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MY recommendation would be a modified iPod 5th or 7th gen Classic if you don't mind the larger size. These iPods can be upgraded with larger batteries and flash

MY recommendation would be a modified iPod 5th or 7th gen Classic if you don't mind the larger size. These iPods can be upgraded with larger batteries and flash storage instead of a hard drive making them long lasting and robust. You can do the modification yourself on iPod with a broken hard drive or buy one on eBay already modified. (Tip: The 5th gens are easier to modify than the 7th gens since they come apart a lot easier.) Personally, I use a 5th gen Classic with 32GB of flash and a new battery. I modified it myself with a compact flash card and a new battery. It's been in use for about 3 years and I've had no real issues.

jacobush 6y ago
How do you copy podcasts and such to these old iPods? iTunes is being deprecated right?
- spondyl 6y ago
  It's perhaps more like elements of it seemed to be integrated into Finder so it'll mount as a device and you'll see the familiar iTunes style sync UI
- andyjohnson0 6y ago
  Replace the firmware with RockBox and it presents itself as a normal USB storage device. Just drag and drop the files.
- patrickk 6y ago
  Foobar2000 with an iPod add-on[1] and a podcast add-on[2]. You don't need iTunes directly, but probably an older version of iTunes in the background for compatibility when syncing. Oldapps.com has you sorted for that. I personally use a modded 5.5 gen for daily listening, it's vastly superior to using a smartphone. It has a huge memory and unbeatable battery life. With cheap replaceable batteries and SD card boards, it should essentially last for years/decades. The firmware is much simpler than iOS, so it doesn't matter that it's not maintained, it simply works. EDIT: OP is using a Mac, so I'm not sure if this is feasible. It does work well on Windows though. [1] https://www.foobar2000.org/components/view/foo_dop https://www.foobar2000.org/components/view/foo_dop [2] https://www.foobar2000.org/components/view/foo_podcatcher https://www.foobar2000.org/components/view/foo_podcatcher
- physicsguy 6y ago
  Syncing music still works fine on Macs/Windows. I'd actually go as far as to say that on Mac it's an improvement, becasue you just have a 'Music' app and a 'Podcast' app, and when you plug in an iPod you can see it in Finder.
dalke 6y ago
Thanks for the pointers! My backup plan if I can't find something new is to get a used nano. I hadn't considered a Classic. Alas, I'm in Sweden so eBay + shipping + customs adds a chunk, but maybe I can find someone here who does that.

jacobush 6y ago

How do you copy podcasts and such to these old iPods? iTunes is being deprecated right?

spondyl 6y ago
It's perhaps more like elements of it seemed to be integrated into Finder so it'll mount as a device and you'll see the familiar iTunes style sync UI
andyjohnson0 6y ago
Replace the firmware with RockBox and it presents itself as a normal USB storage device. Just drag and drop the files.
patrickk 6y ago
Foobar2000 with an iPod add-on[1] and a podcast add-on[2]. You don't need iTunes directly, but probably an older version of iTunes in the background for compatibility when syncing. Oldapps.com has you sorted for that. I personally use a modded 5.5 gen for daily listening, it's vastly superior to using a smartphone. It has a huge memory and unbeatable battery life. With cheap replaceable batteries and SD card boards, it should essentially last for years/decades. The firmware is much simpler than iOS, so it doesn't matter that it's not maintained, it simply works. EDIT: OP is using a Mac, so I'm not sure if this is feasible. It does work well on Windows though. [1] https://www.foobar2000.org/components/view/foo_dop https://www.foobar2000.org/components/view/foo_dop [2] https://www.foobar2000.org/components/view/foo_podcatcher https://www.foobar2000.org/components/view/foo_podcatcher
physicsguy 6y ago
Syncing music still works fine on Macs/Windows. I'd actually go as far as to say that on Mac it's an improvement, becasue you just have a 'Music' app and a 'Podcast' app, and when you plug in an iPod you can see it in Finder.

dalke 6y ago

Thanks for the pointers! My backup plan if I can't find something new is to get a used nano. I hadn't considered a Classic. Alas, I'm in Sweden so eBay + shipping + customs adds a chunk, but maybe I can find someone here who does that.