• Hey, guest user. Hope you're enjoying NeoGAF! Have you considered registering for an account? Come join us and add your take to the daily discourse.

It's 2017. Should Apple update their iPod? Do you still own one?

It's only 16GB and the apps use most of it. I only have like 2GB left for music.

Aside from my phone being 64gb, this is the same reason why I still use my iPod to listen to music.

And I don't want to use a streaming service. It may be more convenient or whatever but I guess I'm just set in my ways.
 

ponpo

( ≖‿≖)
I think if you were going to make something like this today it would need to look like a tie clip. I can imagine anyone wants a smartphone and another smartphone-like device.

I hope you can imagine it, since lots of people do.
 
Both my classics stopped working in the past couple years. Currently using my old 4S as my car mp3 player, which is a downgrade in both battery life and storage space. Would buy another classic instantly if they get re-released.
 

IrishNinja

Member
There are other, superior options that don't saddle you with iTunes in the player-only department.

i'm down to hear them, my old ipod wont last forever
so glad i found a way around itunes years back

Spend a little more next time. I have a 256 GB iPhone 7+. I could store 20,000 songs if I want to.

Buy a new iPhone with a larger capacity. Problem solved.

I have 256gb in my 7+ and it's fantastic. You never have to worry about space.

ew no, this idea sucks
never leaving this andriod phone & just want something to listen to when running/training/etc, fuck phones during exercise haha
 
Buy a new iPhone with a larger capacity. Problem solved.

I have 256gb in my 7+ and it's fantastic. You never have to worry about space.

That still doesn't solve my main problem. Running down my phone's battery. I'd like to be able to play music whenever I want without taking my phone's battery into consideration.
 

f0lken

Member
If you want to run/do exercise why not then a smartwatch? Compact and functionality that actually matters for fitness like heartrate sensor
 

Boogs31

Member
Yup, good stuff.


I keep it in the car all the time, ripped my CD collection years ago when I went digital. It's great to have everything in one place.

I totally agree about having every song right at your fingertips. While it is time consuming putting all of your music on their in the first place, once you've done the work it's well worth it. I just got a new classic about a year and a half ago. My older one still works (I've had it for 10 years), but it's on its last legs.
 

CTLance

Member
I own a sixth gen iPod nano.

You know, those square little things with a clip at the back and a touchscreen at the front that is even multitouch capable for whatever reason. The ones you could snap into an armband and wear like a watch (the watch app is basic but works well enough). It also had an insultingly basic Nike+ integration for its internal step counter. Which, curiously enough, didn't impact its battery life at all. The thing can easily last all day. Radio, podcast app, barely used those, but they work.

All in all a damn good package. Sleek looking, too. I still love it and use it to this day.
2fske.jpg



I'd like a minor revision at best. Same dimensions, but smaller bezels and thus bigger screen, Bluetooth 4 support, maybe even wireless charging (and syncing?) for less clutter, and if they'd rip out the old "fat" connector and use lightning or microusb or whatever that'd be appreciated. Obviously I wouldn't buy it if they went entirely wireless, I want to be able to plug in my wired earphones or no buy. Come to think of it, water proofing the little square would be welcomed. Also more storage space, because why not.
 

Dishwalla

Banned
I use my 60 GB 5th Gen on the regular right now, still useful. Have a 3rd Gen as well that I sometimes use, only reason I don't use it more often is because it only charges via firewire.
 

Tobor

Member
That still doesn't solve my main problem. Running down my phone's battery. I'd like to be able to play music whenever I want without taking my phone's battery into consideration.

Playing music is one of the least strenuous things you can do to your phone's battery.

Either your phone is old or you're running something else that's jacking up your battery.
 

Vuze

Member
They should rather focus on making the Watch a more capable iPod replacement as a stand-alone device. Some extra storage, better and faster syncing.
 
Unfortunately I haven't seen any digital music jukebox software out there that does fringe cases like this well. The biggest gaping hole in functionality with iTunes or any other player I've tried remains classical music, where composer nomenclature is all over the map. If I had more time I'd break out a lot more AppleScript to try and wrangle it, but then that breaks links with my purchased music.

Ironically enough, the best music organizer I've seen with support for multiple artists as well as classical composer/orchestra/conductor and other fringe cases happens to not be a player software at all and is legally grey at best.

...if only an actual company utilized Gazelle's database features...
 

bionic77

Member
The iPod is one of many devices that the smartphone has ruthlessly murdered GOW style.

We are moving towards less devices these days not more.

In answer to the OP, I am sure there is still a small audience for the iPod and music players and Apple should try and address their needs as best as they can. But I have not idea what that would entail because it seems like so many people have moved to streaming or YT for their music needs so I don't know what the enthusiasts want from a next gen music player.
 
same. how about an ipod classic with an ssd

If you're willing to do the work of replacing the drive in a current iPod (or pay someone to do it for you) there are several options on this front.

a 4th gen iPod can have an SSD in it but it has to be a strange form factor and costs kind of a lot and the features are... well, that of a 4th gen iPod, unless you use RockBox.

If you have an iPod Classic, an iFlash adapter can get you up to 1TB of SD card space in your iPod.
https://www.iflash.xyz/
The stock firmware of course can't handle 1TB of music; the internal database craps out once the iPod hits its RAM limit from too many songs being in the database but if you use RockBox you can access the full 1TB of music (if you even have that much, lol)
 
I wish Apple or someone would make a decent mp3 player again.

I'm still using my Zune. I've had to replace the battery and swap the hard drive for an SSD at this point. I'd love to upgrade to something that has support for more file formats and a better DAC. My phone does that, but lack of physical buttons makes using it while driving less than ideal.
I could get one of those fancy audiophile ones that still show up from time to time, but they tend to have lackluster support for podcasts. Being able to sync my progress across devices is imperative.

So someone out there needs to make something I can use. I can't keep using this Zune forever. I already have to fake the old Zune web services just to reformat the drive. :(
 
Playing music is one of the least strenuous things you can do to your phone's battery.

Either your phone is old or you're running something else that's jacking up your battery.

I know exactly what I am doing to run my phone's battery down and after I've done that, I would love to still be able to listen to a podcast.

There are benefits to dedicated devices.
 

Dryk

Member
I think if you were going to make something like this today it would need to look like a tie clip. I can imagine anyone wants a smartphone and another smartphone-like device.
I use an iPod Touch and an Android phone so there's at least one person in that market
 

Luschient

Member
I have an iPod shuffle for when I do yard work. I don't want to get my phone all nasty and dirty so the shuffle is perfect.
 

Maengun1

Member
I cursed apple for discontinuing the ipod classic. Mine finally died about 8 months ago and I had to bite and buy the nano, even though it meant a 90% reduction in storage for less than 50% reduction in price.

I don't subscribe to any streaming service, I have all the music I want saved in my library, and I still use an ipod to quickly and easily listen to my music (and podcasts) via my car soundsystem's usb input.

If they released a new revision that bulked up the storage again, I'd probably buy it. But all anyone wants to push nowadays is stream stream stream. I'm a weirdo who doesn't want my media mixing with my phone. I just don't.
 
I had a iPod Touch that I used for all my music since it had a lot more space then my phone, but it got destroyed last year. A shame since I cant hold as many songs on my phone.

Edit: I would totally buy a new iPod if apple made one.
 
The way people interact with music now makes it a niche product. It would be neat if Apple went out with a bang and made a really nice new iPod "classic."
 

SoulUnison

Banned
I miss my 60GB iPod video and iPod Nano.
Both got stolen out of my car along with my Gen 1 iPhone while I was at work, like, 6 years ago now.
 
If you're willing to do the work of replacing the drive in a current iPod (or pay someone to do it for you) there are several options on this front.

a 4th gen iPod can have an SSD in it but it has to be a strange form factor and costs kind of a lot and the features are... well, that of a 4th gen iPod, unless you use RockBox.

If you have an iPod Classic, an iFlash adapter can get you up to 1TB of SD card space in your iPod.
https://www.iflash.xyz/
The stock firmware of course can't handle 1TB of music; the internal database craps out once the iPod hits its RAM limit from too many songs being in the database but if you use RockBox you can access the full 1TB of music (if you even have that much, lol)

Thanks for these resources. I'll look into it. Truth be told I have an old 5.5 gen ipod classic with a dead hard drive. I wonder if I could give it new live this way.
 

Duxxy3

Member
I don't need a full multimedia device. Just a music player. Sometimes I don't want to deal with the rest of the world. Using my phone as a music player keeps me connected to the rest of the world. So most of the time I use my regular MP3 player to listen to music. That's all it does. Just plays music.

There is still a market for regular music players. Not the huge market that the iPod once was, but still a market. One that Apple has largely left behind. Not that I really blame them.

It would be nice to have a new iPod classic. Something with the scroll wheel and some clickiness.
 
I still have an iPod nano:
Blue_iPod_Nano.jpg

I got it in 2007 for $170, and aside from the odd freeze/reboot maybe twice a year, it runs perfectly. That's despite being used all the time, since I take it to the gym, going running, doing dishes, etc. It gets a lot of use when I don't want to lug a big phone with me, which is often. Since it's so old I'm really flippant with it at this point, touching it with wet hands, throwing it around, etc, so to me this really shows solid build quality.

What some of you said about getting a watch is exactly right. That'd be a perfect replacement whenever my iPod dies. However, I mainly listen to podcasts. From what I've read syncing new podcasts to an Apple Watch (or whatever) is still kind of a pain. That shit should just happen over bluetooth/wifi while I'm sleeping, without having to manage playlists. I hope they get there by the time I need to buy one.
 
Only apple knows exactly. They keep making them so it's a good sign.
But clearly not enough for a major update.
I still have an iPod nano:
Blue_iPod_Nano.jpg

I got it in 2007 for $170, and aside from the odd freeze/reboot maybe twice a year, it runs perfectly. That's despite being used all the time, since I take it to the gym, going running, doing dishes, etc. It gets a lot of use when I don't want to lug a big phone with me, which is often. Since it's so old I'm really flippant with it at this point, touching it with wet hands, throwing it around, etc, so to me this really shows solid build quality.

What some of you said about getting a watch is exactly right. That'd be a perfect replacement whenever my iPod dies. However, I mainly listen to podcasts. From what I've read syncing new podcasts to an Apple Watch (or whatever) is still kind of a pain. That shit should just happen over bluetooth/wifi while I'm sleeping, without having to manage playlists. I hope they get there by the time I need to buy one.

If you have an iPhone or iTouch the podcast app works fine. I used to download the podcast onto my iPod.
 
Didn't much see the need for iPods anymore until I got my 7+. Love it 95% of the time, but when I'm running, I need something smaller. I just put it in its otter box case and hold it for now, but I'd like something less heavy.

Keep meaning to look up how exactly music works on the Apple Watch, since I plan on getting one eventually anyways.
 

Megabat

Member
I still use a black 5th-generation iPod -- identical to the one in the opening scene of Baby Driver! But it's pretty erratic. I haven't been using it much recently because I got a 32GB phone last month. I got home from that movie and picked it back up immediately, with abject regret in my heart. It sat on the charger for a few days -- nothing.

It's happened before and come back, so I'm optimistic. But if it is gone, I'll replace it with a used flash-based classic. It is almost hilarious that a device that small has a tiny mechanical drive that works 12 years later.

So, uh, I doubt it makes financial sense. But I would be all over a new 128GB/OLED display/click wheel model for the same price as the old models.

Edit: Oh my god, you can buy SD card adapters for the older models: https://eshop.macsales.com/item/Tarkan/DUALUSD/
 

JaseMath

Member
I would insta-purchase a Spotify-only iPod. It'd be a godsend for exercising so I didn't have to carry a phone around.
 
But clearly not enough for a major update.
If you have an iPhone or iTouch the podcast app works fine. I used to download the podcast onto my iPod.
Last I read, you still have to manually select which podcasts you want to sync to the Apple Watch, one at a time for each mp3. There's no way to automatically sync new podcasts as they become available.

Also, if I'm going to be forced to manually manage playlists, I absolutely do not want to do that from my phone. I have a damn computer, with a big screen, full keyboard, etc, so please let me use it! The workflow to sync podcasts from a Mac to an Apple Watch is absolutely insane. It's unforgivable that anyone is expected to do all that fiddling about just to transfer a new podcast.

I understand Overcast 3.1 adds the ability to sync podcasts to the Apple Watch, but as the article says "there's also no auto-sync function". That is really frustrating. I don't want to fiddle with playlists or queues. I just want fresh podcasts from my subscriptions put on the watch automatically.
 

enzo_gt

tagged by Blackace
Might be getting folded into the wearables category, but iPod Touches are definitely still iPods and definitely big for parents with kids.
 
Top Bottom