Other Still using iPhone as an MP3 player?

[d4zza]

Is anyone out there still using their iPhone as an MP3 player?

Years ago, in the late 00s I had a Samsung phone (think it was maybe one of the ones in a Bond movie?) as well as a hard-drive based MP3 player, a product called iRiver.

Then the iPhone came along with iTunes. I was reluctant at first, I wasn’t impressed with the iPhone sound or using iTunes instead of simple Windows Explorer to create a folder structure.

Eventually a few iPhone iterations down the line I swapped two devices for one.

Copied over my MP3s from my iRiver to iTunes around 2009.

I still have iTunes with all those acquired MP3s and indeed it’s my primary source for listening as opposed to streaming services like Spotify.

So, does anyone else use locally stored MP3s as their primary library and listening source or am I an MP3 version of a 70s vinyl hoarder?

 

[eyoungren]

I have a NAS that has my library on it. All my iPhones have a music app that can access the library on the NAS and stream from it. Generally though, I use my Macs to play my music.

Outside of the house, I have another app that will stream my library from Dropbox, so I have a second copy of my library on Dropbox. I can use my phone to listen.

Usually, if I am listening to music (on my phone) outside of the house, I am streaming Dronezone via the SOMA FM app.

None of my music exists locally on any of my phones. It's either accessed from my NAS or Dropbox.

 

[d4zza]

I have a NAS that has my library on it. All my iPhones have a music app that can access the library on the NAS and stream from it. Generally though, I use my Macs to play my music.

Outside of the house, I have another app that will stream my library from Dropbox, so I have a second copy of my library on Dropbox. I can use my phone to listen.

Usually, if I am listening to music (on my phone) outside of the house, I am streaming Dronezon via the SOMA FM app.

None of my music exists locally on any of my phones. It's either accessed from my NAS or Dropbox.

Nice! Actually might think about replicating this if I ever buy a second device such as an iPad

 

[eyoungren]

Nice! Actually might think about replicating this if I ever buy a second device such as an iPad

MusicStreamer: https://apps.apple.com/gb/app/musicstreamer/id979888370

Also available for the Mac, I just don't have a Mac with a current version of MacOS so I use apps that are compatible between my PowerPC and Intel Macs.

SongBoxPlayer: https://appadvice.com/app/songbox-player-for-dropbox-free/459822256

If you're interested…

 

[RokinAmerica]

Disclaimer: Old codger here. When I am at my desk, I usually either listen to Amazon or my music library (several hundered GB of music, several hundred albums) but when I water my lawn or the like, I use my (still daily use) iphone 5 0r 6, that has a few GB of select tunes, or I use one of my many iPods. I also have a Creative mp3 player from before iPods, and my original, my Archos Jukebox with huge rubber bumpers.

Yeah I am feeling you.

 

[MisterSavage]

I 100% do. I use streaming services too but I have a huge music library I maintain and also listen to.

 

[kanga1622]

We haven’t backed up to a computer in a lot of years and not sure all our audio files came from the desktop to laptop conversion.

So my husband has a few old playlists that we can’t update without wiping out everything. But they come in handy to play over the car speakers if we are in an area with little service on vacation.

But these days we mostly just stream anything we want to hear. Pandora is our go-to because I refuse to pay a monthly fee. And my kids have already crafted stations using that platform for their favorites.

 

[sparksd]

Not doing this with an iPhone but do have an older Samsung Galaxy Note 4 set up like this, with loaded MP3's (15GB) and Audible books.

 

[sparksd]

I have a NAS that has my library on it. All my iPhones have a music app that can access the library on the NAS and stream from it. Generally though, I use my Macs to play my music.

Outside of the house, I have another app that will stream my library from Dropbox, so I have a second copy of my library on Dropbox. I can use my phone to listen.

Usually, if I am listening to music (on my phone) outside of the house, I am streaming Dronezon via the SOMA FM app.

None of my music exists locally on any of my phones. It's either accessed from my NAS or Dropbox.

I have my library on my NAS but have replicated it on my 14 Pro Max as I often travel to places where Internet service is dodgy at best or completely unavailable.

 

[d4zza]

Disclaimer: Old codger here. When I am at my desk, I usually either listen to Amazon or my music library (several hundered GB of music, several hundred albums) but when I water my lawn or the like, I use my (still daily use) iphone 5 0r 6, that has a few GB of select tunes, or I use one of my many iPods. I also have a Creative mp3 player from before iPods, and my original, my Archos Jukebox with huge rubber bumpers.

Yeah I am feeling you.

Fantastic. This is great to hear 😁

 

[BanjoDudeAhoy]

Not the iPhone, but I moved house recently and the internet connection took a while so I had to get my mp3s out again.
There's some newer stuff that I don't have mp3s of because I never bought the albums and just relied on Spotify but this situation made me wonder if I should buy the albums after all...

I also every once in a while get out my iPod shuffle and just walk around with that, listening to music.
Sadly, my iPod touch 4 has a broken home button so it's quite useless. Otherwise, I'd be using that one as well.

 

[Jason J. Schneider]

Oh yeah! Have a huge library of albums & playlists that I maintain and update, backed up on three hard drives. I use the Mac to sync those with my iPad & iPhone music library.

I don't use streaming services. I look at them like some kind of radio on demand under a paywall. Never a fan of it.

 

[AlixSPQR]

So, does anyone else use locally stored MP3s as their primary library and listening source or am I an MP3 version of a 70s vinyl hoarder?

Yes, but not on my iPhone, only Mac and via  TV. And many ALAC and m4a files, not only mp3. All my CD’s were ripped in the 00’s. 36 GB Library by now…

 

[Ta_whirimatea]

Is anyone out there still using their iPhone as an MP3 player?

Years ago, in the late 00s I had a Samsung phone (think it was maybe one of the ones in a Bond movie?) as well as a hard-drive based MP3 player, a product called iRiver.

Then the iPhone came along with iTunes. I was reluctant at first, I wasn’t impressed with the iPhone sound or using iTunes instead of simple Windows Explorer to create a folder structure.

Eventually a few iPhone iterations down the line I swapped two devices for one.

Copied over my MP3s from my iRiver to iTunes around 2009.

I still have iTunes with all those acquired MP3s and indeed it’s my primary source for listening as opposed to streaming services like Spotify.

So, does anyone else use locally stored MP3s as their primary library and listening source or am I an MP3 version of a 70s vinyl hoarder?

I’m full on offline stored library. Have a select 30ish albums stored on my 13PM for causal listening, although usually listen to local radio station in the mornings.
I’ll never use Apple Music or any other music streaming services (except Netflix).
Before iPhone I had a tiny Sony Walkman which still sounds way better than iPhone, still use it from time to time. Also have a minidisc Walkman for nostalgia!
My Mac mini 2011 is my go to juke box for listening in the house with surround sound but since I upgraded to a 2022 max mini it has totally screwed my entire iTunes library. Had I known how much a pain in the @ss this 2022 mini would be I’d of stayed with the 2011 one (which I still have). I hate subscription models (looking at you adobe).
If I use my iPhone in a hire car with car play I hate it that it automatically tries to play from library (& not only what is on the device) so often just sits doing nothing till I select downloaded library then it’s fine. F’in annoying!

It’s daft little annoyances that could so easily be fixed that is pushing me away from Apple.

Finally, when will I be able to sync Apple Watch with iPad so I can finally ditch my iPhone. (I know it’l never happen as it’s Apple! Why have one product when you could have 3 that are capable of doing the same dam thing!)
Rant over!!

 

[Azzin]

Tidal HifI Plus user here.

 

[toobravetosave]

I have a very large offline library but I use apple music to upload it for streaming access on all my devices.

 

[mk313]

We use iTunes Match to store our music and sync across all devices. Not huge music listeners, and it wrks great for our needs. Don't subscribe/listen to any streaming services.

 

[eyoungren]

I have my library on my NAS but have replicated it on my 14 Pro Max as I often travel to places where Internet service is dodgy at best or completely unavailable.

Yeah, if I was in such a situation I'd do the same. Fortunately for me, I live in Phoenix, AZ. There are places with dodge internet out here, but not a lot of them.

 

[allenvanhellen]

I have a NAS that has my library on it. All my iPhones have a music app that can access the library on the NAS and stream from it. Generally though, I use my Macs to play my music.

Outside of the house, I have another app that will stream my library from Dropbox, so I have a second copy of my library on Dropbox. I can use my phone to listen.

Usually, if I am listening to music (on my phone) outside of the house, I am streaming Dronezon via the SOMA FM app.

None of my music exists locally on any of my phones. It's either accessed from my NAS or Dropbox.

Just looked into Soma FM’s app. Looks cool except for the low bit rates: nowhere near lossless or even 256kbps AAC.

 

[eyoungren]

Just looked into Soma FM’s app. Looks cool except for the low bit rates: nowhere near lossless or even 256kbps AAC.

I'm not an audiophile so I never even noticed. If you go here: https://somafm.com/listen/ though you can see options for playback for various streams or players. Of course, none of which are what you seem to be seeking (higher quality).

SOMA FM is one of the original internet radio stations. They've been online and streaming since 2000 I believe. But they are not Spotify, Pandora or Tidal. Just an internet radio station.

 

[skottichan]

Yeah, I use my iPhone as my primary music player when out of the house. At home I play everything from my Mini through my HomePods. I've considered getting a Walkman recently, but I can't really justify the cost of having a single use device.

I generally rip, or download FLAC/ALAC, and have done so for ages. My over all music collection is around 64GB in total.

 

[MacProFCP]

Is anyone out there still using their iPhone as an MP3 player?

Years ago, in the late 00s I had a Samsung phone (think it was maybe one of the ones in a Bond movie?) as well as a hard-drive based MP3 player, a product called iRiver.

Then the iPhone came along with iTunes. I was reluctant at first, I wasn’t impressed with the iPhone sound or using iTunes instead of simple Windows Explorer to create a folder structure.

Eventually a few iPhone iterations down the line I swapped two devices for one.

Copied over my MP3s from my iRiver to iTunes around 2009.

I still have iTunes with all those acquired MP3s and indeed it’s my primary source for listening as opposed to streaming services like Spotify.

So, does anyone else use locally stored MP3s as their primary library and listening source or am I an MP3 version of a 70s vinyl hoarder?

When Apple discontinued the iPod i bought another to have an extra. I don’t like streaming services and prefer to buy the music and audiobooks.

For my kids, we have several older iPhones that are not activated with a carrier. Lots of parental controls setup to make them music players and gaming devices with no internet access.

 

[person s]

Is anyone out there still using their iPhone as an MP3 player?

Years ago, in the late 00s I had a Samsung phone (think it was maybe one of the ones in a Bond movie?) as well as a hard-drive based MP3 player, a product called iRiver.

Then the iPhone came along with iTunes. I was reluctant at first, I wasn’t impressed with the iPhone sound or using iTunes instead of simple Windows Explorer to create a folder structure.

Eventually a few iPhone iterations down the line I swapped two devices for one.

Copied over my MP3s from my iRiver to iTunes around 2009.

I still have iTunes with all those acquired MP3s and indeed it’s my primary source for listening as opposed to streaming services like Spotify.

So, does anyone else use locally stored MP3s as their primary library and listening source or am I an MP3 version of a 70s vinyl hoarder?

I’ve had a couple of old iphones that I’ve replaced with later models and used the phone as an ipod on a Sony dock
currently it’s a 64gb iphone 4s - works well

 

[Ruggy]

I have a large library of files backed up but long ago I uploaded them via iTunes match. It costs €24 a year here and it gives you streaming access to all your audio in a much higher quality.
I don't see the point in paying a fortune for phone memory just to fill it up with audio files and although I had a NAS for a while, it always took an age getting it out of sleep or accessing from anywhere outside its own LAN.
If you pay for Apple music you pretty much have the entire music library of the world a couple of clicks away including all the ones from the 50s through 70s you'd lost or forgotten about

 

[Bkxmnr]

I have an old iPhone 6 with no SIM card that permanently resides in my garage. It's connected to a cheap Sony stereo using some very old speakers that I refoamed, and a sub unit. Old tech for sure, but it's garage worthy.