MP3 players have had to throw in the towel against smartphones. In fact, even Apple eventually discontinued the iPod itself. Many enthusiasts don't hesitate to buy damaged iPods and repair them, seeking a mix of nostalgia and independence from online services. However, there's another path, and it's the one proposed by Del Hatch on GitHub with his PiPod ePaper. A fork of the original PiPod project, this model incorporates an e-paper display and additional optimizations to reduce its power consumption.
Apple retired its iPod devices in May 2022. It was two decades of absolute success (450 million units speak for themselves), but its functions ended up being assimilated by smartphones and tablets. MP3 playback became just another app, and if we add streaming services, we don't even need to store our music.
Some talk about "progress"... but many users out there don't agree with that. Keeping a local playlist and not depending on online platforms has its positive side, however, the story doesn't end there. Battery consumption is also part of the equation, and with that in mind we arrive at Del Hatch's repository on GitHub, where he shares the files to create a PiPod ePaper, based on the Raspberry Pi.
PiPod ePaper, with e-paper display
If the name sounds familiar, it's because the PiPod ePaper is based on the PiPod project by Bram Rausch. Del Hatch's version has two very important modifications: First, it replaces the Raspberry Pi Zero with the new model 2 W to add WiFi support, and second, it removes the LCD screen in favor of an e-paper module. Its size is 2.13 inches with a resolution of 250x122 pixels, more than enough for this application.
The PiPod ePaper includes a 40 mW amplifier, which helps improve headphone performance. By combining e-paper, a 1200 mAh battery, and various optimizations on the operating system (disabling WiFi and Bluetooth, reducing processor frequency, etc.), this device can play music for (almost) five hours. Needless to say, the PiPod ePaper is not a project that you can finish in a weekend (it requires a custom PCB and multiple software tweaks), but it's also not impossible. Links below!
Access the project on GitHub: Click here
PiPod ePaper on PCBWay: Click here
