Apple iPod Classic
Hacker ApprovedRanked 4 of 11 portable music players by recommenders
People recommend it for its simple, polished interface and easy modding with Rockbox, SD cards and SSDs. Critics say the display is dated and finding specific tracks is hard.
People recommend it for its simple, polished interface and easy modding with Rockbox, SD cards and SSDs. Critics say the display is dated and finding specific tracks is hard.
23 people gave an opinion
- recommend it
- 18
- criticize it
- 5
- approval share
- 78%
Recommended in 8 of 13 months
- November 2025: recommended
- December 2025: not recommended
- January 2026: recommended
- February 2026: not recommended
- March 2026: not recommended
- April 2026: not recommended
- May 2026: recommended
- June 2026: recommended
- July 2026: recommended
- August 2026: recommended
- September 2026: recommended
- October 2026: recommended
- November 2026: not recommended (month in progress)
Why it carries the badge
- 18 people recommend itNeeds 10 or more, met.
- 3.6 recommenders for every criticNeeds 2 to 1 or better, met.
- Recommended in 8 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
Easy to mod and upgrade
“The only option that I could find was an iPod classic, modded with an SD card and better battery.”
Comment from 23 Jan 2026 in “Tech Is Fun Again: The Tech Monoculture Is Finally Breaking” “For just mp3 and podcasts: get an iPod Classic (or Video) and install Rockbox.”
Comment from 23 May 2026 in “It's time to talk about my writerdeck” “I use a frankenstein-d iPod classic with rockbox, bluetooth mod, and an SSD.”
Comment from 5 Nov 2025 on Hacker News - Comment from 24 Jul 2026 in “Why Sony Can't Bring Back Its Classic Walkman Models”
Simple, polished interface without gatekeeping
“the true advantage of the iPod Classic was a matter of polish and UX”
Comment from 23 Jan 2026 in “Tech Is Fun Again: The Tech Monoculture Is Finally Breaking” “it is basically drag and drop without Apple's gatekeeping”
Comment from 16 Jan 2026 in “Spotify increases its US subscription prices for the third time in 3 years” “so few simple but beautiful products”
Comment from 2 Oct 2026 in “Apple Pass Designer” Fun, nostalgic device to use
“I've even gotten my old iPod Classic out of mothballs and started messing around with it. So much fun!”
Comment from 6 Jan 2026 in “How Spotify Made Me Self Host” “Fun devices that make me nostalgic for the era that got me into programming.”
Comment from 18 Jun 2026 in “I Bought a 2004 iPod in 2026”
What people warn about
Each mark is one comment
Repairs are tough and costly
“glued the short ribbon cable for the screen to the front of the iPod classic”
Comment from 31 Jul 2026 in “Apple Will 'Watch Everything Burn' When AI Bubble Bursts” “it has been a tough repair so I have spent approximately 100 euros on it”
Comment from 28 Sep 2026 in “16GB iPod Nano 3G Upgrade”
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 ClassicThis page | 18 | 5 | 78% | 8 | — | Approved |
| Apple iPod nano | 15 | 1 | 94% | 7 | — | Approved |
What people said
21 of the 26 comments that mention it, newest first. Each links to the original comment.
“Man these players where just the best.”
“so few simple but beautiful products”
“The old iPod also forces you to sync the music using the iTunes library.”
“it has been a tough repair so I have spent approximately 100 euros on it”
“it has many upgrade directions that I haven't been able to decipher”
“Reverse engineering it was really difficult.”
“glued the short ribbon cable for the screen to the front of the iPod classic”
“the display is garbage by modern standards, finding specific tracks sucks”
“it's great for leaving plugged in in the car”
“I still adore the hell out of my 512GB (SD) iPod Classic/Minis”
“It's just not very practical and usable in today's world.”
“Fun devices that make me nostalgic for the era that got me into programming.”
“For just mp3 and podcasts: get an iPod Classic (or Video) and install Rockbox.”
“absolutely outclass the old iPod classics in snappiness”
“The only option that I could find was an iPod classic, modded with an SD card and better battery.”
“the true advantage of the iPod Classic was a matter of polish and UX”
“it is basically drag and drop without Apple's gatekeeping”
“I can listen to high-res lossless audio!”
“I've even gotten my old iPod Classic out of mothballs and started messing around with it. So much fun!”
“it'll play for like a month straight on one battery charge now”
“I use a frankenstein-d iPod classic with rockbox, bluetooth mod, and an SSD.”
Counts come from 1,795,640 Hacker News comments, November 2025 to November 2026. How we count. Report a mistake.