I’m at the age where quite a few of the things that were cool when I was a kid are now cool once more: you’ve got big pants, audio products with wires on them, CDs (didn’t see that one coming), and now, a metric f*ckton of iPod nostalgia.
I’ve already written about how people are basically begging for another iPod, as evidenced by the many, many new “digital audio players” (DAPs) or “MP3 players” for the old heads. But this latest one really sends that message home, like in a text typed on a flip phone using T9. Introducing Sudo:
Introducing Sudo – A delightful music player for the songs you love
Reserve yours today:https://t.co/OBPYBRDd5T pic.twitter.com/tbUO7l6pHd
— New Matter (@newmatterinc) September 30, 2026
While lots of DAPs have flirted with copying Apple’s iPod, Sudo, which was announced late last month, really kind of just goes full iPod clone. Pretty much everything about Sudo screams iPod Classic, all the way from the iconic touch wheel (Sudo calls it a “tactile wheel”) and the general layout and look. There are some modernizations, though. A touchscreen, for example, and the inclusion of USB-C over everyone’s favorite port: the 30-pin to USB-A.
Probably one of the nicest upgrades is Bluetooth, though, which is great if you’re not fully in on the wired audio resurgence. If you are all in on that, there’s a 3.5mm headphone jack, too, just like mama used to make ’em. Storage is also slightly different than what you remember. While the iPod Classic maxed out at 160GB in the last generation that was made, Sudo comes with a base storage of 64GB but is expandable up to 1TB with an additional microSD card.
To be clear, Sudo, which costs $250, is only available for preorder at the moment (a $50 refundable deposit) and apparently is not shipping until… late 2027. A lot can happen between now and then, so, as much as I’m intrigued by Sudo, I am a bit skeptical whether this thing will ever see the light of day. For one—and I’m not the only one who thinks this—Sudo appears to be bordering on several kinds of infringement. Would Apple actually sue over a company ripping off a device that isn’t even sold anymore? I don’t know, maybe? It’s sued over similar stuff in the past, though that pertained to companies that were selling knockoffs of products Apple was still making at the time.
On top of that, there’s a wee bit of a component shortage right now that’s affecting storage in particular, and who knows how that is going to pan out in the year ahead. Probably not great, if I had to imagine. Still, the iPod nostalgia is very real, and Sudo is perfect proof—it was only a matter of time until someone made the iPod resurrection the world has been waiting for, dubious legality or not.
