U2 iPod Special Edition at 20

Original Story by Aaron J. Sams (2024-10-26)

Twenty years ago U2 made history, partnering with Apple to launch their own branded iPod. The iPod U2 Edition was a custom 20GB iPod featured customized packaging, exclusive design elements, and showed that U2 had a clear eye on the future of the music industry, and the rapid changes to music distribution underway with a move to digital formats.

U2’s partnership with Apple started a bit earlier than the launch of the iPod. Steve Jobs, co-founder of Apple, first approached U2 when the company was setting up iTunes to explain the concept. The first public evidence of U2’s involvement was April 28, 2003, when Apple launched the iTunes store. Included in the store launch was a U2 single titled “Exclusive”. The release featured the acoustic version of “Stuck in a Moment”, and two live tracks from the Boston concert of 2001.

In the accompanying launch presentation for the iTunes store, Bono was seen via iChat talking about the iPod, “I do not want to have a doctorate, a Ph.D. in button-pushing to be able to get to the Clash. Apple people have been making objects that we – musicians, and not just musicians but filmmakers, creative people – have been using for a long time, because you’re friendly, because you get it. So there’s a nice rhyme in the fact that you have been coming up with the solution that will help us in the pursuit of our work. In October 2003, when Apple launched iTunes for Windows, and debuted their silhouette ads, Bono was again part of the presentation calling the iPod, “a very cool thing for musicians and music.”

In 2004, Apple’s iPod, first introduced in 2001, was the hottest piece of technology that everyone wanted. The iTunes music store had changed how people were purchasing and consuming music. And Bono wanted to be a bigger part of things. Bono visited Steve Jobs at home to suggest that U2 had a song that would be perfect for one of these new silhouette ads. He offered up the song for free. Jobs shared, “They had never done a commercial before. But they were getting ripped off by free downloading, they liked what we were doing with iTunes, and they thought we could promote them to a younger audience.”

The deal progressed, and instead of being paid for the song used in the advertisement, U2 instead would get their own special edition U2 iPod. The band would get the royalties from the sale of the iPod. They would also make exclusive material available to iTunes as part of the first digital box set on that service, The Complete U2. U2 who had been there at the start of the iTunes store, were back in the spotlight with Apple.

Starting October 12, 2004 a 30 second ad for iTunes started appearing, featuring U2 in one of these silhouette ads. Unlike the ads, the bands faces are somewhat visible. The ads ended with “Vertigo by U2” and “iPod + iTunes”. “Vertigo” was made available exclusively on iTunes ahead of the commercial release in other formats. A two minute version of the ad was made available via iTunes.

On October 26, 2004, Steve Jobs was hosting the Apple Special Music Event at the California Theatre in San Jose. The event was to update on Apple’s newest plans in music. During the event, Jobs spoke about the partnership with U2 and the new commercials, sharing “they are one of the greatest bands in the world, in the history of rock and roll, and they are certainly the greatest band performing today.” He spoke about how Apple had taken their silhouette ad style and combined with it with a music video. And he announced that How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb would be sold online exclusively at iTunes when it launched, and he said that the band had worked with Apple to explore the question whether they could go beyond the album and leverage the digital music era without physical constraints.

Jobs announced the result of those explorations, the world’s first ‘digital box set’, The Complete U2 which would be released on November 23. The box set would include all of U2’s albums, a number of singles, and some exclusive materials only to be found in the set. U2 were first, and Apple would follow up with similar box sets with The Complete Stevie Wonder (October 2005), Bob Dylan: The Collection (August 2006), The Complete Depeche Mode (December 2006), The Complete Led Zeppelin (November 2007) and others over the years.

Anyone familiar with Apple announcements always knew that Steve Jobs always had a final big announcement. His “One more thing” was generally some related product saved for the big finale. That presentation in October 2004 was no different. Jobs turned to the camera and said “There is one more thing…” as images behind him announced the U2 iPod, which he shared would start appearing in stores in mid-November. And what better way to launch the product than to bring Bono and The Edge out on stage to discuss the collaboration with Apple? The Edge shared “when Napster first got up and running, I was simultaneously very excited because I’m into that kind of thing, and also appalled at where it might lead us. I sensed at that moment we were entering a new era, that music, and the music business had to change, embrace the era. There was no point in fighting it.” They would perform “Original of the Species” and “All Because of You” as part of the session.


IMAGE: U2 iPod Version 1: Front and back of box

The first U2 iPod had a 20GB drive, and could not do video. The pricing upon launch was $349 in the US, $499 in Canada and £249 in the UK. In the US, the U2 iPod was priced at $50 more than that same model as a standard white iPod. The box included standard white ear buds, a poster of the band, and a certificate for $50 off of The Complete U2 which would be released a few weeks after the iPod started arriving in stores. The box was in a cube shape.


IMAGE: U2 iPod Version 1: Sides of box

The technical specifications of that first model?

  • Model: M9787LL/A
  • Processor Speed: 80 MHz
  • RAM: 32MB
  • Storage Capacity: 20GB
  • Song Capacity: 5000 (128-kbps AAC format)
  • Display: 2” LCD (Grayscale)
  • Resolution: 160×128
  • Battery Life: “Up to 12 hours” of music playback
  • Dimensions: 4.1 × 2.4 × 0.57 inches
  • Weight: 5.6 oz

The U2 iPod came out at a time where Apple was frequently refreshing product lines. On June 28, 2005, just seven months after the initial announcement of the U2 iPod, the first model was discontinued and replaced with a second model. Although there were a few minor improvements under the hood, the biggest change for this new model was the introduction of the colour display, which allowed for the ability to view photos on the display screen. The price also saw a drop, going on sale for $329 in the US upon launch (In Canada the second model was priced at $419, and in the UK, it launched at £229.)


IMAGE: U2 iPod Version 2: Front and back of box

Technical specifications for the second model:

  • Model: MA127LL/A
  • Processor Speed: 80 MHz
  • RAM: 32MB
  • Storage Capacity: 20GB
  • Song Capacity: 5000 (128-kbps AAC format)
  • Display: 2” LCD (65,536 colours)
  • Resolution: 220×176
  • Battery Life: “Up to 15 hours” of music playback
  • Dimensions: 4.1 × 2.4 × 0.63 inches
  • Weight: 5.9 oz


IMAGE: U2 iPod Version 2: Sides of box

This second model was also quickly discontinued. On October 12, 2005, just four months later, there was the announcement of the video iPod. The third iPod implemented video, and had a change to the look of the iPod, replacing the chrome back with a black metal back for the first time. The black front with red click wheel continued. The capacity of the iPod was also increased to 30GB. The bands’ autographs were still visible on the back of the unit. This third model had the same price in the US (initially $329) and saw a price drop in Canada to $399, and an increase in price in the UK to £239.

The third model also saw the removal of the $50 coupon for The Complete U2 and instead included a code to download a 33-minute video titled “Love U2”. The video included U2 performing live throughout the years, with an audio track at 128kbps, remastered and remixed by Arnie Acosta. The full tracks included “Pop Muzik / Mofo” (Live from Mexico City, 1997), “I Will Follow” (Live from Belfast, 1981), “God Part II” (Live from Sydney, 1989), “Where the Streets Have No Name” (Live from Sydney, 1993), “Beautiful Day” (Live from Boston, 2001) and “City of Blinding Lights” (Live from Milan, 2005). Also included was a variety of interviews with the band, and a montage of live clips over “Until the End of the World” (Live from Sydney, 1993) which lasts about 2 minutes as an introduction to the video.


IMAGE: U2 iPod Version 3: Front and back of box

Technical specifications for the third edition?

  • Model: MA452LL/A
  • Processor Speed: 80MHz
  • RAM: 32MB
  • Storage Capacity: 30GB
  • Song Capacity: 7500 (128-kbps AAC format)
  • Display: 2.5” QVGA LCD (260,000 colours)
  • Resolution: 320×240
  • Battery Life: “Up to 14 hours” of music playback
  • Dimensions: 4.1 × 2.4 × 0.43 inches
  • Weight: 4.8 oz

The third iPod was officially retired with the announcement of the new enhanced iPod. It was very similar to the previous model but with improved brightness and battery life when watching videos. The new model was introduced on September 12, 2006, and was produced for a full year before new iPods were announced on September 5, 2007 without a U2 branded model in site. The fourth version was introduced at $279 in the US, $379 in Canada, and £239 in the UK. (Cheaper prices at the time of introduction in US and Canada, and the same price in the UK as the previous model.)

IMAGE: U2 iPod Version 2: Sides of box

The technical specifications of the fourth model:

  • Model: MA664LL/A
  • Processor Speed: 80MHz
  • RAM: 32MB
  • Storage Capacity: 30GB
  • Song Capacity: 7500 (128-kbps AAC format)
  • Display: 2.5” QVGA LCD (260,000 colours, up to 60% brighter)
  • Resolution: 320×240
  • Battery Life: “Up to 14 hours” of music playback
  • Dimensions: 4.1 × 2.4 × 0.43 inches
  • Weight: 4.8 oz

With no new models announced in 2007, the U2 iPod was effectively retired and although it took some time for inventory to sell out at stores, the production of this unit stopped at that point.

Likewise, the digital box set, The Complete U2 was also discontinued in late 2007, with us noting it had been pulled from the digital storefront on December 20 of that year. It also appeared that U2 had ended their partnership with Apple around that time, and the next album released in 2009 would see new partnerships with rival Blackberry. The Apple silhouette ads which defined the advertising in the era of the U2 iPod would also be retired in 2008.

These days U2 iPods are no longer produced and sold, but fans still value these memories of the How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb era. Do you still have your iPod? If so we’d love to see a photo of it today, and you can tag us in the photos on Threads, Instagram, Bluesky or X! Include the tag #U2iPod20 to help others find it easier!


IMAGE: iPod Ad from Day of Launch

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