Look. We already have a little computer in our pocket. Besides Apple can go fly a kite with their DRM audio files. Just let me own my phone.
this post was submitted on 14 Apr 2026
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YES MORE PLASTIC BULLSHIT pleeeeeeaasse I need another tracking device that's already superceded by having a phone! and remember: no headphone jacks
Remember owning stuff?
Uh, yes? I have all the mp3s I want to listen to on my phone (and my NAS),I don't need an Ipod for that.
While you're not wrong, and at the moment I am the same, there is also something very appealing to me about decoupling music from my phone.
Really? There’s something appealing to me about decoupling my cellular modem from my phone; I used an iPod Touch instead of a smartphone for years (with Wifi and VoIP).
At this point I have zero interest in a dedicated audio player.
And if I wanted one… my watch holds more MP3s than the original iPod did. I can just play music from my watch.
Or my graphing calculator.
Or, for that matter, my over the ear headphones which have a microSD slot.
Yeah, that's totally fair. I prefer wired listening devices and want less "smart" things in my life. At the moment my music library is about 180GB so a bit much for the smaller available offline devices, and mostly FLAC so the DAC needs to be powerful enough. Absolutely a me problem, as I mentioned in another comment my hobby rabbit hole into audio makes the full decouple very appealing to me.
If you're moderately tech-inclined, its not super difficult to set up a streaming music server that you can access from anywhere. The most basic solution that almost anyone can spin up is a cheap NAS (or always-on PC), and setting up a VPN between your phone and router to access your library.
From there you can add complexity by configuring a true music server like Navidrome, adding web-facing access, erc
After typing this, I realized maybe you meant completely decoupling music from your phone, not just decoupling the storage
Yeah I have dabbled with hosted music, but I do mean "offline" device + storage. Like MP3 players of old. I have also been blursed with an interest in audio gear so it becomes a very appealing rabbit hole for me.
It is?
Theres a metric ton of open source clones.
Also plenty of low tech Chi-fi options like Fiio/Snowsky.
Maybe I'm the weird one here, but when I look at fiio, and they are essentially smartphones (beefy Exynos or Qualcomm SoCs, running a bloated Android), minus some connectivity apps and a mobile antenna, I'd rather just use a phone, thanks. Most portable music players have this minimalistic appeal of devices that were engineered for just one single purpose and to do it well, and fiio certainly isn't having that vibe.
Yes, but not one made by Apple.
Bring on the Zune!
An iPod classic with Bluetooth support, SD card support, and with zero Apple input would be great.
I never had a cable subscription (that I paid for), nor have I ever subscribed to a streaming service (I had Prime for years for the shipping, not the content).
I own things, and I like it, much to the chagrin of the tech bros.