Apple Music hides an interactive iPod tribute for the device's 25th anniversary
On the Apple Music website, an error page now opens a playable virtual version of the original iPod with more than a thousand songs. It marks 25 years since the famous music player was unveiled.
Apple has tucked a small surprise into its Apple Music streaming service: visitors who land on a broken page are shown an interactive virtual version of the original iPod. The feature marks exactly 25 years since Apple unveiled the iPod, its portable MP3 player, which was famously promoted with the promise of 1,000 songs in your pocket.
How to find it
When an invalid address is opened on the Apple Music website, the standard "page not found" message is followed by an invitation to try the iPod instead. The virtual device offers 1,029 playable songs. Its menus include Playlists, Artists, Songs and Settings, and both the click wheel and the other controls work.
The Engadget writer says the feature is somewhat buggy. They recommend using a phone or tablet so the touch screen can be used, and say they could not get it working at all on a desktop computer. Only up to 90 seconds of each track can be played. The virtual iPod does not appear to require an active Apple Music account.
Music and a game
Much of the music is typical of the early 2000s, with artists such as Baha Men, blink-182 and Eminem. The writer, based in the UK, does not know whether acts like Daniel Bedingfield, The Fratellis and Klaxons also appear for users in the US.
According to Notebook Check, the version also includes Brick, a Breakout-style game that was a hidden feature on the first iPod. It is opened the same way as on the original device: by holding the center button on the About screen for a few seconds.
