iPod nano (2005)

The first nano replaced the hard disk with flash memory while keeping a color display and Click Wheel in a pocket-sized body.

Specs

Launch and context

Apple introduced it on September 7, 2005 with immediate availability. Launch configurations were 2 GB for $199 and 4 GB for $249 in the US, in white or black. The 1 GB model arrived on February 7, 2006, rather than at the 2005 launch. It replaced iPod mini, but its flash storage differed from the mini's hard disk. [nano-launch, nano-spec]

How Apple presented it

The launch pitch emphasized a body thinner than a pencil and a weight of 1.5 ounces. Its 1.5-inch, 176 × 132 LCD displayed album art and photographs; the Click Wheel handled navigation. A 30-pin Dock connector and USB 2.0 linked it to iTunes. Apple advertised up to 14 hours of music and 500 or 1000 songs by capacity, calculated using four-minute, 128 kb/s AAC tracks. These are historical estimates, not guaranteed endurance from an aged battery. [nano-launch, nano-spec]

Documented issues

It did not play video or send photographs to a television; pictures were transferred from a computer rather than directly from a camera. A worldwide replacement program was announced in 2011 for a rare overheating risk linked to one battery supplier, affecting units sold between September 2005 and December 2006. Apple's Japanese page still advises stopping use of this first generation and says the risk increases as the battery ages. That page describes a Japanese process, not evidence of replacement availability in Spain today. The problem is not attributed to every iPod or nano generation. [nano-spec, nano-safety, nano-2011]

Sources

• nano-2011 · MacRumors, Apple Launches Worldwide Replacement Program for First-Generation iPod Nano (2011-11-12) · https://www.macrumors.com/2011/11/12/apple-launches-worldwide-replacement-program-for-first-generation-ipod-nano/
• nano-launch · Apple, Apple Introduces iPod nano (2005-09-07) · https://www.apple.com/newsroom/2005/09/07Apple-Introduces-iPod-nano/
• nano-safety · Apple Japan, iPod nano first-generation replacement program · https://support.apple.com/ja-jp/ipodnano_replacement
• nano-spec · EveryMac, iPod nano Original specifications · https://everymac.com/systems/apple/ipod/specs/ipod_nano.html

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Updated: October 26, 2026 · Compare this product