Looking for an iPod replacement

Question

Level 2

489 points

Looking for an iPod replacement

I am looking for an iPod replacement that is compatible with the music that I have purchased over the years through iTunes, and the Apple Music store (not a subscription... actually purchased). I tried searching Google, but everything comes up as "Android compatible" no matter what I type in to the search parameters. My concern is that these Android compatible ones might not let me sync to my iMac to transfer the music that I have purchased... PLUS whenever I buy more music through iTunes (or Apple Music) I'd like to be able to put that music on the player as well.

I know there are used iPods out there, but I've never been a fan of buying used electronics. If I could buy a new iPod, I would, but from what I am finding no one still has any four year old "new" models.

Any recommendations on what I could buy? I should stress that I don't want to get a second phone. I want a stand alone music player for multiple reasons considering what I will be using this for.

iPod touch

Posted on Mar 12, 2026 11:49 AM

Reply

Answer 1

Mar 12, 2026 12:03 PM in response to gsyrba

Use an old iPhone. Don't bother to set up cellular service on it, just use it with WiFi. It will have to be a 5S or newer.

Minimum system requirements for iCloud - https://support.apple.com/118308#requirements

“iCloud is supported on the following OS versions or later: iOS 11 on iPhone 5s, iPad (5th generation), iPad Pro, or iPad mini 2; watchOS 4 on an Apple Watch; macOS High Sierra 10.13 on a Mac; tvOS 11 on an Apple TV (4th generation); or visionOS 1 on an Apple Vision Pro.

Reply

Answer 2

gsyrba Author

Level 2

489 points

Mar 16, 2026 3:13 PM in response to Limnos

Using a third party player will meet with challenges since many of them are probably only tested with non-Apple things. In addition, Apple's syncing interface is designed for Apple devices. We have some 10 year old mp3 players and I know when I put music on them I basically had to drag files onto them and forget about iTunes.

The other challenge will be the players themselves, and I suspect drive formatting. My old players were FAT formatted with a 2 GB total drive allowance. You're talking many times that. I'm not sure what format they will use and how easy it will be to interface that with what Macs support. Nor is it easy to find out. I did a quick search for mp3 players and none of the half dozen or so I looked at had any technical information on their web pages. I hope that they at least include something in print but I wouldn't bet on it.

Hence my reason for not trusting the info I was reading on Google.

Reply

Answer 3

Zurarczurx

Level 5

5,820 points

Mar 16, 2026 12:07 PM in response to gsyrba

As MrHoffman writes, you're better off on Google or other forums for this advice cos most of us here are probably deep in the Apple EcoSystem. I've got 2 active iPod Touches - on for use and one for backup and a 256GB iPhone SE in reserve which I'll use as an iPod once all my iPod batteries are done. The advantage of using an Apple device is that it's more likely to be compatible for the next few iOS, MacOS and Car Play updates - which isn't guaranteed for a non-Apple device. You could spend £300 tomorrow on a non-Apple iPod only to find that the next MacOS update renders it incompatible with all your music. The other advantage of sticking with Apple is that you get access to useful apps - I use an album shuffle app on all iPhone and iPods. When I'm travelling I stash my iPhone safely out of reach and use my iPod for music but can also do email and a internet too.

Why don't you just use your phone? It might knock a few months of its lifetime but if you time it right and get an new battery at the same time as you upgrade then you've got an iPod that'll last another 4-5 years and a new phone.

Sorry for the ramble and not being much help. I find it frustrating that the iPod, which in its early incarnations just about saved Apple from oblivion and is certainly responsible for their meteoric rise into portables, has been dropped by Apple but, realistically, there aren't many of us left who want to lug two devices around or hang on to phones for 5 years (mine's and iPhone 13 mini).

Reply

Answer 4

gsyrba Author

Level 2

489 points

Mar 16, 2026 3:11 PM in response to IdrisSeabright

If she already has an iPhone, she has an iPod replacement. The phone will work just fine for everything you've listed. Am I missing a reason why you need an additional device to charge and keep track of?

I suppose that I did make it sound like I'm a complete moron, but I'm actually not. I've always stored my music on my phone, and my wife did too up until a few years back. So yes, she does have a device that she could theoretically use (the iPhone) but she fills up the phone very often with a lot of other stuff that she needs (files of all types) and a ton of photos that are constantly added before being uploaded to external drives at home. Unlike me, she doesn't use her good cameras anymore for her photography work... she finds the iPhone camera good enough (I could never do that with my types of photography). She will often be somewhere and take an unbelievable amount of RAW photos, and needs the storage for them. She does not want to give up the room for anything that she needs on the phone at all times, hence the reason she started using the old iPod nano. And there are times she is in the car on a trip, and doesn't want to bring her phone (I get it, I'm the same at times), or forgets to bring it, but still wants the music. Basically, the iPod is left in the car almost all of the time, so it's not like she needs to keep track of it.

Sorry if it sounds like I am trying to justify her not wanting to use her phone for music, but in all honesty, she really doesn't, and I understand her reasons.

Reply

Answer 5

BobHarris

Level 9

58,103 points

Mar 18, 2026 4:41 PM in response to gsyrba

The least expensive Apple solution, and the one that looks the most like an iPod, would be a GPS Only Apple Watch, and transfer the music from the iPhone to that Apple Watch. Then pair Bluetooth headphones to the Apple Watch.

Reply

Answer 6

MrHoffman

Level 10

159,643 points

Mar 16, 2026 10:30 AM in response to gsyrba

gsyrba wrote:

But like I mentioned, I do not want to buy old, used electronics. Once bitten, twice shy. I don't have an old one because I've always sold my old one when I upgrade.

I'm looking for something new that will work... and I really don't want to pay the price of a new iPhone (least expensive one is $599) since I only want it for the music. And my iPhone 16 Pro is not ready for the retirement bin yet (even though some people buy a new one every year). That's why I'm looking for suggestions on a new music player that would be compatible... for hopefully less than $200.

I’m unsure why you’re asking folks familiar with Apple gear about this, as Apple hasn’t made a dedicated music player for many years, and none of the current Apple options are particularly priced like an iPod.

The least-expensive Apple choice for music playback including Apple Music streaming is the iPhone 17e, or an Apple iPhone refurb if and when available. Or an Apple TV 4K, or HomePod mini, if you’re in a fixed location. And you’ve ruled out the iPhone 17e.

If you want to buy an iPod-like MP3 player, equivalents are available for roughly USD$30 and up. The baseline MP3 players won’t play DRM streaming services including Apple Music, so you’ll either need to own your music, or have a player with support for your preferred streaming provider.

If you specifically seek Apple Music streaming at a lower price, it’ll likely be an Android device, and the folks around here probably aren’t all that familiar with Android options and considerations. Or you keep your old phone.

Reply

Answer 7

Mar 16, 2026 12:50 PM in response to gsyrba

Actually I do understand where you're coming from. While an iPhone would meet the requirements, if you're on a beach I know I would not want an iPhone with me. Not a $800 device that doesn't like salty air etc.

Some of Apple's compatibility with cars depends upon their support with CarPlay https://www.apple.com/ios/carplay/ and: How to connect your iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch to your car --> https://support.apple.com/HT203412

Using a third party player will meet with challenges since many of them are probably only tested with non-Apple things. In addition, Apple's syncing interface is designed for Apple devices. We have some 10 year old mp3 players and I know when I put music on them I basically had to drag files onto them and forget about iTunes.

The other challenge will be the players themselves, and I suspect drive formatting. My old players were FAT formatted with a 2 GB total drive allowance. You're talking many times that. I'm not sure what format they will use and how easy it will be to interface that with what Macs support. Nor is it easy to find out. I did a quick search for mp3 players and none of the half dozen or so I looked at had any technical information on their web pages. I hope that they at least include something in print but I wouldn't bet on it.

Good luck and let us know if you find one.

Reply

Answer 8

Mar 16, 2026 1:20 PM in response to Limnos

Limnos wrote:

Actually I do understand where you're coming from. While an iPhone would meet the requirements, if you're on a beach I know I would not want an iPhone with me. Not a $800 device that doesn't like salty air etc.

I would presume that any other sort of digital music player wouldn't like it much, either. I would suggest keeping either in a waterproof container while at the beach (purpose-made case, dry bag, or even a ziploc bag). None of those would interfere with a BT speaker (and those do come waterproof).

For $20, you can get something like this:

Pelican Marine Case (Amazon)

Reply

Answer 9

gsyrba Author

Level 2

489 points

Mar 19, 2026 6:44 AM in response to BobHarris

BobHarris wrote:

The least expensive Apple solution, and the one that looks the most like an iPod, would be a GPS Only Apple Watch, and transfer the music from the iPhone to that Apple Watch. Then pair Bluetooth headphones to the Apple Watch.

That doesn't really help for a device that she will 99% of the time want to leave in her car, especially for anyone else in the family that occasionally uses her car. Her Apple Watch is full to the point that we can't upload the amount of music she wants to pull off of her iMac and put on a player. It's a huge library that she does not want to bother picking and choosing what to upload to either an iPhone or an Apple Watch each week, and what to delete (which is what she has been doing currently). We are looking for a stand alone device for many reasons, but thanks just the same.

I do see various iPods for sale on eBay saying "new", but I really doubt these are new... which is why I was hoping to find something third party that was compatible with the music already purchased through iTunes.

Reply

Answer 10

gsyrba Author

Level 2

489 points

Mar 12, 2026 2:55 PM in response to Limnos

But like I mentioned, I do not want to buy old, used electronics. Once bitten, twice shy. I don't have an old one because I've always sold my old one when I upgrade.

I'm looking for something new that will work... and I really don't want to pay the price of a new iPhone (least expensive one is $599) since I only want it for the music. And my iPhone 16 Pro is not ready for the retirement bin yet (even though some people buy a new one every year). That's why I'm looking for suggestions on a new music player that would be compatible... for hopefully less than $200.

Reply

Answer 11

gsyrba Author

Level 2

489 points

Mar 16, 2026 11:53 AM in response to MrHoffman

I appreciate the lengthy answer (thank you!), but you might be misunderstanding what I am looking for, so let me answer you below.

I’m unsure why you’re asking folks familiar with Apple gear about this, as Apple hasn’t made a dedicated music player for many years, and none of the current Apple options are particularly priced like an iPod.

Actually, I know they haven't. I've been with Apple for a couple decades now. I'm asking folks here because I'm thinking at least one person here might have the same situation as I have, and might have a suggestion.

The least-expensive Apple choice for music playback including Apple Music streaming is the iPhone 17e, or an Apple iPhone refurb if and when available. Or an Apple TV 4K, or HomePod mini, if you’re in a fixed location. And you’ve ruled out the iPhone 17e.

This is something I want to get for my wife. We both have iPhone 16 Pro models, and have no reason at all to upgrade for a couple more years. We typically get 5 years out of our phones before upgrading. I should mention that the music player would need to be a Bluetooth device for her car, and for her portable Bluetooth speaker when she is at the beach for instance. We both have iPod Nanos, but they are the small older 8GB ones, and they are completely full. I'd like to find similar with at lease 32GB capacity.

If you want to buy an iPod-like MP3 player, equivalents are available for roughly USD$30 and up. The baseline MP3 players won’t play DRM streaming services including Apple Music, so you’ll either need to own your music, or have a player with support for your preferred streaming provider.

This is exactly why I am asking what music player on the market would be compatible. While we have both purchased a LOT of music from iTunes over the years, we do not have Apple Music for subscription streaming, nor do we want to go back to that. Our purchased library is plenty, and if something new comes out that we want to listen to, we will purchase it from iTunes Store. So basically, I don't have a clue as to which third party MP3 players would be able to connect to her iMac, and download the music that has been purchased for years. I tried searchijng Google, and I am getting a huge mix of "This one will work" only for another site to say "No, it will not" - so I thought I should ask here for anyone that has done similar to what I am asking.

If you specifically seek Apple Music streaming at a lower price, it’ll likely be an Android device, and the folks around here probably aren’t all that familiar with Android options and considerations. Or you keep your old phone.

We always trade in our old phones, or give them away. Since it will be roughly 3 1/2 years before we upgrade, I'd rather not wait for that option. Again, "No" on any streaming. This is 100% for either music that was fully purchased from iTunes, or pulled off of our CD's and uploaded to her iMac, and played through the Apple Music app.

I hope all of that makes sense in what our needs are. If not, let me know, please.

Reply

Answer 12

Mar 16, 2026 12:00 PM in response to gsyrba

gsyrba wrote:

This is something I want to get for my wife. We both have iPhone 16 Pro models, and have no reason at all to upgrade for a couple more years. We typically get 5 years out of our phones before upgrading. I should mention that the music player would need to be a Bluetooth device for her car, and for her portable Bluetooth speaker when she is at the beach for instance. We both have iPod Nanos, but they are the small older 8GB ones, and they are completely full. I'd like to find similar with at lease 32GB capacity.

If she already has an iPhone, she has an iPod replacement. The phone will work just fine for everything you've listed. Am I missing a reason why you need an additional device to charge and keep track of?

Reply

Answer 13

Mar 16, 2026 1:52 PM in response to IdrisSeabright

There are just various scenarios where a smaller and less expensive device is nice. Our old mp3 players were about the size of an iPod nano (but had many more features) and cost about $25 at the time vs. an iPhone that was 10x larger and heavier and cost 20x more. I only make about 1 phone call per month on my iPhone (I mostly use my landline) and I too have been looking for a small and inexpensive music player since our old ones have dead batteries. My wife has an iPhone 16e and guess shat? No headphone outlet. Sure, we could go out and get the required adapter or buy some $200 Airpods instead of just using one of the dozens of headphones we having lying around the place.

Reply

Answer 14

Mar 16, 2026 2:09 PM in response to Limnos

Limnos wrote:

There are just various scenarios where a smaller and less expensive device is nice. Our old mp3 players were about the size of an iPod nano (but had many more features) and cost about $25 at the time vs. an iPhone that was 10x larger and heavier and cost 20x more. I only make about 1 phone call per month on my iPhone (I mostly use my landline) and I too have been looking for a small and inexpensive music player since our old ones have dead batteries. My wife has an iPhone 16e and guess shat? No headphone outlet. Sure, we could go out and get the required adapter or buy some $200 Airpods instead of just using one of the dozens of headphones we having lying around the place.

And that's why I asked the OP why they wanted a second device.

How many calls one makes on an iPhone is not necessarily a useful metric for determining how much the iPhone is used. I make, maybe, a couple of calls a week (and I don't have a landline). But that says nothing about my overall phone use.

Your wife could buy these for $19.00 (USD)

EarPods (USB-C)

Or this:

USB-C to 3.5 mm Headphone Jack Adapter

It's only $9.

So if (and I'm not saying it is), your only objection was the lack of headset port, knowing that could result in suggestions that are cheaper and easier to implement than searching for a new DMP. The OP never really gave reasons.

Reply