but it seems ludicrous to even consider carrying a dedicated device just for audio, and with music streaming, people expect their portable audio player to have always-available networking.

He’s not wrong, my dedicated audio device, a Sony NW-A55 is a little ludicrous. Carrying another device that has a propriety adapter, uses USB A that I need an adapter for and that does nothing my iPhone can’t do. It can do Bluetooth for connecting to my speaker, which is cool, but it can’t stream and can’t access the internet like a lot of the newer audio players.

But the lack of features is why I did buy it. Those lack of features are the features I was looking for. That’s why I like it. I want to pick up my phone less and I struggle to. Take out my phone to choose a song and end up clicking elsewhere. I am, forever, the weakest link.

The bonus is that it forces me to be much more mindful of what I listen to. I am forced to listen to full albums more - I can’t workout how to make playlists - and I am grateful for that!