The Hidizs AP30 Music Boy Is a Game Boy That Only Plays Music, and Reviewers Love the Sound

Somebody at Hidizs looked at a Game Boy and thought, “What if this only played music?” That’s the Hidizs AP30 Music Boy, a palm-sized music player with a D-pad, A and B buttons and a hi-res DAC inside. It pulled in more than $510,000 on Kickstarter, and backers are getting theirs now. And honestly? I’m tempted. So before anyone, me included, hits that pre-order button, here’s what it gets right and where it stumbles.

What exactly are you getting?

Under the cute shell, it’s a proper little music player, on paper at least. Hidizs’ spec sheet lists Cirrus Logic’s CS43198 DAC, the same chip Fosi Audio picked for its new DAP Neo, paired with a Richtek RT6863 amp. It handles FLAC, WAV and ALAC up to 24-bit/192kHz and DSD up to DSD256, all from a microSD card of up to 256GB. You get a 3.5mm jack rated at 61mW and a 4.4mm balanced jack rated at 137mW, and a 1,200mAh battery Hidizs rates for 10 to 12 hours on the 3.5mm output.

Spec	Hidizs AP30 Music Boy
DAC and amp	Cirrus Logic CS43198, Richtek RT6863
Outputs	3.5mm (61mW at 32 ohms), 4.4mm balanced (137mW at 32 ohms)
Formats	DSD up to DSD256; FLAC, WAV, ALAC up to 24-bit/192kHz; APE, MP3, OGG
Storage	microSD up to 256GB, no internal music storage
Screen	2.0-inch IPS, 296x240, not a touchscreen
Battery	1,200mAh; 10 to 12 hours on 3.5mm, 8 to 10 balanced, 6 to 8 over Bluetooth
Wireless	Bluetooth 5.3 transmit only, SBC codec; no Wi-Fi
Other	USB DAC mode, built-in games, text e-reader
Size and weight	68 x 53 x 17 mm; 56 g plastic, 80 g aluminium
In the box	Magnetic case with MagSafe-style ring, two screen protectors, USB-C and OTG cables

How much is the Hidizs AP30 Music Boy, and when does it ship?

$119 for plastic and $129 for aluminium, or $92 and $99 if you pre-order now on Hidizs’ store. Store orders ship from October 20.

Does it actually sound good?

By every account, yes. It’s the one thing reviewers don’t argue about. Headfonics found a neutral sound with a touch of extra treble and basically no background hiss, even with sensitive in-ear monitors. The one catch is power: the 3.5mm jack runs out of steam with harder-to-drive headphones, so if yours need muscle, plan on the 4.4mm balanced output. It also doubles as a USB DAC for your phone or laptop, though the volume wheel stops working in that mode and it won’t charge while you use it.

So where does it stumble?

The software. Hidizs built its own operating system for the AP30, and it still feels like a first draft. There’s no gapless playback, so that live album you love gets a tiny hiccup between every track, and no M3U playlist support, according to omgmog’s review. Bigger cards only get their first 256GB indexed, and Soundphile Review clocked a full scan of a 256GB card at about ten minutes. Album art bigger than 300x300 pixels just doesn’t show up, and folder sorting can get creative.

The good news is that Hidizs is clearly listening. One mid-review update fixed buttons not working with the screen off, DSD256 playback and a blank Favourites screen, omgmog reported, and updating is as easy as copying a file over. Gapless and playlists were still missing at last check, though, so don’t buy it expecting those to show up on a schedule.

Can it stream Spotify, and what else can’t it do?

No, there’s no Wi-Fi, so no Spotify, no Tidal and no pulling from your home media server; your music lives on the card or nowhere. Bluetooth only sends audio out, and only over basic SBC, so your fancy LDAC headphones get the economy seat, and you can’t use it as a Bluetooth receiver for your phone. And no, you can’t load emulators on it. The Game Boy look is mostly just that, a look. Mostly.

Wait, there are games?

A few! The AP30 ships with built-in games, led by a falling-block puzzle you’ll recognise instantly, and Hidizs listed six in a Kickstarter update. They keep your music playing in the background, which sounds like the perfect bus-ride time-killer. There’s also a basic e-reader for text files, though Soundphile Review found the text too small to be comfortable. One more extra: the included case snaps onto a MagSafe phone, so it can ride along on the back of yours.

Did the Kickstarter deliver?

So far, yes. The campaign promised October 2026, Hidizs hit its shipping stage on September 29, and backers have been getting units in batches since early October, per its campaign updates. There’s been some grumbling about tracking and communication, but for a crowdfunded gadget, landing on schedule is a win.

What else should you look at?

If the Game Boy look isn’t the main draw, there’s real competition. The alternatives below trade the charm for things like more power, a click wheel, better Bluetooth or Wi-Fi. And if you’re after a bigger, iPod Classic-style experience, the Sudo player is expected at $249, if you don’t mind waiting until late 2027.

Player	Price	What it does better	Trade-off
FiiO Snowsky Echo Mini	About $50 to $60	Cheaper, more output power, 8GB built in	No games, smaller 1.99-inch screen
Fosi Audio DAP Neo	$79.99 with a 16GB card	Click wheel, metal body, card included	3.5mm only
Shanling M0 Pro	$129 at launch	LDAC Bluetooth both ways, cards up to 2TB	Tiny 1.54-inch screen
FiiO Snowsky Disc	About $80	Wi-Fi with AirPlay, LDAC	Round touchscreen, newer and less proven

Should you buy one?

If you want a small, charming player for wired headphones, then from everything I’ve read, yeah, especially at $92. Reviewers say it sounds better than it has any right to at this size. Now, if you want streaming, great wireless audio or software that just works, one of the players above will make you happier. Personally, the Fosi DAP Neo up there is the one that interests me most. The AP30 is a fun little music box that does one job well, and that’s fine, as long as that’s the job you’re shopping for.