- It’s an iPod Classic, except it’s not
- USB-C, 3.5 mm jack, Bluetooth, wide format support
- Under $60 / £50
What has two thumbs and misses the days of the iPod? The answer is me – so I’m happy to see what some people might describe as an iPod Classic tribute, and others as a lawsuit waiting to happen. The Innioasis Y1 is an MP3 player that doesn’t so much take inspiration from the iPod Classic as copy it completely.
The Y1 is available in five colors: graphite grey, yellow, orange, silver and teal/turquoise, and as you can see it looks very similar to Apple’s original. In the UK it’s listed on Amazon for between £44.49 and £49.49 depending on the color you choose. In the US, it costs $54.49 at Amazon for all five versions. In Australia it’s $109.48 at Amazon.
Innoasis Y1 mp3 player: key features
I’m not familiar with this particular brand, but looking at its other listings, the product range is a mix of digital audio devices and screen protectors.
The included battery delivers a promised 25-30 hours of playback with wired headphones at 50% volume, and there’s an unspecified version of Bluetooth for the best wireless headphones or connection to the best Bluetooth speakers.
Audio support is good, with all key formats and some uncommon ones supported, and you can also play video in MP4, MKV, MOV and other formats, including 3GP/3G2. Resolution is up to 720p and battery life is a reported four hours of video at 50% brightness.
One of the biggest things to note here is the promise that the front wheel really works like the iPod’s click wheel – click parts to select options and spin to scroll.
The biggest downside seems to be that it has 128GB of storage and no option to expand, though that might not be a problem for everyone. For this reason, and others, we don’t expect this to challenge the best hi-res music players.
Let’s be honest: we wouldn’t expect you to get an audiophile device for less than £50/$60, and the reviews on Amazon suggest that the build quality isn’t quite up to Apple’s standards either: several reviewers describe bugs, software issues and problems connecting to Macs.
We also couldn’t help but notice that the album cover at the top is not a cover of any of Taylor Swift’s albums, and also that the song You belong with me is not from an album called ‘Love Story’. So that raises some questions beyond why they chose a dog as the listening model.
But as a cheap music player, the Y1 has an undeniable charm. But if you want a new iPod-like music player from a company with a good review history, take a look at Fiio’s new iPod nano-like budget music player.
The best music players for all budgets
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