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I recently did the same thing, although I picked up a 6th gen iPod Classic. A few things I've noticed: 1. Battery life is insane, even though this thing is mor

I recently did the same thing, although I picked up a 6th gen iPod Classic. A few things I've noticed: 1. Battery life is insane, even though this thing is more than 10 years old. I've always laughed off complaints about phone/smart watch battery life because charging daily doesn't seem like a chore but it is really nice have a battery that will last a week or more. 2. Syncing is so slow (I'd forgotten how slow) but not too much of a frustration given I'm on a computer all day anyway. 3. Having a device without the internet is really nice. No distractions other than the 3 arcade games on the device which are a trip down memory lane. 4. The UI is shockingly laggy. Scrolling with the click wheel stutter a lot as it tries to read from the HDD. Maybe I have a bad device? I'm not sure as I always had flash iPod's in the past. 5. iTunes still exists and as I've built up a 'large' library through it over the years I still use it - however Apple isn't selling their lossless or Atmos content through it. The latter doesn't matter much but it's a shame I can't get the lossless tracks I can get through Apple Music. 6. EarPods SUCK. I bought a pair just to get the full iPod experience. I use a range of headphones but mostly use AirPod Pro's these days. EarPods sound tinny, fall out and are just generally bad. Weirdly, I used to really like them but I guess things have gotten much better in the mass market headphone scene over the last decade. 7. Shuffle mode is fantastic. Because you've paid money for all the songs on the device instead of just adding everything you have a passing interest in to your library (because why not?) it's just an endless playlist of songs I know I like.

tarboreus 5y ago
I've gotten on a private tracker for music and can download awesome lossless files. I put them on a server and listen with the Play:Sub app. Been really enjoying curating my own music and not using awful monopoly apps. I may also buy an iPod too, why not.
- basisword 5y ago
  I could do that but I stopped pirating music as soon as I got my first job. No judgement but I can't justify pirating something I can afford to pay for. I could get the higher quality tracks ripping CD's or buying elsewhere but getting most of my music through iTunes means I have about 15 years of purchases available to re-download on any of my devices without having to worry about personal backups. It's quite nice.
  - tarboreus 5y ago
    I guess it's paying Apple or some other monopolist for the music that I really can't stand. I buy vinyl albums, though obviously not for everything I download. And I get some things on Band Camp, because you actually just get the music. But I feel you.
shp0ngle 5y ago
Ad 6 - no, iPod headphones were always bad. Even back then in the 2000s, they were already better headphones available.
- basisword 5y ago
  Oh yeah I'm sure but my expectations were much lower then so they never felt like a problem to me. You could always get good headphones but EarPods were decent at the time in my experience compared with other mass market/highly popular headphones (e.g the ones you got with other mp3 players or phones at the time).
- drewzero1 5y ago
  Yeah, the older iPod headphones were even worse comfort-wise, especially after the rubber around the speaker grill started to break down. I had several pairs that I kept for way too long.
cainxinth 5y ago
Hard disagree on 6. I bought my first pair of AirPod Pros a few weeks ago after being a diehard EarPods users for a nearly decade. I still use my EarPods while biking, but now use the the AirPods for everything else. Obviously, they can't compete on features like ANC, but I think the EarPods sound quality is superior and the controller is more reliable than using "Hey Siri" on the AirPods. Also, I guess we have different ear canals, because neither set falls out of my ears. Plus, EarPods are freaking indestructible. Mine look like hell, have been through hundreds of hours-long summer rides in high humidity, soaked in sweat and just as many winter rides in subfreezing temperatures, and they are still going strong. No matter how well I take care of my AirPods (which cost 10X the price), I can only expect to get two or three years out of them.
- basisword 5y ago
  Agree on EarPods being indestructible. I have a few very old pairs still working. Until I got the AirPods I always used the EarPod style headphones (and hated in ears). Maybe I've got used to that and prefer it now and that's distorting my opinion on the EarPods a bit. I was genuinely surprised at the 'lower' (to my ears) quality when I started using them again. It was unexpected.
- powersnail 5y ago
  The biggest problem of EarPods is that when it doesn't fit the ear canal, it *really* doesn't fit. There's no way to sort of make it stay inside; it just slides out like a skateboard. I have such ears, and earpods are simply useless to me. The cable is also quite fragile in my experience. The material gets sticky after a few years and it sometimes frays. On the other hand, I have a pair of UE that has gone through washing machine and still going strong after 7 years.
easton 5y ago
There’s pretty easy ways of flashmodding the iPod if you want to swap the drive. DankPods on YouTube has really good videos. I wonder if the lag has something to do with all the extra fancy graphics in the 6th gen OS. I haven’t thought to check, but I doubt it has a much faster chip as compared to a 5th gen (and I know it has a smaller maximum shuffle limit)
- basisword 5y ago
  I have been considering swapping the drive, thanks for the channel recommendation. Also tempted to get a 5th gen Nano instead. Turns out I don't need a 160GB drive as my purchased music library is much smaller than I remembered and I always loved my 5th gen Nano.
  - easton 5y ago
    The nanos are persnickety because it's so hard (many times impossible) to replace the battery, and they start to swell after a lot of use. Definitely inspect it and make sure the battery is good before making a purchase.
Rebelgecko 5y ago
If you're feeling brave, you can replace your iPod's hard drive with an SSD

tarboreus 5y ago

I've gotten on a private tracker for music and can download awesome lossless files. I put them on a server and listen with the Play:Sub app. Been really enjoying curating my own music and not using awful monopoly apps. I may also buy an iPod too, why not.

basisword 5y ago
I could do that but I stopped pirating music as soon as I got my first job. No judgement but I can't justify pirating something I can afford to pay for. I could get the higher quality tracks ripping CD's or buying elsewhere but getting most of my music through iTunes means I have about 15 years of purchases available to re-download on any of my devices without having to worry about personal backups. It's quite nice.
- tarboreus 5y ago
  I guess it's paying Apple or some other monopolist for the music that I really can't stand. I buy vinyl albums, though obviously not for everything I download. And I get some things on Band Camp, because you actually just get the music. But I feel you.

shp0ngle 5y ago

Ad 6 - no, iPod headphones were always bad. Even back then in the 2000s, they were already better headphones available.

basisword 5y ago
Oh yeah I'm sure but my expectations were much lower then so they never felt like a problem to me. You could always get good headphones but EarPods were decent at the time in my experience compared with other mass market/highly popular headphones (e.g the ones you got with other mp3 players or phones at the time).
drewzero1 5y ago
Yeah, the older iPod headphones were even worse comfort-wise, especially after the rubber around the speaker grill started to break down. I had several pairs that I kept for way too long.

cainxinth 5y ago

Hard disagree on 6. I bought my first pair of AirPod Pros a few weeks ago after being a diehard EarPods users for a nearly decade. I still use my EarPods while biking, but now use the the AirPods for everything else. Obviously, they can't compete on features like ANC, but I think the EarPods sound quality is superior and the controller is more reliable than using "Hey Siri" on the AirPods. Also, I guess we have different ear canals, because neither set falls out of my ears. Plus, EarPods are freaking indestructible. Mine look like hell, have been through hundreds of hours-long summer rides in high humidity, soaked in sweat and just as many winter rides in subfreezing temperatures, and they are still going strong. No matter how well I take care of my AirPods (which cost 10X the price), I can only expect to get two or three years out of them.

basisword 5y ago
Agree on EarPods being indestructible. I have a few very old pairs still working. Until I got the AirPods I always used the EarPod style headphones (and hated in ears). Maybe I've got used to that and prefer it now and that's distorting my opinion on the EarPods a bit. I was genuinely surprised at the 'lower' (to my ears) quality when I started using them again. It was unexpected.
powersnail 5y ago
The biggest problem of EarPods is that when it doesn't fit the ear canal, it *really* doesn't fit. There's no way to sort of make it stay inside; it just slides out like a skateboard. I have such ears, and earpods are simply useless to me. The cable is also quite fragile in my experience. The material gets sticky after a few years and it sometimes frays. On the other hand, I have a pair of UE that has gone through washing machine and still going strong after 7 years.

easton 5y ago

There’s pretty easy ways of flashmodding the iPod if you want to swap the drive. DankPods on YouTube has really good videos. I wonder if the lag has something to do with all the extra fancy graphics in the 6th gen OS. I haven’t thought to check, but I doubt it has a much faster chip as compared to a 5th gen (and I know it has a smaller maximum shuffle limit)

basisword 5y ago
I have been considering swapping the drive, thanks for the channel recommendation. Also tempted to get a 5th gen Nano instead. Turns out I don't need a 160GB drive as my purchased music library is much smaller than I remembered and I always loved my 5th gen Nano.
- easton 5y ago
  The nanos are persnickety because it's so hard (many times impossible) to replace the battery, and they start to swell after a lot of use. Definitely inspect it and make sure the battery is good before making a purchase.

Rebelgecko 5y ago

If you're feeling brave, you can replace your iPod's hard drive with an SSD