I ditched music on my Android phone and went back to my iPod

As an old-school techie whose adolescence had been spent tinkering with tape decks and moveable CD gamers, I discover that trendy Android telephones are nothing in need of miracles of engineering for audio consumption. They’ve received a display that rivals my high-end tv, a DAC chip that’s by all measures clear, near-lossless wi-fi streaming, extra storage than you possibly can shake a stick at, and sufficient processing energy to run a small datacenter.

But, once I wish to sit down and really hearken to an album, the cellphone is commonly essentially the most irritating instrument in my pocket. Between the fixed pings from Slack and the AI-generated discovery feeds that maintain attempting to shove viral tracks down my throat, the easy act of listening has develop into a chore. It shouldn’t have been this manner. A totally linked gadget just like the cellphone in your pocket, with entry to virtually each monitor in existence, ought to supply the most effective listening expertise. However, in follow, it’s simply not true.

That frustration is why, regardless of getting access to the most effective Android telephones and iPhones round, I nonetheless flip to a gaggle of iPods for my music listening. It seems that in 2026, the easiest way to get pleasure from music is to journey again to 2006. Whereas everybody else is combating with subscription value hikes and discovery algorithms, I’ve discovered sanctuary in a tool that doesn’t also have a Wi-Fi chip. And if the rising shift again to retro tech on the whole, and iPods specifically, is something to go by, I’m removed from alone on this shift.

Let’s be trustworthy concerning the present state of music apps on Android at this time. Whether or not you utilize Spotify, YouTube Music, or Tidal, the expertise is not nearly your library. The enshittification of all these apps has been continuing at a gradual however regular tempo. Each time I open YouTube Music, I’m greeted by a “Samples” tab that appears suspiciously like TikTok. AI DJs interrupt my move to inform me what they assume I wish to hear based mostly on present traits. The app supplies a loud, cluttered expertise that prioritizes engagement metrics over the precise artwork of the track. There’s additionally the cyclical motion of playlists, particularly on Spotify, which appears to floor the identical standard tracks each single time. Discovery is principally lifeless except you really put the time into actively perusing sources like AllMusic for the newest releases or studying music critiques on-line.

The distractions transcend the apps themselves. Most of our listening at this time occurs on a cellphone, which, sure, is extraordinarily handy. You possibly can hear at house, hear on the go, and, to a good diploma, hear offline. However if you end up attempting to lose your self in a posh progressive rock album or a traditional swing jazz recording, a notification a couple of LinkedIn connection request is most positively a vibe killer.

Even in “Do Not Disturb” mode, the temptation to verify a notification or scroll by way of a feed is at all times there as a result of each time you’re adjusting your playlist, that notification is true there. Might I train extra self-restraint? Maybe. However my cellphone actually doesn’t make it simple. Transferring my music to a devoted gadget, nevertheless, solved this immediately. Once I maintain my iPod, I’m doing one factor and one factor solely. I’m listening. Which, should you take your music significantly, is a very powerful factor.

Smartphone-driven anxiousness isn’t a uncommon phenomenon. I endure from it too. We’re always reachable, always up to date, and always “on.” At evening, earlier than I lastly flip off the lights and fall asleep, I’m nonetheless checking the information, social feeds, my e mail, and my inside and exterior Slack teams. Utilizing a smartphone as a major music participant means you’re tethered to that world.

The iPod gives a sanctuary. It doesn’t know the place you’re or what you’re doing. It simply holds your music and performs it again. This lack of connectivity is its best characteristic. It creates a tough boundary between your digital life and your leisure time. Once I go for a stroll with the iPod, I’m really disconnected. If somebody wants me, they’ll wait half-hour. That stage of peace is more and more onerous to seek out within the trendy tech ecosystem. Belief me, it hasn’t been simple to interrupt away from the cellphone. I nonetheless discover myself reaching for a phantom notification at instances. However that simply reinforces why I exploit an iPod and vinyl for many of my music listening, and change over to an audio streamer and self-hosted music server once I crave trendy comfort.

We’ve spent the final decade perfecting the haptic engine — the Taptic Engine should you’re on an iPhone — however a vibration motor underneath a glass sheet won’t ever beat the tactile perfection of the iPod click on wheel. In 2026, we’re surrounded by flat, fingerprint-prone rectangles that supply no give in any respect. There’s something immensely satisfying concerning the bodily “click on” of a button. It supplies a stage of suggestions {that a} touchscreen merely can’t replicate.

The largest benefit right here is blind management. I can attain into my pocket and skip a monitor, play, or pause with out ever taking a look at a display. On my Android cellphone, I’ve to wake the gadget, probably bypass a lock display, and hunt for a software program button. Even with always-on shows and media controls, the friction is greater. The iPod was designed from the bottom up for one-handed, sightless navigation. It stays a masterclass in usage-led industrial design that feels extra related now than it did 20 years in the past. After all, I might write paeans to the great thing about the Dieter Rams-inspired industrial design of the {hardware} itself, however I digress. Nearly 25 years on, it is a gadget that, in typical Apple vogue, simply works.

Fashionable flagship telephones have unbelievable battery life, however they’re additionally doing unbelievable quantities of labor. Between 120Hz refresh charges, 5G modems, and heavy background processing, your cellphone is at all times combating a dropping battle in opposition to battery life, even in a world of 9,000mAh battery-equipped telephones. Even should you aren’t actively taking a look at your cellphone, the gadget is trying to find alerts, pinging towers, and managing background information. Enjoying high-resolution audio over a Bluetooth connection or streaming by way of Wi-Fi drains that battery even quicker.

My iPod tells a distinct story. The unique iPod claimed and offered a full 20 hours of listening. My totally refreshed iPod gives a magnitude greater. Since I changed the unique spinning onerous drive with a microSD adapter, there are not any shifting components and considerably much less energy draw. I’m at present working 512GB of storage paired with a considerably bigger battery that lasts weeks, not hours. I can go on a week-long journey and by no means take into consideration a charger. As a result of the gadget isn’t attempting to find a 5G sign or refreshing a social media feed, the power effectivity is staggering. The iPod has no GPS to trace your motion. It has no microphone to hear for “Hey Google” instructions. It’s a devoted instrument that does one job and does it for a really very long time.

The economics of music listening in 2026 is irritating, to say the least. I’ve misplaced depend of the variety of instances Spotify has elevated its subscription payment. Whereas subscription costs proceed to climb, lossless tiers usually include a fair greater premium. We’re, clearly, simply renting our music and paying by way of the nostril for that privilege. Should you cease paying your month-to-month payment, your total library vanishes.

If a licensing deal falls by way of, your favourite album may disappear from the platform in a single day. This risk isn’t an “if,” however a “when.” Even altering political stances can imply that your favourite artist may pull their discography from the platform. Switching between platforms isn’t simple both, and it boils all the way down to paying for exterior providers to plug into your accounts and hoping that each one your playlists get transferred by way of.

There may be additionally the query of audio high quality. Whereas Spotify lastly rolled out its “Hello-Fi” tier, the price is astronomical in comparison with an ordinary plan. On an iPod, I can load up high-resolution information that I personal. I purchased them on Bandcamp, ripped them from CDs and data, or downloaded them from digital shops. I personal these information. No person can resolve to take them away from me. In lots of instances, this contains stay recordings, B-sides, and even leaked demo tracks that no business streaming service hosts. I’m not paying a month-to-month tax to entry my very own style. For the price of one yr of a music subscription, you should purchase a used iPod and sufficient storage to carry 1000’s of high-quality tracks endlessly.

Which brings me again to my earlier level. We’ve develop into passive customers of music. We open an app, hit “Really useful for You,” and let the algorithm resolve our temper. This has led to a cultural shift the place music has develop into background noise slightly than a major focus. Heck, standard music is being designed to be shorter simply to accommodate the eye span of a viral Instagram reel hook. We don’t hearken to albums anymore; we hearken to vibes, and name me old-school, however that isn’t for me.

The iPod, for higher or worse, forces you to be your personal music curator. It’s important to manually handle your library. It’s important to resolve which albums are well worth the space for storing. This intentionality adjustments the way you hear. When you need to select to place an album in your gadget, you usually tend to really hearken to it from begin to end. You start to understand the sequencing of tracks and the artist’s intent. Should you don’t prefer it, you don’t simply instantly change over to the subsequent monitor. You do not forget that this was an artist who didn’t vibe with you, and also you’ll take away the document out of your rotation. There’s studying in that. The iPod doesn’t care about what’s trending on social media. It solely cares about what you’ve gotten determined is essential sufficient to hearken to. It turns music again into an energetic interest slightly than a passive background listening expertise. I’m not one to take an ethical excessive floor, however as an newbie musician, that speaks to me deeply.

I’ll maintain it easy. No, it’s not. Should you thrive on discovering new artists each single day, the iPod isn’t going to work out for you. Should you depend on good audio system and a seamless multi-room audio ecosystem, there are methods to shoehorn an iPod into the system, but it surely’s a hack job and a further expense that almost all wouldn’t trouble with.

Nevertheless, there’s a rising group of people who find themselves exhausted by the do-it-all nature of contemporary smartphones. And sarcastically, this transition again to an analog or extra intentional existence is being led by the very individuals who grew up in a smartphone-native surroundings. If you end up scrolling by way of Instagram if you are alleged to be having fun with a brand new document, or if you’re uninterested in your music being interrupted by commercials and notifications, a devoted participant is the reply. It’s for the one who values high quality over amount.

As for me, going again to the iPod wasn’t nearly nostalgia, although that actually performed a job. It was a sensible resolution, amongst many others, to be extra within the second. Between utilizing Focus Modes and the Do Not Disturb mode on my Android cellphone, to taking pictures extra movie, accumulating extra vinyl, and listening to music by way of an iPod, it’s all a part of a concerted effort to be extra within the second. My Android cellphone continues to be the most effective instrument for navigation, communication, and even on a regular basis images. It simply isn’t the most effective instrument for the duties I get pleasure from essentially the most anymore. And music listening ranks excessive up in that checklist.