I'll start, in no particular order. * better battery life (supposedly up to 40 hours on a single AA, but I haven't benchmarked this independently) * consequen

I'll start, in no particular order. * better battery life (supposedly up to 40 hours on a single AA, but I haven't benchmarked this independently) * consequentially from the above, your phone's battery is saved for when it _really_ matters, like when you are in the middle of nowhere and need a map to navigate the environment * a more tactile experience compared to a touchscreen * works offline, and even without mobile signal coverage * no adverts * no interruptions, constant bings and bops and notifications from other apps * no need for updates - it's already a "dead" platform and was never updatable in the first place * can still download music from a PC, albeit it takes longer and is slightly harder than loading something onto a micro SD card * no need to fight stubborn mobile UIs, just the buttons to play, stop and control playback * some players come with a dedicated remote controller, which is also much more convenient than unlocking your screen to change tracks * you can focus on just the music or audiobook that you took with you, no temptation to shop for new listens while out and about and no temptation to doomscroll your multimedia feed of choice (Instagram, YouTube, Spotify) * content never "disappears" from your streaming service until you erase it on purpose * as long as the laser module works, this device will be usable into ~eternity if your model runs on AA batteries. Your battery life never degrades, and your device will never be artificially obsolesced by its own battery disintegrating. * the discs are very light and quite small, so it's still possible to get a couple of albums or several hours of speech-quality audio to choose from on the go. * and of course retro coolness That said, there are downsides: * you could mostly get all of these advantages with a single mid-end MP3 player * cables are a pain once one experiences the wireless life * download from a PC is a thing, but it's undeniably burdensome because of how long it takes, and until Web MiniDisc, because of the antiquated formats and runtime environments supported by the official software. * shock-proof, not so much. I don't recommend this for heavy workout in a gym * the proprietary nature of everything chafes. Downloading music back from the player is impossible, remotes are proprietary, DRM is still a problem when the rest of the world moved on. All in all, it's an aesthetic choice. An art project, if you will. It's not for everything, but in some ways, on certain days, the coolness makes up for it.