Music streaming services put millions of songs within your reach, but they’re not perfect. I’ve encountered plenty of headaches while streaming music across Apple Music, Spotify, and YouTube Music over the years, from playback stuttering to songs disappearing from services when licenses expire. Worst of all, streaming music on a smartphone is simply distracting. Everything on your phone is trying to grab your attention, and it’s far too easy to leave music listening behind.
That’s why premium digital audio players (DAPs) — think of them as the evolution of the iPod — have always caught my eye. They’re powerful, focused, and versatile. The problem? Digital audio players can also be ridiculously expensive, and I can’t justify paying upwards of $500 for something great from Sony or Fiio. Instead, I turned a two-year-old Android phone into a minimalist DAP that met all of my needs for a music player.
It all starts with the right old, cheap Android phone
The Motorola Moto G Stylus 5G (2023) checked all the right boxes
I searched for the perfect budget Android phone to turn into a dedicated music player, and there were a few boxes any candidate had to check. For starters, the device needed to have a built-in headphone jack and a USB-C port—the former for living a dongle-free life and the latter for connecting a standalone digital-to-audio converter (DAC) for better sound quality. Other must-haves were a recent version of Android, a high storage capacity with room for expansion, and a pocketable design. While digging through my old tech drawers, I stumbled upon the Moto G Stylus 5G (2023), a phone that meets every single requirement.
It’s actually a decent phone, sporting a Qualcomm Snapdragon 6 Gen 1 chip and a 6.6-inch, 120Hz display. Motorola’s Moto G Stylus 5G (2023) now runs Android 14, has up to 256GB of inbuilt storage plus a microSD card slot, and has a sleek back with a minimal camera bump. You can find this model in refurbished condition for around $100, while the newer Moto G Stylus 5G (2024) goes for $199 in new condition now. Whichever way you want to acquire a Moto G Stylus 5G, you can easily do so for under $200.
As the name suggests, the Moto G Stylus 5G packs a pen for drawing and note-taking, but that won’t matter much for music listeners. Everything else, from the 5,000mAh battery capacity to the 3.5mm headphone jack, is stellar for long listening sessions. The storage and expansion are the phone’s killer features — I can fit my entire music library with room to spare on the Moto G Stylus 5G.
The right launcher will make or break your music player
Olauncher dumbs down my Moto G Stylus 5G in the absolute best way
The key to making an Android phone feel like a dedicated music player is to remove as many “phone” elements of the device as possible. I turned off all notifications, didn’t even think about inserting a SIM card, and removed every unnecessary app. Leaving only a Wi-Fi connection for streaming and downloading music, plus the default Android apps I couldn’t remove, my Moto G Stylus 5G immediately became lighter and minimal.
I didn’t stop there, because default Android launchers are simply not needed on a music player. Instead, I downloaded Olauncher, an app that leaves behind the conventional icon-based home screen for a text-only version. I can list up to eight app names on the Olauncher home screen by default, and the only other visible elements are the date, time, and battery percentage. To do anything else, you can long-press the screen to change Olauncher settings or swipe up to search your apps.
The colorful, visually appealing Android launchers that ship by default are inherently distracting. By switching to a text-only and black-and-white custom app launcher, you can limit distractions and focus on your music. I only list music-related apps on the Olauncher home screen, keeping things simple and clean.
Now it’s time to fill up the phone with music
I get the best of both worlds with ALAC files and streaming services
With all the bloatware out of the way, I moved to loading up the Moto G Stylus 5G with music. I hooked the phone up to my computer and transferred over 100GB of lossless audio files to my repurposed Android with the Android File Transfer tool. My on-device music player of choice is Poweramp, and I use Apple Music for lossless streaming. After that, I downloaded Echo Nightly, a free and open-source music player that taps into your local media and streaming services like Spotify, Deezer, YouTube Music, and iHeartRadio.
For good measure, I added the Genius app for song lyrics and credits information, and the Discogs app for cataloging my physical media collection. Within an hour, I had turned my Moto G Stylus 5G into a usable, minimalist DAP. With a headphone jack, Bluetooth support, and a USB-C port for DACs, the phone offered everything I needed out of a minimalist music player.
Who needs a dedicated DAP?
They’re cool, but I’d never buy them when I can do this instead
My converted Moto G Stylus 5G felt like a true dedicated music player after switching out the default launcher, removing distractions, and loading up plenty of music. The phone’s features are particularly suited to music playback, with a rare 3.5mm jack and microSD card tray onboard. Support for a recent Android version and complete compatibility with high-fidelity audio rounded out the experience. So, who needs a DAP when you can follow these steps to use an old Android phone as a music player for a fraction of the price?
Anyone looking for a basic, nostalgic music player will be satisfied with this method, but many use cases still require a DAP. In this setup, you’ll need to connect a proper DAC to get the best sound quality or use headphones requiring more power. DAPs stand out by having higher-quality inbuilt DACs than most smartphones, often more than one of them. If you’re looking to playback lossless audio files in the highest quality or use high-impedance headphones, a DAP is still the answer.
For everyone else, a cheap Android phone you might already have lying around can easily earn a new lease on life by serving as a distraction-free music player.
