Apple Music's error page now shows a playable mock-up of the first-generation iPod, a nod to the device's 25th anniversary.
Apple Music has a new hidden feature for nostalgic listeners. According to The Verge, anyone who lands on a nonexistent Apple Music page will now see a virtual re-creation of the first-generation iPod instead of an ordinary error message. The mock-up can play music.
Social media users noticed the feature on Friday. The Verge describes it as an easter egg, the term for a playful surprise that developers tuck into software without announcing it.
Reaching the virtual iPod takes little effort. The Verge reports that it appears on essentially any Apple Music address that does not exist. A reader can type the main Apple Music web address, add a string of random letters, and load the result.
The song selection fits the era the device came from. The Verge says the player is stocked with music from the early 2000s, and it names Coldplay's "Viva La Vida" and Gorillaz's "Feel Good Inc." as examples. PCMag, in a headline about the feature, says the easter egg lets users play 1,029 songs.
The timing points to a milestone. The Verge says Apple announced the original iPod on October 23rd, 2001, at a price of $399. The feature surfaced 25 years after that announcement, which is why the outlet calls it likely to be an anniversary tribute. The report does not include a statement from Apple confirming that motive.
The anniversary has drawn wider attention. Headlines from Newsweek, Forbes and MacRumors, listed alongside The Verge's report, look back on the device's history. Newsweek's piece is titled around the rise, fall and return of the iPod. Forbes frames the anniversary around how a music player changed Apple. MacRumors simply wished the product a happy 25th.
According to The Verge, iPods were a central part of Apple's business for 20 years before the company discontinued them in 2022. The same report notes that the devices have been making a comeback over the past few years, suggesting that the appeal of a dedicated music player has not entirely faded.
The easter egg ties that history to Apple's current music service. Apple Music is a streaming platform, a different model from the stored-song players that the iPod popularized. A hidden throwback inside it links the two eras for a brief moment, and only for people who hit a broken link.
The Verge's account leaves some questions open. It does not say how long the feature will stay live, whether Apple plans related anniversary content, or whether the company has commented. For now, the report rests on what users found and what the page does when visited.
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