iPod 7th Generation not recognized by Sonoma 14.5

Trying to sync my iPod 7th generation with my MacBook Air running Sonoma 14.5. Sadly my Mac doesn't "see" the iPod, thus I can't sync. The charging port works just fine and in fact I thought that was a problem. A store tech checked everything and all is well with my iPod but told me that the iPod would no longer connect with a mac running Sonoma.

True? If so I have very bad words for Apple. To run with a phone or anything else that large and heavy is ridiculous.