Technologies
The Best MP3 Players for 2023
Take your music anywhere without having to use your phone. Here are our picks for the best MP3 player.
Standalone MP3 players dominated pop culture for a long time, but in 2023 almost no one needs one. Any iPhone or Android phone is an audio player that works with subscription music apps like Spotify, Apple Music, Tidal, Amazon Music and YouTube Music. You pay your $5 to $10 a month, and you get access to nearly every popular song ever recorded. And the tracks are downloadable, too, so you can listen to your music even when you leave a Wi-Fi or cellular coverage area. It’s quick, easy and convenient. What’s not to like?
«A lot,» I can hear some people saying. Maybe you’ve got one too many subscriptions already, so why pay for one more when you already have a music library of thousands of MP3 files sitting on your hard drive? Or maybe you’ve meticulously crafted iTunes playlists, like mixtapes of old, that you don’t want to re-create or transfer to another service. Maybe you have rare, one-off live tracks that don’t exist on mainstream services. (Phish fans, I’m looking at you.)
Now, truth be told, if any of that applies to you, you still don’t need an MP3 player — your iPhone can still sync music files from iTunes (on Windows) or the Apple Music app (on Mac), and it probably has more storage space than your old iPod ever did. Android phones, too, can play whatever music files you can load them up with. But if you want a dedicated device for your music — or, maybe, a parentally curated set of songs to give to a kid who’s not ready for a phone — there are still MP3 device options out there. They’re not all great, and they generally come with some caveats. But if you’ve gotten this far, here’s what I can recommend, more than two decades after the iPod was first released.
The iPod Touch was the last dedicated music player in Apple’s lineup, but it was officially discontinued in May 2022. You can still find used models out there, but don’t expect them to be supported for much longer.
What to do instead? Get a used iPhone, or a new iPhone SE — and just use it on Wi-Fi. The latter will cost you about $429 all-in (for 64GB of storage), but you’ll get a device that can run the latest version of iOS, and it can pull music from iTunes (on Windows) or Apple Music (on the Mac). It works seamlessly with Bluetooth headphones and speakers, but you’ll need a pesky Lightning adapter to use old-school headphones. And, because it’s got the App Store, you can also opt for alternate services like Spotify, Amazon Music, YouTube and the like (so long as you can access a Wi-Fi hotspot), in addition to or instead of the Apple Music app.
Yes, this is way too much to pay for a «music player,» in my book. But it’s the most capable and flexible option here, especially for those who are already in the Apple services universe — or refuse to leave their iTunes-based MP3 library. It’s also a nice fallback portable MP3 player option for kids if you don’t want to spend up for an iPad, which starts at around $300 and isn’t pocketable.
Once upon a time, people strapped iPod Nanos to their wrists and called it an Apple Watch of sorts.
Nowadays the real Apple Watch can act as a sorta-kinda iPod, at least for Apple Music subscribers. Just sync some playlists to the Watch, and you can enjoy digital music (not to mention podcasts) on a set of wireless headphones, even if the iPhone is nowhere nearby. Get an Apple Watch SE for less than $250 for basic music playback, or go for an Apple Watch Series 8 or Apple Watch Ultra if you want more non-music features. Note that recent Apple Watch SE sales have seen the prices of the 40mm version drop to as low as $200 and the larger 44mm model dip below $230.
These days, you can still get very basic music players on Amazon, but they’re nearly all from no-name China brands. (We tried one like this, and it was fine, but nothing special.) In the (distant) past, the tiny SanDisk Clip family of players were a serviceable option for basic music playback (so long as you’re well versed in the old school drag-and-drop method of file transfer). But some Amazon reviewers have criticized the later iteration of that model — the Clip Sport Plus — saying that its Bluetooth connection wasn’t up to snuff. If you want to go this route, you might want to stick with wired headphones, which will also enable FM radio playback.
The Mighty Vibe is the closest modern equivalent to the iPod Shuffle, the screenless iPod that was beloved by runners for weighing next to nothing and just spooling off songs from their favorite playlist. (It’s also a great gadget loophole for sleepaway camps with «no screen» rules.) The catch is that this model only works with Spotify Premium and (thanks to a recent firmware update) Amazon Music, both of which can be synced wirelessly.
The Vibe can store upwards of 1,000 songs in its music library, and — unlike the old Shuffle — it supports wireless and wired headphones. But it charges through the headphone jack via a proprietary cable, rather than more ubiquitous micro-USB or USB-C connectors. The 5-hour battery life is so-so, as is the price tag over $100, which feels higher than what you want to pay for this MP3 device product in an era of $30 wireless headphones and $200 smart phones.
Other MP3 players
Yes, the products above are really the only ones I can recommend in this category with any degree of enthusiasm. But they aren’t the only options. If you’re looking for a bargain basement option (under $50), a serious high-end alternative (starting at $350 and going to four figures) or some interesting workarounds, read on.
Swim-friendly option: Aftershockz OpenSwim
This 4GB «player in a headphone» model uses Aftershockz’s patented bone-conduction technology. It’s also fully waterproof, and retails for about $150. (Note that CNET hasn’t tested these hands-on.)
The budget hack: Any old smartphone
If you’ve got an old phone — or you buy a new one without service — you’ll have access to the full realm of app-based music services, and any music files you care to upload. Something like the $160-ish Samsung Galaxy A03S (shown above) fits the bill nicely, since you can drop in a MicroSD card that you’ve preloaded with tunes.
High-end options: Sony Walkman, Astell & Kern
Sony is still making new Walkman models.
Audiophiles have long looked down on digital music because the sound quality was notably inferior for golden-eared listeners with distinguishing tastes. But the development of lossless file formats (such as FLAC) and cheap ample multigigabyte storage have made portable high-fidelity music a reality.
At this point, there are really only two major players in the high-end portable music space: Astell & Kern and Sony (where the Walkman brand still lives on). We’ve used earlier versions of each brand, but not the current models.
- Sony Walkman music players line starts with the new-for-2023 (really!) NW-A306, arriving soon for $348.
- Astell & Kern players start at $1,299, and are strictly for true enthusiasts.
If you’re the sort of person who has hard drives full of uncompressed music audio files — and can hear the difference between that and comparatively low-resolution MP3 and AAC files — then, by all means, pair up one of those players with your wired headphone of choice.
That said, nearly all of the streaming music services now offer lossless or high bitrate options — that’s nearly all the big players, from Tidal and Qobuz to Amazon and Apple. (Spotify HiFi, weirdly, remains a no-show.)
If you like what you hear, consider upgrading to a decent headphone DAC (that’s «digital to analog converter») like the Audiofly Dragonfly and a serious wired headphone. Then you’ll have a solid audiophile option that’s good for the road, without the need for a standalone music player.
Music lockers: YouTube Music and iTunes Match
If you’ve got a digital music collection that includes one-offs and live tracks that aren’t available on the mainstream services, you can upload them to online services, where they can live alongside subscription tracks and be shared among multiple devices (including smart speakers).
YouTube Music, formerly known as Google Play Music, offers this service at no additional cost for up to 100,000 tracks.
Apple users can opt for iTunes Match, which lets you upload your own digital music to live in tandem with Apple Music tracks. Once available for $24 a year, the service now appears to be bundled in as part of an Apple Music or Apple One subscription.
If you opt for either of these options, make sure you keep a local backup of your files, just in case these services go away.
Note that Amazon shuttered its «MP3 locker» service in 2018.
More audio recommendations
Technologies
AI Trusted Less Than Social Media and Airlines, With Grok Placing Last, Survey Says
More Americans are concerned about the loss of personal interaction from AI than they are about potential job loss.
Google Gemini is the most trusted AI platform among its competition, but many people still have concerns about the technology, according to an American Customer Satisfaction Index poll released Thursday.
In ACSI’s results, AI scored an overall customer satisfaction score of 73 on a scale of 0 to 100, which the authors noted was slightly below social media (74), airlines and mortgage lenders, but in line with energy utilities.
Of the five platforms mentioned in the survey, Google Gemini led with 76, followed by Microsoft Copilot (74), Claude and ChatGPT (both 73), and Grok and Perplexity (both 71). Meanwhile, TikTok (77) and YouTube (78) both scored better than the AI platforms.
Gemini is one of the most prolific AI services, with access via smart speakers, TVs, phones and computers, while most ChatGPT users access the AI tool via the ChatGPT website or mobile app, and Grok via social media platform X.
The ACSI poll found that 43% of respondents said reduced human-to-human interaction is their main concern, followed by job loss for future generations (37%) and their own job risk (31%), based on interviews with 2,711 US adults.
Baby Boomers were the most skeptical generation in the poll, with 35% saying they are very concerned about AI’s effects, compared to just 6% who view it extremely favorably.
Disconnect between AI adoption and perception
While platforms such as ChatGPT have up to 1 billion weekly users, there is still a disconnect between AI’s adoption and public perception of it, which is driven by concerns over privacy, the spread of misinformation and the loss of jobs.
«Consumers spent the last decade learning to distrust how social media platforms handle their data, and AI’s privacy scores suggest they’re carrying that skepticism forward,» said Forrest Morgeson, associate professor of marketing at Michigan State University and director of research emeritus at the ACSI.
21% reported an «extremely favorable» outlook toward AI, while an equal 21% said they are «very concerned about the consequences.»
These results were in line with another poll published by YouGov this week, which found that only 29% think the positive effects of AI outweigh the negative ones, while 36% think its net effects are negative.
It’s worth noting that more than half of the people interviewed (56%) had no recent experience with AI, but of the 44% who did, half of them use AI at least once a day, and the usage went up with people who earned over $100,000 a year.
Last month, an NBC poll suggested that AI was one of the least-liked things in America, but it was still more popular than the Democratic Party.
Technologies
Today’s NYT Connections Hints, Answers and Help for April 18, #1042
Here are some hints and the answers for the NYT Connections puzzle for April 18, No. 1,042.
Looking for the most recent Connections answers? Click here for today’s Connections hints, as well as our daily answers and hints for The New York Times Mini Crossword, Wordle, Connections: Sports Edition and Strands puzzles.
Today’s NYT Connections puzzle features a fun purple category that’ll require you to spot certain beverage names. Read on for clues and today’s Connections answers.
The Times has a Connections Bot, like the one for Wordle. Go there after you play to receive a numeric score and to have the program analyze your answers. Players who are registered with the Times Games section can now nerd out by following their progress, including the number of puzzles completed, win rate, number of times they nabbed a perfect score and their win streak.
Read more: Hints, Tips and Strategies to Help You Win at NYT Connections Every Time
Hints for today’s Connections groups
Here are four hints for the groupings in today’s Connections puzzle, ranked from the easiest yellow group to the tough (and sometimes bizarre) purple group.
Yellow group hint: Wow!
Green group hint: Plug it in.
Blue group hint: Cinderella team.
Purple group hint: Drink up.
Answers for today’s Connections groups
Yellow group: Look at with awe.
Green group: Basic electricity terms.
Blue group: Unexpected winner.
Purple group: Starting with soda brands.
Read more: Wordle Cheat Sheet: Here Are the Most Popular Letters Used in English Words
What are today’s Connections answers?
The yellow words in today’s Connections
The theme is look at with awe. The four answers are goggle, marvel, stare and wonder.
The green words in today’s Connections
The theme is basic electricity terms. The four answers are AC, DC, power and voltage.
The blue words in today’s Connections
The theme is unexpected winner. The four answers are dark horse, long shot, sleeper and underdog.
The purple words in today’s Connections
The theme is starting with soda brands. The four answers are crushworthy, Fantagraphics, frescade and pepsinogen.
Technologies
Today’s NYT Connections: Sports Edition Hints and Answers for April 18, #572
Here are hints and the answers for the NYT Connections: Sports Edition puzzle for April 18, No. 572.
Looking for the most recent regular Connections answers? Click here for today’s Connections hints, as well as our daily answers and hints for The New York Times Mini Crossword, Wordle and Strands puzzles.
Hockey fans, today’s Connections: Sports Edition is for you. All four categories are hockey-related. If you’re struggling with today’s puzzle but still want to solve it, read on for hints and the answers.
Connections: Sports Edition is published by The Athletic, the subscription-based sports journalism site owned by The Times. It doesn’t appear in the NYT Games app, but it does in The Athletic’s own app. Or you can play it for free online.
Read more: NYT Connections: Sports Edition Puzzle Comes Out of Beta
Hints for today’s Connections: Sports Edition groups
Here are four hints for the groupings in today’s Connections: Sports Edition puzzle, ranked from the easiest yellow group to the tough (and sometimes bizarre) purple group.
Yellow group hint: Fire it into the net!
Green group hint: Lord Stanley’s hardware.
Blue group hint: Where hockey teams play.
Purple group hint: Put the biscuit in the basket.
Answers for today’s Connections: Sports Edition groups
Yellow group: Types of hockey goals.
Green group: Last four teams to win the Stanley Cup.
Blue group: NHL arena names.
Purple group: Hockey terms that are also food items.
Read more: Wordle Cheat Sheet: Here Are the Most Popular Letters Used in English Words
What are today’s Connections: Sports Edition answers?
The yellow words in today’s Connections
The theme is types of hockey goals. The four answers are empty net, even strength, power play and short-handed.
The green words in today’s Connections
The theme is last four teams to win the Stanley Cup. The four answers are Avalanche, Golden Knights, Lightning and Panthers.
The blue words in today’s Connections
The theme is NHL arena names. The four answers are Ball, Canadian Tire, Capital One and TD.
The purple words in today’s Connections
The theme is hockey terms that are also food items. The four answers are apple, biscuit, grinder and icing.
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