HiBy R1
Ranked 11 of 11 portable music players by recommenders
Owners recommend it as a non-Android music player for about $60 that runs Linux; the one recurring complaint is Bluetooth pairing with a car.
Owners recommend it as a non-Android music player for about $60 that runs Linux; the one recurring complaint is Bluetooth pairing with a car.
5 people gave an opinion
- recommend it
- 5
- criticize it
- 0
- approval share
- 100%
Recommended in 4 of 13 months
- November 2025: not recommended
- December 2025: recommended
- January 2026: recommended
- February 2026: not recommended
- March 2026: not recommended
- April 2026: not recommended
- May 2026: not recommended
- June 2026: not recommended
- July 2026: not recommended
- August 2026: recommended
- September 2026: recommended
- October 2026: not recommended
- November 2026: not recommended (month in progress)
Why it doesn’t carry the badge
- 5 people recommend itNeeds 10 or more, not met.
- Nobody criticizes itNeeds 2 to 1 or better, met.
- Recommended in 4 of 13 monthsNeeds 4 or more, met.
The same three rules apply to every product, and the badge can’t be bought. How the badge works
What people say about it
The reasons people give, with the number of comments that give each one. Open a reason to read what they said.
Why people recommend it
Each mark is one comment
Non-Android player running Linux
“Probably you're better off just using a HiBy R1 (which uses Linux under the hood”
Comment from 27 Sep 2026 in “16GB iPod Nano 3G Upgrade” “For 60 bucks it is a remarkable non Android device”
Comment from 22 Aug 2026 in “Using an old Android phone as a music player” Owners pleased and would recommend
“I've got the Hiby R1 and have been pretty pleased with it.”
Comment from 25 Jan 2026 in “Tech Is Fun Again: The Tech Monoculture Is Finally Breaking” “Would definitely recommend it to others.”
Comment from 22 Aug 2026 in “Using an old Android phone as a music player”
What people warn about
Each mark is one comment
Won't pair with car Bluetooth
“for whatever reason it refuses to pair to my car's bluetooth”
Comment from 31 Dec 2025 in “Ask HN: How to go back to listening to MP3s?”
Other portable music players people recommend
The four most recommended other portable music players, with the same counts for each, so you can compare like for like. The tick on each bar marks the 2 to 1 line the badge needs.
| Product | Recommend | Criticize | Approval | Months | Owned | Badge |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apple iPod | 102 | 32 | 76% | 12 | 6 yrs6 owners | Approved |
| Sony MiniDisc player | 40 | 12 | 77% | 7 | — | Approved |
| Sony Walkman | 20 | 20 | 50% | 6 | — | — |
| Apple iPod Classic | 18 | 5 | 78% | 8 | — | Approved |
| HiBy R1This page | 5 | 0 | 100% | 4 | — | — |
What people said
All 6 comments that mention it, newest first. Each links to the original comment.
“Probably you're better off just using a HiBy R1 (which uses Linux under the hood”
“Would definitely recommend it to others.”
“For 60 bucks it is a remarkable non Android device”
“I've got the Hiby R1 and have been pretty pleased with it.”
“The Hiby is good enough until then for me.”
“for whatever reason it refuses to pair to my car's bluetooth”
Counts come from 1,795,640 Hacker News comments, November 2025 to November 2026. How we count. Report a mistake.