iPod 3rd Gen 2009

The iPod shuffle 3rd Generation marked a bold and controversial shift from the previous 2nd Generation models by eliminating the straightforward controls from the player's body. Instead, it introduced a three-button controller (volume up, volume down, and a multi-function "action" button) integrated into the earphone cable.

This third generation was the first iPod shuffle to support playlists and notably introduced "VoiceOver," which audibly announces song titles, artists, and playlists. To use it, a press and hold of the central "action" button reveals the title/artist, while a longer press until a tone allows navigation through playlists.

The iPod shuffle 3rd Generation featured an even smaller housing than its predecessors (weighing just 0.38 of an ounce) and was available only in silver or black aluminum, both with a mirrored finish clip for attaching to clothing, a departure from the vibrant colors of earlier models.

Both color options of the iPod shuffle 3rd Generation came with 4 GB of flash memory, supporting 1000 songs, and Apple estimated a battery life of ten hours.

March 2009 reviews labelled the 4 GB shuffle a radical, love-it-or-hate-it experiment. The thumb-drive slab was praised for weighing barely 10 g, but its ear-cord remote and total lack of buttons led Wired to joke that “the iPod forgot its face.” Battery endurance averaged nine to ten hours; AAC playback measured clean with slight treble roll-off. Critics liked VoiceOver’s multilingual tags, yet the need for Apple-certified headsets and absence of simple shuffle/order switch kept it from mass appeal.