- It’s an iPod Classic, except it’s not.
- USB-C, 3.5mm jack, Bluetooth, wide format support
- Less than $60 / £50
What has two thumbs and misses the days of iPods? The answer is me, so I’m delighted to see what some people might describe as an homage to the iPod Classic, and others as a lawsuit waiting to happen. The Innioasis Y1 is an MP3 player that is not so much inspired by the iPod Classic as it copies it completely.
The Y1 is available in five colors: graphite gray, yellow, orange, silver, and teal/turquoise, and as you can see, it looks very similar to the Apple original. In the UK, it is listed on Amazon for between £44.49 and £49.49, depending on the color you choose. In the US, all five versions cost $54.49 on Amazon. In Australia, it costs $109.48 on Amazon.
Innoasis Y1 mp3 player: key features
I’m not familiar with this particular brand, but looking at their other listings, the product line is a combination of digital audio devices and screen protectors.
The included battery offers a promised 25 to 30 hours of playback with wired headphones at 50% volume, and there’s an unspecified version of Bluetooth for the best wireless headphones or one that connects to the best Bluetooth speakers.
Audio support is good, with all the key and some uncommon formats, and you can also play video in MP4, MKV, MOV and other formats, including 3GP/3G2. The resolution is up to 720p and the battery life is four hours of video at 50% brightness.
One of the most important things to note here is the promise that the front wheel actually works like the iPod’s click wheel: click on the parts to choose options and turn it to scroll.
The main drawback seems to be that it has 128GB of storage and no expansion option, although that may not be a problem for everyone. For this and other reasons, we don’t expect this to challenge the best high-resolution music players.
Let’s be frank: we don’t expect you to get an audiophile device for less than £50/$60, and reviews on Amazon suggest that the build quality isn’t exactly up to Apple’s standards either: several reviewers describe glitches, software issues and difficulties connecting to Macs.
We also couldn’t help but notice that the album art at the top is not the cover of any Taylor Swift album, and also that the song you belong With Me It’s not from an album called ‘Love Story’. That raises some questions beyond why they chose a dog as a listening model.
But as a budget music player, the Y1 has undeniable charm. However, if you want a new music player reminiscent of the iPod from a company with a good review track record, take a look at Fiio’s new budget iPod nano-like music player.
The best music players for all budgets.
Follow TechRadar on Google News and add us as a preferred source to receive news, reviews and opinions from our experts in your feeds. Be sure to click the Follow button!
And of course you can also follow TechRadar on TikTok for news, reviews, unboxings in video form and receive regular updates from us on WhatsApp also.
