Apple iPod Nano 7th gen

If you are really into good quality audio, I'd recommend a used Fiio M11 Plus It's really good, but even used about 450 bucks. This might be too pricey, so you could then go for a Surfans F20 like already recommended ( https://www.rockbox.org/wiki/AIGOErosQK ). It has no balanced output, but is about 120 bucks and supports Rockbox. If you more into Android and streaming, you could take a look at the Hiby M300 which is also a budget device, but has a pretty modern Android and is a bit more portable than a smartphone. Maybe it's also worth mentioning Qobuz ( https://www.qobuz.com/ ), the high res music streaming service. Many audiophiles are into this, while I'm not using streaming services at all. I personally use an old iPod Nano 7g and as backup device my Android phone with Substreamer / DSub and self hosted navidrome. Not hi-res, I don't need this :-)

I miss my ipod nano 7th gen, the only change I would do to it would be for it to have 512gb to ~1tb of storage or so. Phones just aren't the same, and in many countries it's a gigantic risk to walk around with an iphone out

I presume it's a 6th gen. While A10 stopped receiving OS updates with iOS 16, this iPad is still supported by iOS 16. I had an iPhone 7 (same SoC) til early this year with iOS 15 and it was fine (changed because it got physically destroyed). I have a 7th gen iPad (A10) and iPad Pro 10.5 (A10X) and they both work perfectly fine with iOS 16. In any case, even if it stopped being supported that's a far cry from that aforementioned Pixel situation where it stopped being supported _the next year_.

Sorta-related topic: I like to listen to music while I run. I currently use a 7th Gen iPod Nano. It works because it's small and it has Bluetooth; I just put it in my pocket and go. However, I would rather have this same functionality (play music, Bluetooth) on a wristwatch device, as the iPod bouncing around in my pocket can be kinda annoying. All the popular "smart watch" devices are packed with functionality I just don't want - not interested in having my fitness tracked or reading text messages while I run. I just want music and Bluetooth, and I guess a stopwatch/timer, too. That's it. I've looked around and the best I could find was a wristwatch device straight outta Shenzhen. I bought it, and unsurprisingly, it was junk. Does anyone know of a quality wristwatch device that only plays music and has Bluetooth (and stopwatch/timer)? Does a product like this exist? Or, is it "smart watch" or nothing (or junk)?

You could take a look at the Rockbox supported device list[1]. Depending on the size requirements and the budget you could go for a Sansa Clip+. I personally prefer the iPod Nano 7th gen, which is great in terms of usability, has bluetooth 4.0 and is also very small size. Repair is a nightmare though and finding an affordable but still working device is not that easy. If smallest size is not a requirement, you could go for the HiBy M300 - a pretty new Android 13 device supporting most Apps, 2TB of microSD Storage, having control buttons and also cable headphone remote support (OMTP, not CTIA), but still not that big. Maybe a modified Apple iPod Classic 2009 with an iFlash Quad and 2000mah battery also fits your needs. It's way bigger than a shuffle, but it's at least maintainable (battery and storage replacement). [1]: https://www.rockbox.org/

My personal experience with iPod 5th gen (the one used in the article): - indeed produces the best audio with the wolfson chip, but this difference to a 7th/latest gen is hardly noticable (while 6th gen and others are not as good) - does not support EarPod or similar headphone remotes, while the 7th gen does - with one limitation: fast forward and backward does not work - supports a 2200mah battery (40h of listening) when used with iFlash Quad and a THIN back cover (i built one, google for "ipod 2200mah") but not the 3000mah one (only supported with the thick cover) - this is also the case for 7th gen - has a far less good haptic expierience (the wheel does not feel as well) - when using the wrong microSD cards behaves strange or does not event work - when using original firmware, depending on the version (there is 5th and 5.5th gen), it does not support as many audio files (20000 instead of 50000) - when using original firmware, I would not invest in more than 512GB flash storage because max 50000 Tracks/Files are supported - unless you want to listen to audiobooks My advice: - Get and iPod 7th Gen 160GB from 2009 - Get an iSesamo opening tool (only one - this tool is better quality than anything else for the first hull breach) - Get an iFlash Quad and 3 similar to iSesamo opening tools from the same shop (lower quality, but cheap and good for second and third stroke) - Get 2 to 4 NEW Transcend 256GB cards (TS256GUSD300S-A) - Get a 2200mah iPod Battery from ebay (not the 300…