6 ms·

I'd pay for a thing that does streaming, is much smaller than my phone, and has good physical buttons. I don't want to run or sit in the gym with my huge iphone

I'd pay for a thing that does streaming, is much smaller than my phone, and has good physical buttons. I don't want to run or sit in the gym with my huge iphone. But I also don't want to collect files, it has to support all the streaming services and I need to be confident it supports the ones tomorrow as well.

nextlevelwizard 4y ago
Have you thought about Apple Watch? Sure it lacks the physical buttons, but from my experience it is quite responsive with sweaty fingers.
- Nextgrid 4y ago
  Edit: I stand corrected, see comment below. --- I don't believe you can download & save Spotify tracks on the watch itself - it still only operates as a companion app to the main iPhone one. So your only option is Apple Music which is a pile of shit.
  - elAhmo 4y ago
    It is somewhat of a recent addition, but you can now do that as well: download music and play it from Spotify without having your phone. I think they added it earlier last year, I was using it during summer.
  - derwiki 4y ago
    What's the beef with Apple Music? Besides Discovery Weekly on Spotify, they seem about the same to me
    - Nextgrid 4y ago
      Spotify beats Apple Music on performance alone. Search results and playback are instant on Spotify, but have a couple seconds' latency on Apple Music. The Apple Music client feels like an Electron pile of shit, which is ironic because the Spotify Desktop client is actually Electron and manages to be more performant and feel more native despite that.
    - capableweb 4y ago
      Basically, unless you're all in on the Apple ecosystem, most products from Apple suck, compared to the alternatives. Businesses that are active in multiple markets tend to have worse products for each, compared to businesses that focuses on one market. More concretely, Spotify for me has been a lot better than Apple Music for discovering new music, either via just browsing related artists, public playlists that include what I'm listening to or by following specific people I know have a similar taste to me. I also like that Spotify includes a EQ that I've found helpful at times, when I cannot control the output device. Lastly, I frequently change between OSes and devices (iPhone, Android and other hardware) and doing so with Spotify is really easy, it's just the same everyone. Unsurprisingly, it's not as easy with Apple Music. But that use case is probably very low on the priority for Apple, as mentioned before, they prefer to focus on people within their own ecosystem, which makes perfect sense.
izacus 4y ago
So... What's wrong with these Sony's? They're exactly what you're looking for.
- alkonaut 4y ago
  It does seem like the perfect device physically, but the article talks a lot about storage space, CPU speed and screen resolutions doesn't include the word "streaming" and only mentions one streaming service in passing in the last paragraph, unrelated to actual features. Am I supposed to understand that since it's 2023 a music player does indeed mean "something used to listen to streaming services, not files", and that the fact that it's Android means that the regular streaming apps can be used without issue? It's not obvious to me (And I'm a geek and regular Ars reader) that this thing even plays streaming music!
  - gsora 4y ago
    I’m 99% sure you can stream Spotify and similar on it. The last generation of Android-based Walkman can do that just fine. I think they mention streaming briefly because the target demographic for this device is the kind of people who have their own hi-res files available. I hope Sony fixed the battery life on those, because the last gen was underwhelming on that front.
    - rospaya 4y ago
      If it only has wifi then you can only stream what you saved beforehand in areas where there's no wifi access. But if it has a SIM slot with 4G/5G access then it's nothing more than a repackaged phone.
      - gsora 4y ago
        It doesn’t have cellular network AFAIK. But again, the target users don’t bother with streaming much, the device just so happens to run android, and that makes running streaming apps possible.
      - sangnoir 4y ago
drapado 4y ago
Maybe a smartwatch? The main reason for me to buy one was having music using spotify and blueetoth earphones while training.
antihero 4y ago
Have you considered using a smart watch?
m000 4y ago
If you are on Spotify or Amazon music, then there's Mighty [1]: iPod shuffle form factor, syncs with the aforementioned services, supports bluetooth and wired headphones. If you insist on the "all the streaming services" part though, you probably won't find anything at all, because... Apple. [1] https://www.bemighty.com https://www.bemighty.com
- capableweb 4y ago
  That thing looks really nice, and not too expensive either. Too bad it's only IPX4 rated, would have bought it instantly if it was better in that regard.
  - gwill 4y ago
    they have a waterproof version: https://bemighty.com/products/waterproof-mighty-vibe https://bemighty.com/products/waterproof-mighty-vibe
    - capableweb 4y ago
      Strange, that website redirects me to https://mightyaudio.eu/ https://mightyaudio.eu/ which only the following products: "Mighty Vibe", "Carrying Case" and "Charging Cable". Maybe it's not certified for the EU yet?
      - m000 4y ago
        It seems that the waterproof version is a mod provided by an external company, and currently out of stock [1]. It's a bit more expensive, but also comes with a set of waterproof headphones. [1] https://www.audioflood.com/waterproof-mighty-spotify-player-2/ https://www.audioflood.com/waterproof-mighty-spotify-player-...
- smith7018 4y ago
  The device would just need to run Android to support all streaming services because Apple Music has an Android app.
mschuster91 4y ago
Samsung's Galaxy Watch can do that, if you're fine with Spotify and Youtube Music.
tobyhinloopen 4y ago
Apple watch cellular
- joegahona 4y ago
  This only partially ticks the box of "physical buttons," but this is what I use and don't regret it. Apple Watch cellular paired with Bluetooth earbuds (I prefer Powerbeats Pro when running) is a delightful and magical experience that I highly recommend.

nextlevelwizard 4y ago

Have you thought about Apple Watch? Sure it lacks the physical buttons, but from my experience it is quite responsive with sweaty fingers.

Nextgrid 4y ago
Edit: I stand corrected, see comment below. --- I don't believe you can download & save Spotify tracks on the watch itself - it still only operates as a companion app to the main iPhone one. So your only option is Apple Music which is a pile of shit.
- elAhmo 4y ago
  It is somewhat of a recent addition, but you can now do that as well: download music and play it from Spotify without having your phone. I think they added it earlier last year, I was using it during summer.
- derwiki 4y ago
  What's the beef with Apple Music? Besides Discovery Weekly on Spotify, they seem about the same to me
  - Nextgrid 4y ago
    Spotify beats Apple Music on performance alone. Search results and playback are instant on Spotify, but have a couple seconds' latency on Apple Music. The Apple Music client feels like an Electron pile of shit, which is ironic because the Spotify Desktop client is actually Electron and manages to be more performant and feel more native despite that.
  - capableweb 4y ago
    Basically, unless you're all in on the Apple ecosystem, most products from Apple suck, compared to the alternatives. Businesses that are active in multiple markets tend to have worse products for each, compared to businesses that focuses on one market. More concretely, Spotify for me has been a lot better than Apple Music for discovering new music, either via just browsing related artists, public playlists that include what I'm listening to or by following specific people I know have a similar taste to me. I also like that Spotify includes a EQ that I've found helpful at times, when I cannot control the output device. Lastly, I frequently change between OSes and devices (iPhone, Android and other hardware) and doing so with Spotify is really easy, it's just the same everyone. Unsurprisingly, it's not as easy with Apple Music. But that use case is probably very low on the priority for Apple, as mentioned before, they prefer to focus on people within their own ecosystem, which makes perfect sense.

izacus 4y ago

So... What's wrong with these Sony's? They're exactly what you're looking for.

alkonaut 4y ago
It does seem like the perfect device physically, but the article talks a lot about storage space, CPU speed and screen resolutions doesn't include the word "streaming" and only mentions one streaming service in passing in the last paragraph, unrelated to actual features. Am I supposed to understand that since it's 2023 a music player does indeed mean "something used to listen to streaming services, not files", and that the fact that it's Android means that the regular streaming apps can be used without issue? It's not obvious to me (And I'm a geek and regular Ars reader) that this thing even plays streaming music!
- gsora 4y ago
  I’m 99% sure you can stream Spotify and similar on it. The last generation of Android-based Walkman can do that just fine. I think they mention streaming briefly because the target demographic for this device is the kind of people who have their own hi-res files available. I hope Sony fixed the battery life on those, because the last gen was underwhelming on that front.
  - rospaya 4y ago
    If it only has wifi then you can only stream what you saved beforehand in areas where there's no wifi access. But if it has a SIM slot with 4G/5G access then it's nothing more than a repackaged phone.
    - gsora 4y ago
      It doesn’t have cellular network AFAIK. But again, the target users don’t bother with streaming much, the device just so happens to run android, and that makes running streaming apps possible.
    - sangnoir 4y ago

drapado 4y ago

Maybe a smartwatch? The main reason for me to buy one was having music using spotify and blueetoth earphones while training.

antihero 4y ago

Have you considered using a smart watch?

m000 4y ago

If you are on Spotify or Amazon music, then there's Mighty [1]: iPod shuffle form factor, syncs with the aforementioned services, supports bluetooth and wired headphones. If you insist on the "all the streaming services" part though, you probably won't find anything at all, because... Apple. [1] https://www.bemighty.com https://www.bemighty.com

capableweb 4y ago
That thing looks really nice, and not too expensive either. Too bad it's only IPX4 rated, would have bought it instantly if it was better in that regard.
- gwill 4y ago
  they have a waterproof version: https://bemighty.com/products/waterproof-mighty-vibe https://bemighty.com/products/waterproof-mighty-vibe
  - capableweb 4y ago
    Strange, that website redirects me to https://mightyaudio.eu/ https://mightyaudio.eu/ which only the following products: "Mighty Vibe", "Carrying Case" and "Charging Cable". Maybe it's not certified for the EU yet?
    - m000 4y ago
      It seems that the waterproof version is a mod provided by an external company, and currently out of stock [1]. It's a bit more expensive, but also comes with a set of waterproof headphones. [1] https://www.audioflood.com/waterproof-mighty-spotify-player-2/ https://www.audioflood.com/waterproof-mighty-spotify-player-...
smith7018 4y ago
The device would just need to run Android to support all streaming services because Apple Music has an Android app.

mschuster91 4y ago

Samsung's Galaxy Watch can do that, if you're fine with Spotify and Youtube Music.

tobyhinloopen 4y ago

Apple watch cellular

joegahona 4y ago
This only partially ticks the box of "physical buttons," but this is what I use and don't regret it. Apple Watch cellular paired with Bluetooth earbuds (I prefer Powerbeats Pro when running) is a delightful and magical experience that I highly recommend.