Apple iPod Shuffle 2GB (4th generation) review

Unlike the last generation Shuffle, the earphones included with this model don’t have an integrated in-line remote. This is no great loss, as there are plenty of third party earphones with in-line remotes available. In any case, the included earphones sound very muddy and lack bass, so you’ll want to replace them anyway. Audio quality vastly improved when we used a better-sounding set of third-party earphones, producing a much richer, deeper and more detailed sound.

Unsurprisingly, given its small size and lack of a screen, the Shuffle doesn’t have any extra features – not even a FM radio. There’s no WMA or OGG support, but the Shuffle can play WAVs and Apple Lossless files. It can play Audible-formatted audiobooks though.

Apple’s iPod Shuffle is an impressively tiny portable audio player with long battery life that improves upon the poor controls of the last-generation model. However, unless you must have an iPod, there are better value MP3 players available. The Sandisk Sansa Clip+ is almost as small, has even longer battery life, extra features such as a FM radio and a screen, and has twice the storage at 4GB.