iPod nano replacement/substitute?
 

I have been using an iPod Nano for many years and love it for things like running and listening to podcasts in bed. Recently, my music and podcast library has started to exceed the memory on the device, which led me to go to Apple’s website to see what larger-capacity models exist, at which point I discovered that they no longer produce them at all! Yes, I could store audio files on my iPhone, but I do not want to have to carry the phone while running (it’s too big and the battery life is not nearly as good as the Nano) or have it in my bedroom (even on Do Not Disturb, the phone’s very presence makes me sleep worse).

Any suggestions for devices with larger than 16 GB capacity (say, 32 or so) that will be suitable for me and also readily compatible with iTunes, or at least easy to sync with my music library? The iPod Touch still exists, but the size/weight/battery issues are probably equivalent to my iPhone 6S, and I don’t need all the other functions—just the audio storage and playback.

I think you'd be quite surprised at the battery life you'll get with the phone in airplane mode and the screen off. Of course, you'd have to turn Bluetooth back on if you're using wireless headphones, but having the cellular radio and wifi off will dramatically lower the battery usage.

The iPod Touch's lack of a cellular radio gives it better battery life than your phone, too. You just need to figure out whether the size/weight will be an issue for either device.

Here's a C|Net article from last year that covers alternatives to the Nano.

If it were me, I'd probably be able to sort through podcasts and music and easily identify part of my collection I've never listed to, or will never listen to again. Right now I have 12GB of audio and I don't think I've updated that in at least a year, maybe two. And there's still stuff I don't listen to.

A tiny, iOS-based minimalist music player would be ideal, but I'm pretty sure that doesn't exist. Nor does an iTunes-compliant alternative that I'm aware of. So it appears to be either actively manage content with the current solution or a completely new solution. Or be able to deal with the size/weight of a touch/iPhone.

what about an iPod Touch? It's about the footprint of an iphone 4, but thinner. Biggest downfall is that the battery life isn't great, but can be had in capacities up to 128GB.

As an aside, I use a running belt (Flipbelt) so I can carry my phone with me when I run. I don't actually listen to music or anything when running, but I like the security of having the phone (and my ID) with me when running in case I get hit by a car or have a stroke or something. Doesn't solve all your issues, though.

It's not an iDevice, but the fairly new Shanling M0 might fit what you're looking for in terms of size. No on-board storage, but it uses Micro SD cards, so it's easily expandable.

I tried to hang on to my iPods as long as I could too. I still have them but haven't connected them to my computer in a long time.

I also listen mostly to podcasts and one big advantage of using an iPhone is that you can download directly to the iPhone rather than downloading to iTunes and syncing the iPod. Believe me, it takes time to manage the syncing, especially if you have a lot of podcasts which update at different times of the day.

Definitely better for the gym but now with wireless headphones, you don't have to be tethered to the device or even deal with arm bands and such.

I migrated from the Nano (those tall ones with NAND and the click wheel, which after they stopped making, some Amazon sellers were asking over $300 for) and then I used smaller iPhones like the 5S. Now I use it on my 8 Plus and take the 5S with me as a backup in case something happens to my main iPhone. I would dread boarding an international flight without headphones and content to listen to, though I will watch movies during the flight.

The battery life from listening to hours and hours of podcasts hasn't impacted me. For one thing, my wireless headphones will run out of juice long before my iPhone will (I pack wired headphones as well). But recently, I've usually had access to power or USB ports on the long flights I've been taking.

For everyday use, not a problem at all but then I have a charge cable at my desk. I'm not as put out by not charging during the day as other people are. I just shrug and figure the more I use the iPhone for whatever, the more frequently I need to charge it.