{"slug": "rockbox", "name": "Rockbox", "category": "media", "category_name": "Media and creative", "description": "", "recommenders": 6, "commenters": 10, "warners": 0, "score": 6.324, "rising": -0.64, "first": "2025-11-04", "latest": "2026-10-24", "why": "it is basically drag and drop without Apple's gatekeeping", "why_is_quote": true, "has_verdict": false, "sentiment": {"recommend": 6, "neutral": 4, "compare": 0, "warn": 0}, "spark": [0, 1, 2, 0, 0, 0, 1, 0, 1, 0, 0, 1], "listed": true, "loved": [], "caveat": "", "short_quote": "it is basically drag and drop without Apple's gatekeeping", "kind": "", "icon": true, "domain": "rockbox.org", "github_repo": null, "official_url": "https://www.rockbox.org", "pricing": "", "aliases": ["Rockbox"], "verdict": null, "praise": [{"label": "", "summary": "", "quotes": [{"id": 803564032, "item_id": 50222752, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=50222752", "by": "mmcallister", "date": "2026-10-24", "stance": "recommend", "quote": "plenty of devices that can run rockbox!", "excerpt": "plenty of devices that can run rockbox![1] [1]https://www.rockbox.org/", "context": "", "use_case": "", "switched_from": "", "story": "Apple Music 404 Not Found"}, {"id": 784525872, "item_id": 49032867, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49032867", "by": "ezst", "date": "2026-07-24", "stance": "recommend", "quote": "And that is with replacing the firmware with rockbox, which significantly improves on those areas", "excerpt": "The tactile experience is a nice throwback in a touchscreen mostly/no physical buttons present, but the display is garbage by modern standards, finding specific tracks sucks, and doing any amount of playlist management is an exercise in frustration. And that is with replacing the firmware with rockbox, which significantly improves on those areas :-) https://www.rockbox.org/", "context": "", "use_case": "", "switched_from": "", "story": "Why Sony Can't Bring Back Its Classic Walkman Models"}, {"id": 769660336, "item_id": 48103771, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48103771", "by": "kadoban", "date": "2026-05-11", "stance": "recommend", "quote": "I have a real soft spot in my heart for Rockbox", "excerpt": "Nice! I have a real soft spot in my heart for Rockbox, glad to see it still having some life. The interface and performance are just so well thought out and refined. Plus it contains the earliest published code I ever wrote: https://github.com/tsirysndr/rockbox-zig/tree/master/apps/plugins/goban , so that's fun for me.", "context": "", "use_case": "", "switched_from": "", "story": "Show HN: A modern Music Player Daemon based on Rockbox firmware"}, {"id": 747832256, "item_id": 46739516, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46739516", "by": "Aurornis", "date": "2026-01-23", "stance": "recommend", "quote": "I'd start by looking at the Rockbox compatible devices list", "excerpt": "> I looked pretty hard - I specifically don\u2019t want an android OS called an mp3 player. I want a dedicated media player that has physical button controls (not touch screen), is very snappy, has a good UI, and has a purpose-built OS There are a lot of DAPs in this style. They're just not popular because the Android-based units are perfectly fine and don't feel like Android phones with an MP3 player app installed. Most ", "context": "", "use_case": "Open-source DAP firmware", "switched_from": "", "story": "Tech Is Fun Again: The Tech Monoculture Is Finally Breaking"}, {"id": 746433504, "item_id": 46652094, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46652094", "by": "alturp", "date": "2026-01-16", "stance": "recommend", "quote": "it is basically drag and drop without Apple's gatekeeping", "excerpt": "I am using Classic iPod using Rockbox, it is basically drag and drop without Apple's gatekeeping. I also changed battery and increase storage capacity using iFlash adapters. Although I am very happy with this setup, I recommend you check some cheap mp3 players that can be used with Rockbox. It was pain in the ass to open it, and second hand market is way too expensive. I am using Bandcamp and Youtube to discover musi", "context": "", "use_case": "iPod firmware", "switched_from": "", "story": "Spotify increases its US subscription prices for the third time in 3 years"}]}], "caveats": [], "who": [], "tags": [], "use_cases": ["ipod firmware", "podcasts and audiobooks playback", "open-source dap firmware", "open source mp3 player firmware"], "compared": [], "makers": [{"id": 747852768, "item_id": 46740798, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46740798", "by": "davidzweig", "date": "2026-01-23", "stance": "recommend", "quote": "Anyone want to help with porting Rockbox?", "excerpt": "I've got the first boards on my desk for a media player based around the Sifli 58 chip. 1.8\" amoled display and 16 buttons. https://imgur.com/a/45GuaEA https://forums.rockbox.org/index.php/topic,55419.0.html Anyone want to help with porting Rockbox?", "context": "", "use_case": "Custom media player firmware", "switched_from": "", "story": "Tech Is Fun Again: The Tech Monoculture Is Finally Breaking"}], "threads": [{"url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46733624", "title": "Tech Is Fun Again: The Tech Monoculture Is Finally Breaking", "mentions": 3}, {"url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=50207910", "title": "Apple Music 404 Not Found", "mentions": 1}, {"url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49025766", "title": "Why Sony Can't Bring Back Its Classic Walkman Models", "mentions": 1}, {"url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48519552", "title": "GameBoy Workboy", "mentions": 1}, {"url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48074668", "title": "Show HN: A modern Music Player Daemon based on Rockbox firmware", "mentions": 1}, {"url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46649168", "title": "Spotify increases its US subscription prices for the third time in 3 years", "mentions": 1}], "sentiment_by_month": {"2025-11": {"neutral": 1}, "2025-12": {"recommend": 1, "neutral": 1}, "2026-01": {"recommend": 2, "neutral": 1}, "2026-02": {}, "2026-03": {}, "2026-04": {}, "2026-05": {"recommend": 1}, "2026-06": {"neutral": 1}, "2026-07": {"recommend": 1}, "2026-08": {}, "2026-09": {}, "2026-10": {"recommend": 1}}, "quotes": [{"id": 803564032, "item_id": 50222752, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=50222752", "by": "mmcallister", "date": "2026-10-24", "stance": "recommend", "quote": "plenty of devices that can run rockbox!", "excerpt": "plenty of devices that can run rockbox![1] [1]https://www.rockbox.org/", "context": "", "use_case": "", "switched_from": "", "story": "Apple Music 404 Not Found"}, {"id": 784525872, "item_id": 49032867, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49032867", "by": "ezst", "date": "2026-07-24", "stance": "recommend", "quote": "And that is with replacing the firmware with rockbox, which significantly improves on those areas", "excerpt": "The tactile experience is a nice throwback in a touchscreen mostly/no physical buttons present, but the display is garbage by modern standards, finding specific tracks sucks, and doing any amount of playlist management is an exercise in frustration. And that is with replacing the firmware with rockbox, which significantly improves on those areas :-) https://www.rockbox.org/", "context": "", "use_case": "", "switched_from": "", "story": "Why Sony Can't Bring Back Its Classic Walkman Models"}, {"id": 776443025, "item_id": 48527689, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48527689", "by": "archargelod", "date": "2026-06-14", "stance": "neutral", "quote": "I use my 34XX clamshell to listen to podcasts and audiobooks in rockbox [1]", "excerpt": "> but what do you do with it? Yes, emulators up to PS1/NDS. There are also many bespoke and commercial linux games that run on these devices via portmaster[0] (for commercial games you need to provide your own files). I use my 34XX clamshell to listen to podcasts and audiobooks in rockbox [1]. If you take some time to setup alternative OS (e.g. MuOS) there is a good video player and even terminal emulator available w", "context": "", "use_case": "podcasts and audiobooks playback", "switched_from": "", "story": "GameBoy Workboy"}, {"id": 769660336, "item_id": 48103771, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48103771", "by": "kadoban", "date": "2026-05-11", "stance": "recommend", "quote": "I have a real soft spot in my heart for Rockbox", "excerpt": "Nice! I have a real soft spot in my heart for Rockbox, glad to see it still having some life. The interface and performance are just so well thought out and refined. Plus it contains the earliest published code I ever wrote: https://github.com/tsirysndr/rockbox-zig/tree/master/apps/plugins/goban , so that's fun for me.", "context": "", "use_case": "", "switched_from": "", "story": "Show HN: A modern Music Player Daemon based on Rockbox firmware"}, {"id": 747832256, "item_id": 46739516, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46739516", "by": "Aurornis", "date": "2026-01-23", "stance": "recommend", "quote": "I'd start by looking at the Rockbox compatible devices list", "excerpt": "> I looked pretty hard - I specifically don\u2019t want an android OS called an mp3 player. I want a dedicated media player that has physical button controls (not touch screen), is very snappy, has a good UI, and has a purpose-built OS There are a lot of DAPs in this style. They're just not popular because the Android-based units are perfectly fine and don't feel like Android phones with an MP3 player app installed. Most ", "context": "", "use_case": "Open-source DAP firmware", "switched_from": "", "story": "Tech Is Fun Again: The Tech Monoculture Is Finally Breaking"}, {"id": 747821760, "item_id": 46738860, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46738860", "by": "cosmic_cheese", "date": "2026-01-23", "stance": "neutral", "quote": "Can be flashed with RockBox.", "excerpt": "I can't vouch for it personally since I don't own one, but I saw a video on YouTube mentioning the Innioasis Y1[0], which supposedly does a decent job of replicating the iPod experience with some modern features like USB-C and Bluetooth at a decent price. Can be flashed with RockBox. No external SD slot, but it can be opened to swap out the SD card it comes with. Reportedly doesn't feel nearly as nice in hand as a re", "context": "", "use_case": "", "switched_from": "", "story": "Tech Is Fun Again: The Tech Monoculture Is Finally Breaking"}, {"id": 746433504, "item_id": 46652094, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46652094", "by": "alturp", "date": "2026-01-16", "stance": "recommend", "quote": "it is basically drag and drop without Apple's gatekeeping", "excerpt": "I am using Classic iPod using Rockbox, it is basically drag and drop without Apple's gatekeeping. I also changed battery and increase storage capacity using iFlash adapters. Although I am very happy with this setup, I recommend you check some cheap mp3 players that can be used with Rockbox. It was pain in the ass to open it, and second hand market is way too expensive. I am using Bandcamp and Youtube to discover musi", "context": "", "use_case": "iPod firmware", "switched_from": "", "story": "Spotify increases its US subscription prices for the third time in 3 years"}, {"id": 740318065, "item_id": 46269879, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46269879", "by": "sphars", "date": "2025-12-14", "stance": "neutral", "quote": "installing Rockbox on my iPod nano", "excerpt": "Been scrobbling since 2008. I found out what last.fm was thanks to installing Rockbox on my iPod nano, and seeing they had this \"scrobbling\" feature. Had to remember to plug in the iPod, pull the scrobble log and upload it using a website someone created. If you need a scrobbler for Android (and Linux) I recommend Pano Scrobbler: https://github.com/kawaiiDango/pano-scrobbler", "context": "", "use_case": "iPod firmware", "switched_from": "", "story": "2002: Last.fm and Audioscrobbler Herald the Social Web"}, {"id": 739231632, "item_id": 46201977, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46201977", "by": "amatecha", "date": "2025-12-08", "stance": "recommend", "quote": "there's even an open source replacement firmware for most iPods", "excerpt": "it has nothing to do with the brand and everything to do with the fact they are still a damn good mp3 player, especially when you swap in a brand new battery and a gigantic-capacity SD card (which also greatly reduces the weight of the device). The click wheel is still one of the most slick controls for a handheld electronic device I've ever seen. Plus there's even an open source replacement firmware for most iPods (", "context": "", "use_case": "Open source mp3 player firmware", "switched_from": "", "story": "Modern Walkmans"}, {"id": 733127680, "item_id": 45820480, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=45820480", "by": "MarcelOlsz", "date": "2025-11-04", "stance": "neutral", "quote": "frankenstein-d iPod classic with rockbox", "excerpt": "I know this is a razz but I must have you know I use a frankenstein-d iPod classic with rockbox, bluetooth mod, and an SSD. Don't hate on Zunes those things ruled too. Nothing beats a sansa clip though.", "context": "", "use_case": "", "switched_from": "", "story": "Whole Earth Index"}]}