# Apple iPod nano

15 Hacker News commenters recommended Apple iPod nano and 1 criticized it, November 2025 to November 2026. It was recommended in 7 of 13 months. It meets the Hacker Approved badge rule.

**Verdict:** People recommend it for its small size, responsive feel and the way it handled a music library, with many saying nothing since has matched it. One critic notes weak audiobook support.

## Why people recommend it

- Small, responsive, and well built (3 comments): "Still haven't yet owned another device in that size / form factor that can do as much as that little thing did." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47463251)) "it feels mind blowing, state of the art with how small and responsive it is" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46469920)) "the iPods are very sturdy devices, which many competitors were not" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46203350))
- Replaced the iPod mini as best seller (3 comments): "launched a complete replacement for the iPod mini, at the time the best-selling portable music player and it wasn't even close" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46515829)) "The iPod nano effectively wiped out the competing music player market." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47972926)) "the ipod mini and nano were, at the time, a lot of value for money" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46766268))
- Simple playlists and curated music (3 comments): "It has the playlist which was perfect that one time over ten years ago." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49864551)) "it was the only ipod i ever had or needed" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49854885)) "love curating my songs to fit the 8GB" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49932348))
- Still the best player people owned (3 comments): "the best player I ever had" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49446776)) "was so proud of that thing" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49855035)) "the perfect device for me" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49399991))

## What people warn about

- Weak audiobook support (1 comments): "the iPod Nano 3rd gen lacks first class support for audio books" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49866262))

## Alternatives hackers recommend

- [Apple iPod touch](https://hackerapproved.com/p/ipod-touch.md): 13 recommend

## Where to get it

- [See price on Amazon](https://www.amazon.com/s?k=Apple+iPod+nano+7th+generation&tag=hackerapprove-20) (affiliate link)

## Cite as

Hacker Approved, "Apple iPod nano", https://hackerapproved.com/p/ipod-nano/ (counts from 1,795,640 Hacker News comments, November 2025 to November 2026).