Hi. I am the target for this kind of device. I like to have a dedicated music player, and I like the shape of the iPod classic. I don’t want to use a smartphone.
This device has Bluetooth which the old iPod did not have, which is an enhancement. The old iPod also forces you to sync the music using the iTunes library.
you can still sync music to iPods using the music app/the finder on mac [0]. there’s a similar thing for windows as well [1]. on linux, i know the clementine music player supports iPod sync [2]. all these options let you use the original firmware!
Well, the support link says iPod Touch, that’s not all iPods. I was thinking about older models to be honest.
I’ve been told in another comment that they still sync, via Finder. I have had issues with that, but it’s probably okay from what other comments say.
I’ve done an online search and I see other people that have had technical issues syncing with Finder. I guess it depends on the macOS version, iPod model… who knows.
I’ve used Clementine but found it to be clunky and unreliable. Again, just my personal experience with it.
It is actually still supported directly Finder on macOS. Or, even better, just putting Rockbox on them and copying files over directly, and that’s well supported in Linux.
Pricing on the used market is maybe a bit high compared to some of the other options out there but the hardware still feels great and there’s massive aftermarket support so there are still benefits to an iPod.
To be honest I like the classic UI and would not want to use Rockbox… I have struggled trying to use it with Linux. There are ways, in theory, but actually was a pain in practice. I’ve been told Finder works fine, if that’s the case then that’s great.
It’s true that after iTunes ceased to exist it was then possible to sync them with the Music app and Finder, I was wrong to say that. I meant to say that Apple no longer offers support for the device.
I have had issues syncing with Finder on a particular model. I assumed these models no longer worked with the OS. Happy to hear that they do. Maybe it was the OS version, or the model. I should try again.
