Are there Bluetooth 5.3 MP3 players compatible with AirPods 4?

Thanks again for your time and comments. I have spent hours researching this. Hopefully this discussion helps someone else with a similar issue in the future.

I purchased a refurbished iPod Touch 6 Gen with Bluetooth 4.1 from an Apple Premier partner after I read it would connect with AirPods. I never bought AirPods before as I knew I would lose them, but these would ONLY be used at home with the iPod Touch during my workouts - so zero loss worry. It was the ONLY reason I bought the refurbished iPod Touch 6 - to use as a wireless music player only. Since I've been an Apple user for decades I started with that route first.

I loaded the iPod Touch with selections from my MP3 library, and the music played fine with the built in speaker and wired headphones. Cool. I took it to an Apple store to buy AirPods to use with it, worked with one of their salespeople, chose the AirPods 4 with NC, and made the purchase.

When he was guiding in me in how to connect them as I’d never used AirPods before, they paired but I could not hear music in the AirPods. He tried doing it himself and had the same issue, so it wasn’t something I was doing incorrectly.  

I was really upset it didn’t work after all I read said they’d work together just fine. He suggested I go back to the Genius Bar and see if they could fix the problem, and I said I wasn’t going to spend ANY MORE money.

He refunded my purchase, and I returned the iPod Touch 6 Gen to the Apple Premier partner, explained the above, and was refunded.

I kept trying to figure this out BEFORE I came to the Community, and had read conflicting information.

I have read they didn't work NOT on the iPod Touch 6 Gen because of backward incompatibility with previous Bluetooth versions - they didn't work because of software incompatibility between the two. AT BEST one MIGHT be able to play music, but not have any other working features (NC, pause, full volume controls, etc.)

So then I began researching other wireless MP3 player options on Amazon (there are several besides Fiio and Sony). I was considering the AGPTEK 64GB MP3 Player with Bluetooth 5.3 so it would be the same as the AirPods 4 Bluetooth 5.3 and I didn't want to mess around - so that's when I came here.

With your input tried to locate an MP3 player that I can download my files to (none bought from the Apple Store) that has several quality-brand compatible wireless earbuds beside any ones that may be included. For example, the AGPTEK 64GB MP3 Player appears to do that AND supports MP3, WMA, APE, OGG, FLAC, WAV, AAC-LC and WFA files. Still not fully decided, but pleased to see I may have options that fit my needs.

So ... even though I'm such a long time Apple user (many laptops and desktops over the years, currently with an newer iMac and older MacBook Pro, the wonderful and still robust iPod classic 5.5, iPhone, iPad and Apple Watch) I'm just going to take Apple out of consideration entirely. MP3 players are making a comeback and maybe some day we'll see a new generation of iPods. Or not.

Thanks again.

Thanks for your reply. I tried to edit my post to be a bit clearer and could not do so.

Yes, I understand that. I've been an Apple owner of all sorts of things since the mid-80s and still use my 5.5 Gen Classic iPod, but it's wired. The last iPod touch models have Bluetooth but it's older software. The refurbished one I got paired with the AirPod 4, but connection wouldn't hold. I was hoping maybe a different brand is available that was 5.3 and compatible. I don't stream, just want to upload all my ripped MP3 files and listen wirelessly with earbuds. I don't need any other apps or WiFi.