HIDIZS AP30 Music Boy Raises Over $500,000 on Kickstarter

The campaign began with a goal of HK$40,000, about $5,100. At the time of the Engadget report, it stood at HK$3,954,885, about $504,311. The Kickstarter has now concluded, but late backers can still get in on the campaign, Engadget reported.

The AP30 Music Boy is the latest project from HIDIZS, a brand that has previously launched several successful campaigns for various audio players and equipment. Two versions are available: an aluminum model weighing 80 grams and a lightweight plastic model weighing 56 grams. The device is designed to be extremely portable, with a magnetic case that attaches to a phone, a lanyard, or a bag clip for attaching it to totes and backpacks.

The player has a 2.0-inch 296×240 HD IPS screen, an RKNanoD master chip, a CS43198 DAC chip, and an RT6863 amp chip. It offers 3.5mm and 4.4mm outputs and Bluetooth 5.3. It has no built-in storage but supports microSD cards up to 256GB. Its 1200mAh battery is rated for eight to 10 hours wired and six to eight hours wireless. It plays MP3, WAV, APE, FLAC, ALAC, OGG, WMA, DSF and DFF formats, with PCM playback up to 192kHz/24-bit and native DSD256 support. It uses physical buttons on the front and a scroll wheel on the side. Listeners can use six EQ presets or customize their own. It can also connect directly to a phone or computer via USB-C and function as a portable DAC, decoding audio from the device and outputting it in higher quality.

Aside from audio playback, the Music Boy can function as an e-book reader. It also contains six retro-inspired games, including a Tetris-esque game and Snake.

Engadget reported that 'dumb devices' have grown in recent years, from flip phones that reject social media to aesthetic-focused music players. Searches for vintage iPods have soared, the report said, because when music is tied to smartphones, a listening session is hard to feel like a singular experience. The Music Boy's Kickstarter page summarized the phenomenon by saying, 'Smartphones killed the dedicated music player — but they also killed the magic.' For anyone looking to unplug from a constant stream of notifications and messages while still enjoying music, devices like the Music Boy are presented as an ideal solution.

The report places the trend in a broader context, particularly with Gen-Z, whose interest in Y2K fashion and retro aesthetics is well documented. It traces the appeal to a simpler time when the internet was dominated by specialized forums and silly Flash animations rather than all-encompassing algorithms. Because Gen-Z were young children or not yet born during that period, using 'dumb' tech is the closest they can get to capturing the experience, according to Engadget. The report also cites the mental health toll of being constantly online, especially with the increasing proliferation of AI, and says that even if the Music Boy is not for everyone, the allure of simpler tech is hard to deny.