Pono (digital music service)

Pono (/ˈpoʊnoʊ/, Hawaiian word for "proper") was a portable digital media player and music download service for high-resolution audio. It was developed by musician Neil Young and his company PonoMusic, which raised money for development and initial production through a crowd-funding campaign on Kickstarter. Production and shipments to backers started in October 2014, and shipments to the general public began in the first quarter of 2015.

Pono's stated goal to present songs "as they first sound during studio recording sessions", using "high-resolution" 24-bit 192kHz audio instead of "the compressed audio inferiority that MP3s offer" received mixed reactions, with some describing Pono as a competitor to similar music services such as HDtracks, but others doubting its potential for success.

In April 2017 it was announced that Pono was discontinued, and alternative plans were later abandoned.