link above); GearOpen does not republish the source's full text._