the full and detailed history of every single iPod color ever released

iPod classic

1st generation, 2nd generation, and 3rd generation

October 23, 2001 – July 17, 2002 – April 23, 2003

The first three generations of iPod were available only in White with the classic chrome back. For the 3rd generation, there was going to be a blue version as part of the HP partnership, but Steve Jobs squashed that.

• White

Or check out the real-life images of iPod (3rd generation)

4th generation

July 19, 2004

At launch in July 2004, the 4th generation iPod was only available in White.

• White

October 26, 2004

Alongside the iPod photo, Apple also introduced a special U2 Special Edition of the iPod (4th generation). The front of the iPod was black and the Click Wheel was red. The back plate had signatures of U2 band members.

• U2 Special Edition

iPod photo / iPod with color display

October 26, 2004

Launched in October 2004, the iPod photo was only available in White.

• White

June 28, 2005

When Apple merged the iPod photo and iPod lines, creating the “iPod with color display”, they also released an updated U2 Special Edition to match the “new” iPod.

• U2 Special Edition

5th generation

October 12, 2005

At launch in October 2005, the iPod (5th generation) came in White and Black. These color options affected only the front of the iPod; both models continued to have the classic chrome back.

• White
• Black

June 6, 2006

Like with the last two iPods, Apple introduced a U2 Special Edition of the 5th generation iPod. This time around though, the back was a dark gray, which you can see here.

• U2 Special Edition

6th generation “classic”

September 5, 2007

The 6th generation iPod, or iPod classic, had two color options at launch in September 2007. They were also the first iPod classic model to switch to using an aluminum front. All models retained the stainless steel chrome back.

• Silver
• Black

September 9, 2008

Alongside the new iPod nano (4th generation), Apple updated the Black color option to be a lighter shade of gray, matching the new nano.

• Silver
• Black

iPod mini

1st generation

January 6, 2004

The iPod mini, launched in January 2004, came in five muted colors:

• Silver
• Gold
• Blue
• Pink
• Green

2nd generation

February 23, 2005

The 2nd generation, released in February 2005, came with similar color options. But this time, the colors were much more vibrant and the text on the click wheel was color-matched.

• Silver
• Blue
• Green
• Pink

iPod shuffle

1st generation

January 11, 2005

The 1st generation iPod shuffle, launched in January 2005, was only available in White.

• White

2nd generation

The 2nd generation iPod shuffle had multiple color option revisions over the years. At its launch in September 2006, the iPod shuffle (2nd generation) had just one color option: Silver.

• Silver

January 30, 2007

Just a few months after release, Apple added four new colors to the lineup:

• Silver
• Pink
• Green
• Blue
• Orange

September 5, 2007

Alongside the launch of the iPod nano (3rd generation), Apple refreshed the colors of the shuffle to better match the nano’s new colors:

• Silver
• Blue (yes, it looks teal)
• PRODUCT(RED) (yes, it looks kinda pink)
• Green
• Purple

September 9, 2008

Once again, alongside the latest nano (this time the 4th generation), the iPod shuffle got a new color lineup:

• Silver
• Blue
• Green
• PRODUCT(RED)
• Pink

Mid-2009 AVON Special Edition

Sometime mid-2009, despite the 3rd generation iPod shuffle having already been released, cosmetics company Avon held a promotion: purchase $75 worth of items, and then you could get an iPod shuffle 2nd generation in this special, Avon-exclusive Gold color for $29. This seems to be an official partnership with Apple, since it came with a full one-year warranty and the Gold model had a specific order number: MC167LL/A. The iPod was also engraved “A V O N” in the standard Apple engraving style. You can read more about this campaign here, and you can view a promotional image for it here.

• Gold

3rd generation

March 11, 2009

In March 2009, Apple finally updated the iPod shuffle (which they really wanted you to know could now talk). It came in two colors at launch. All models of the 3rd generation shuffle also have a polished stainless steel clip, similar in style to the back of every iPod classic.

• Silver
• Black

September 9, 2009

Alongside the iPod nano (5th generation), Apple released some new color options for the shuffle. Apple also launched a quite stunning Special Edition model, which came in a polished stainless steel. I am unaware of any name for this color besides “Special Edition”.

• Silver
• Black
• Pink
• Blue
• Green
• Special Edition (Stainless Steel)

4th generation

September 1, 2010

The 4th generation iPod shuffle was one of Apple’s longest-sold products, sold from September 2010 until July 2017. At launch, the 4th generation iPod shuffle came in the same glossy style as the 5th and 6th generation iPod nano:

• Silver
• Blue
• Green
• Orange
• Pink

September 12, 2012

Alongside the new iPod touch (5th generation) and iPod nano (7th generation), Apple refreshed the colors of the iPod shuffle to match the new nano. They were also matte, like the new iPods.

• Pink
• Yellow
• Blue
• Green
• Purple
• Silver
• Slate
• PRODUCT(RED)

September 10, 2013

As with all other Slate products available at the time, the Slate option was replaced with Space Gray.

• Space Gray

July 15, 2015

With the release of the 6th generation iPod touch, Apple updated the color options for all iPod models:

• Silver
• Gold
• Space Gray
• Blue
• Pink
• PRODUCT(RED)

iPod nano

1st generation

September 7, 2005

The 1st generation iPod nano, launched in September 2005, was designed to match the 5th generation iPod. Therefore, it had the same Black and White color options. Both options had the same stainless steel silver back.

• Black
• White

Or check out the real-life images

2nd generation

September 12, 2006

At launch in September 2006, the 2nd generation was available in five colors:

• Silver
• Green
• Blue
• Pink
• Black

For the 2 GB model, Silver was the only option. For the 4 GB model, all but Black were available. For the 8 GB model, Black was the only option.

October 13, 2006

Shortly after launch, Apple added a PRODUCT(RED) option for the 4 GB and 8 GB model.

• PRODUCT(RED)

Or check out the real-life images

3rd generation

September 5, 2007

At launch in September 2007, the 3rd generation iPod nano came in five colors. All color options had the same classic chrome back.

• Silver
• Black
• Blue
• Green
• (PRODUCT)RED (yes, it looks kinda pink)

The 4 GB model was only available in Silver.

January 22, 2008

A few months after the launch of this generation, Apple added a “highly requested” Pink option to the lineup (8 GB only).

• Pink

4th generation

September 9, 2008

The famously nano-chromatic 4th generation nano launched in September 2008 with nine color options, which were never updated.

• Silver
• Blue
• Purple
• Green
• Orange
• Yellow
• Pink
• Black
• PRODUCT(RED)

(if you were wondering where this project got it’s name from, now you know!)

5th generation

September 9, 2009

Similar to the 4th generation nano, iPod nano (5th generation) also came in nine colors that weren’t updated after it launched in September 2009. The color options are the same as the 4th generation, but this time, the body was made of “gorgeous polished aluminum” instead of the previous matte style.

• Silver
• Blue
• Purple
• Green
• Orange
• Yellow
• Pink
• Black
• PRODUCT(RED)

6th generation

September 1, 2010

Like the 5th generation, the 6th generation iPod nano came in polished aluminum when it was launched in September 2010.

• Silver
• Graphite
• Blue
• Green
• Orange
• Pink
• (PRODUCT)RED

7th generation

September 12, 2012

The 7th and final generation of iPod nano, launched in September 2012, saw the return to matte aluminum.

• Pink
• Yellow
• Blue
• Green
• Purple
• Silver
• Slate
• PRODUCT(RED)

September 10, 2013

As with all other Slate products available at the time, the Slate option was replaced with Space Gray.

• Space Gray

July 15, 2015

With the release of the 6th generation iPod touch, Apple updated the color options for all iPod models:

• Blue
• Silver
• Gold
• Space Gray
• Pink
• PRODUCT(RED)

iPod touch

1st generation, 2nd generation, and 3rd generation

September 5, 2007 – September 9, 2008 - September 9, 2009

The first three generations of iPod touch had a Black front and chrome back.

• Black

4th generation

September 1, 2010

The 4th generation iPod touch’s color options only affected the front glass. Both models still had a shiny chrome back. At launch in September 2010, Black was the only option.

• Black

October 12, 2011

A little over a year after its initial release, alongside the release of iOS 5, Apple updated the iPod touch lineup to include a White option. Apple announced this change in advance when the iPhone 4S was announced.

• Black
• White

Or check out the real-life images

5th generation

September 12, 2012

The 5th generation iPod touch was the first to have some real color options. When it was announced in September 2012, it came in ”five vibrant colors”. Except there was actually a sixth, the special PRODUCT(RED) version that was available exclusively through Apple.

• Black and Slate
• White and Silver
• Pink
• Yellow
• Blue
• PRODUCT(RED)

May 30, 2013

In May 2013, Apple announced a new iPod touch model that featured 16GB of storage and no back camera. This iPod touch only came in one color option: a black front with a silver back. According to the box and website code for this model, it was called Black/Silver.

• Black/Silver

September 10, 2013

With the release of iOS 7, all devices with a Slate option were replaced with a Space Gray option to better match the new style. White and Silver was also renamed to just Silver.

• Space Gray

June 26, 2014

In June 2014, Apple essentially discontinued the previous 16 GB model and added a 16 GB configuration to the standard iPod touch (5th generation). However, this was branded as bringing the colors and back camera to the 16 GB model. The color options did not update.

• Space Gray
• Silver
• Pink
• Yellow
• Blue
• PRODUCT(RED)

Or check out the real-life images

6th generation and 7th generation

July 15, 2015 – May 28, 2019

With the release of the 6th generation iPod touch, Apple updated all existing iPod lines to offer the same colors:

• Blue
• Silver
• Gold
• Space Gray
• Pink
• PRODUCT(RED)

These colors lasted until the discontinuation of the last iPod touch in 2022. Fun fact, the iPod touch (7th generation) joins the very first iPod in being the only two models to not use Myriad Pro. The first iPod used Apple Garamond, while the iPod touch (7th generation) used SF Pro.

Or check out the real-life images

i hope you found this project useful! i spent months designing this site, finding images, cleaning them up, comping them together, and for the reference cards, often creating images of all the colors from just one high-res image. i also put many hours into my research to ensure that everything is accurate and complete. spot an issue? let me know!

want more like this? check out my other project, 9:41 Archive!