As an Apple forum, this may be the wrong place to have this discussion. On the other hand, as a bunch of Apple product users with limited options within Apple, I hope there's some others here who might want to share ideas. Would love other folks thoughts on what they've tried, what they've considered.
I've started looking into getting a device to replace my 3rd Gen 64gig iPod touch. I generally use my iPod touch as an offline jukebox for my own library, which is around 100gigs. I use the Genius feature a lot on my iPod (its on iOS 4, not sure if this feature has been renamed). The device is on airplane mode all the time except for when I connect it via bluetooth to my home speakers.
Reasons for replacement:
- Battery is at about 6-7 hours listen time, or 4-5 days standby, down from it's original 20+ hours listen/2 weeks standby. It's not terrible, but getting to be annoying. I got quoted $75 to replace the battery.
- I'm out of storage. This is the deal breaker. 64gb isn't cutting it.
Needs:
- Music playing on the go without WiFi/cell (Subway primarily, road trips, trains, and planes)
- Bluetooth playback to my home speaker
- More than 64g storage; Offline storage is a must since I have a lot of non-Wifi uses and I like to have my library with me. Ideally I can fit all of my library.
- Touch screen for easy navigation would be great
- Support for iTunes playlists
- Long battery life
- Ideally supports a "Genius feature". I love that kind of jukebox feature.
- Less than $300 (not really willing to invest more than that for a music player)
- Separate device from my phone
Options:
1. 128gb iPod touch (6th gen)
This is the most obvious. At $399, it is the easiest thing to do and hits almost all the checkboxes. The biggest concern I have is battery life. As reported constantly in this forum, the latest iPod has worse battery life than the fifth gen, and I'd likely only be getting comparable battery life to what I have already or only a minor upgrade even on airplane mode. In my opinion that's pretty dumb and frustrating. It seems that the best thing to do would be to test it, and return it if the battery life is as reported.
2. Old iPhones
I looked into getting old iPhones but the 128gb variety are still really expensive. I'd love to get a 5s, to save on size and money and get a longer lasting battery, but the 5s didn't have a 128gb size.
3. Sony Walkmans/Fiio players
The Sony NWZ series looks pretty promising, as does the Fiio X1. The lack of touchscreen is a little annoying. Battery life on the Sony A17 model (with expandable storage) is supposed to be 50 hours. There are apparently supported methods to get iTunes playlists into the devices, and Sony even has a rough Genius feature on the device. I'm wary that there isn't a huge community behind these devices, so what-you-buy is what-you-get, and fixes/improvements will be infrequent. That is, if it doesn't have any features I want, that's unlikely to change in the future. The Fiio X1 seems pretty simple to use, though, and at $99, hard to argue for more features. It claims 10hours battery life, which isn't fantastic.
I don't really need apps for Spotify etc. I have those on my home iPads.
4. Old Android phones
There are a variety of old Androids that might fit the bill. Basically anything that can run Lollipop and has expandable storage. The trick is that the device has to support MicroSD up to 128gb. (64gb support wouldn't get me very far.) The front runner in this space was the Galaxy S5 with Amazon refurbs at around $170. What's leading me to the S5 despite its size is the aggressive Lower Power mode (screen runs in grey scale!), great audio reviews, and a user replaceable battery. HTC One Mini 2 is also a front runner due to its smaller size, but has loads of reports of bad battery, and does not have a user replaceable one.
5. Old Windows phones
Basically the same discussion as the Android phones. Need to find one that has expandable storage, and ideally has an audio review somewhere. Battery on the Lumias I checked out didn't seem user replaceable and specs on expandable storage were scarce.
I've started looking into getting a device to replace my 3rd Gen 64gig iPod touch. I generally use my iPod touch as an offline jukebox for my own library, which is around 100gigs. I use the Genius feature a lot on my iPod (its on iOS 4, not sure if this feature has been renamed). The device is on airplane mode all the time except for when I connect it via bluetooth to my home speakers.
Reasons for replacement:
- Battery is at about 6-7 hours listen time, or 4-5 days standby, down from it's original 20+ hours listen/2 weeks standby. It's not terrible, but getting to be annoying. I got quoted $75 to replace the battery.
- I'm out of storage. This is the deal breaker. 64gb isn't cutting it.
Needs:
- Music playing on the go without WiFi/cell (Subway primarily, road trips, trains, and planes)
- Bluetooth playback to my home speaker
- More than 64g storage; Offline storage is a must since I have a lot of non-Wifi uses and I like to have my library with me. Ideally I can fit all of my library.
- Touch screen for easy navigation would be great
- Support for iTunes playlists
- Long battery life
- Ideally supports a "Genius feature". I love that kind of jukebox feature.
- Less than $300 (not really willing to invest more than that for a music player)
- Separate device from my phone
Options:
1. 128gb iPod touch (6th gen)
This is the most obvious. At $399, it is the easiest thing to do and hits almost all the checkboxes. The biggest concern I have is battery life. As reported constantly in this forum, the latest iPod has worse battery life than the fifth gen, and I'd likely only be getting comparable battery life to what I have already or only a minor upgrade even on airplane mode. In my opinion that's pretty dumb and frustrating. It seems that the best thing to do would be to test it, and return it if the battery life is as reported.
2. Old iPhones
I looked into getting old iPhones but the 128gb variety are still really expensive. I'd love to get a 5s, to save on size and money and get a longer lasting battery, but the 5s didn't have a 128gb size.
3. Sony Walkmans/Fiio players
The Sony NWZ series looks pretty promising, as does the Fiio X1. The lack of touchscreen is a little annoying. Battery life on the Sony A17 model (with expandable storage) is supposed to be 50 hours. There are apparently supported methods to get iTunes playlists into the devices, and Sony even has a rough Genius feature on the device. I'm wary that there isn't a huge community behind these devices, so what-you-buy is what-you-get, and fixes/improvements will be infrequent. That is, if it doesn't have any features I want, that's unlikely to change in the future. The Fiio X1 seems pretty simple to use, though, and at $99, hard to argue for more features. It claims 10hours battery life, which isn't fantastic.
I don't really need apps for Spotify etc. I have those on my home iPads.
4. Old Android phones
There are a variety of old Androids that might fit the bill. Basically anything that can run Lollipop and has expandable storage. The trick is that the device has to support MicroSD up to 128gb. (64gb support wouldn't get me very far.) The front runner in this space was the Galaxy S5 with Amazon refurbs at around $170. What's leading me to the S5 despite its size is the aggressive Lower Power mode (screen runs in grey scale!), great audio reviews, and a user replaceable battery. HTC One Mini 2 is also a front runner due to its smaller size, but has loads of reports of bad battery, and does not have a user replaceable one.
5. Old Windows phones
Basically the same discussion as the Android phones. Need to find one that has expandable storage, and ideally has an audio review somewhere. Battery on the Lumias I checked out didn't seem user replaceable and specs on expandable storage were scarce.
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