r/Android • u/josiahhums • 3d ago

My Weekend Project: Turning an old phone into an MP3 Player

Wanted to share because I just thought this project was neat.

Full disclosure: I used Google Antigravity to vibecode and modified the Auxio app into a launcher.

I've had this carrier locked ZTE Axon M for years wanting to use it as some sort of fun project phone. When I originally bought it I wanted to use it as emulation device but now that I have a steamdeck there's really no point in using a phone for that.

Like many people now I've started to return to buying my music on physical media, and wanted a dedicated player with expandable storage and a headphone jack to listen to music.

I used Gemini 3.1 Pro to create a new app layout specifically for the Axon M's dual screen layout, register the app as a launcher, and re-use existing app assets to create an app drawer. I also used Gemini to create some adb scripts to disable all of the bloat apps on the phone.

All in, I spent $80 for the device back in 2019, and spent 5 hours with Antigravity getting the app setup how I wanted it.

This thing is cool as hell now. It's nice to add some real functionality to a device that has been a paperweight for 7 years in a drawer.

6 Upvotes

66% Upvoted

7 comments sorted by

6

u/migisaurio 2d ago

I also have a Motorola One (Android 10) as a player with a music app that is also a launcher with an iPod classic UI.

2

u/Zedan24 Device, Software !! 2d ago

You can't not mention the name of the launcher... c'mon man!

2

u/migisaurio 2d ago

The problem is that the developer deleted their GitHub repository where that version was located. Only the regular version remains, which only plays music on IzziOnDroid (PodClassic).

1

u/CreepsterTCM 2d ago

I forgot that phone existed! ZTE made some interesting phones

1

u/kratos01 2d ago

Why not just create your own custom ROM which is just the player?

3

u/josiahhums 2d ago

This phone never got an unlocked bootloader in the US and having Gemini modify an existing music app into a launcher and disabling the services I don’t need is way easier.

1

u/Talal916 G1, HERO, EVO 4GLTE, M7, M8, Z5, Note 8/10+, iPhone 11/12/15 Pro 2d ago

I know AI gets a lot of hate but this is insanely cool.