Key Takeaways
- The tinyPod is a case that transforms your Apple Watch into an iPod and a compact mobile phone.
- It leverages what the Apple Watch already does, but doesn’t draw users in as much as a larger smartphone.
- The case is also a fun, nostalgic toy that will pique the interest of Apple fans and encourage a more playful approach to gadgets.
We’ll never see another iPod, not because people don’t want a standalone device to play music, but because we don’t think we’ll ever see a product with the same cultural impact as Apple’s MP3 player.
Still, with its colorful surroundings, Cocteau Twins playing in the background and the Apple Watch’s simple interface flashing on its tiny screen, tinyPod’s first ad feels familiar. It’s crafted to evoke nostalgia. It’s reminiscent of the iPod.
While the tinyPod is technically an $80 case for the Apple Watch, this little indie piece of hardware is also an experiment in nostalgia: not only does it make your smartwatch useful in new ways, it’s also a toy to play with Apple’s most famous icon. To find out where that ends, Pocket-lint spoke to tinyPod developer Newar.
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It’s easy to take for granted just how much the Apple Watch can actually do. Apple presented the wearable as a bigger, all-around better communication tool than any fitness tracker or health gadget on the market today.
In fact, with the cellular model, you essentially have a small phone on your wrist that you can use to send messages, answer calls, and even reply to emails. “The idea to design a case came to me the moment I took the Apple Watch out of the box and held it without the strap,” Newer said. The Apple Watch was already great, but Newer felt that the improvements and additions Apple made in watchOS 10 took it to the next level.
“The idea of ​​having something that allows you to live life a little differently around your phone was also something that interested me.”
In that sense, tinyPod is really just taking advantage of what watchOS is already good at (as long as you don’t need to wear a watch on your wrist). The TinyPod website makes a compelling case that, once off your wrist, your Apple Watch can easily be used as a second, smaller, less taxing phone.
“Part of what interested me was the idea of ​​having something that helps you live your life a little differently than your phone,” Newer said. “I’ve tried some lower spec phones in the past, but nothing too serious. The convenience of Apple’s walled garden makes it pretty hard to switch.”
So the tinyPod works inside of them: a white case into which you can insert a strap-less Apple Watch or Apple Watch Ultra for a quick tap and the scrolling of the newly added iPod-style scroll wheel.
Ultimately, using the Apple Watch in this way felt good: “I immediately liked the old-school ‘candy bar’ style and form factor in my hand and the weirdly refreshing feeling of leaving my phone at home,” Newer says. And with the cellular watch, you can receive texts and calls just fine, and you can use Apple Pay.
A satisfactory alternative to the iPhone
tinyPod / Pocket Lint
There’s precedent for this, of course: The growing interest in reducing screen time and generally seeking a quieter relationship with technology has been well-documented in publications like The New Yorker and The New York Times. Devices like the LitePhone, a discreet, minimalist mobile phone, are pitched as an alternative, or at least a “weekend phone,” a way to escape when you’re overwhelmed by notifications and apps on the latest iPhone or Android smartphone.
The tinyPod incorporates a scroll wheel that can mechanically move the Digital Crown, as well as smooth plastic, making the idea all the more satisfying. The scroll wheel itself is “fully analog,” according to Newar, which is one of the reasons he couldn’t do this project alone. “From the beginning, we created concepts for some ways it could work and built enough basic prototypes that we felt it was definitely doable,” Newar says. “We eventually brought in our engineering and manufacturing partners to take it to the next level.”
Hardware isn’t easy, Newer says, especially “when you consider the end-to-end manufacturing, the materials, and the tiny size we needed to get this compact.” He needed help, and that help has paid off with a more refined version of the tinyPod that the company plans to start shipping to customers later this year.
tinyPod is a toy
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tinyPod / Pocket Lint
Finding a solution to the problem of excessive mobile phone use is clearly trendy, but the tinyPod had more humble origins than that.
“Before actually commercializing the product, [tinyPod] “It was a pretty spontaneous side project and excuse to learn about 3D design and 3D printing,” Newar says. The way it felt in your hand and the idea of ​​a working scroll wheel were just the right combination of materials to turn into a real product.
Newar describes the scroll wheel as “one of the most enjoyable ways to interact with hardware today,” and I find it a much more enjoyable way to interact with it than the default Digital Crown, plus I enjoy the emphasis on the iPod look and overall Apple-ness of the tinyPod.
The original video Newer edited to showcase the case reads like an Apple product video from another world, and a more recent video demos the functionality of an Apple Watch with the tinyPod in its case, in the style of Apple’s old iPhone “how to use” ads. Unless you’re familiar with this particular brand of marketing, you might not realize it, especially if you’re younger, but the tinyPod is actually made for frequent gadget buyers who have been steeped in Apple marketing for the past few decades.
Don’t take technology too seriously
A certain self-consciousness has permeated the new gadgets of the past year. If the founders aren’t emulating Apple’s minimalism and aloofness, they’re directly referencing Apple’s keynotes. That might help them get taken seriously by customers at first, but it’s a recipe for failure when they have to actually ship a product. Having spoken to Newer, that doesn’t seem to be his intention. Turning your smartwatch into a tiny MP3 player, and then using that MP3 player instead of your phone, is inherently absurd.
This silliness, combined with obvious appeal to Apple fans and a legitimate recognition that the Apple Watch is useful even if you disable some of the smartwatch features, is what makes the tinyPod so appealing. It’s made to be played with. Newar openly calls it a “toy with a retro feel,” and I think that’s a good description.
Why shouldn’t our gadgets be fun?
A $79.99 Apple Watch case might not be an easy sell, but tinyPod’s combination of elusive marketing and fun interaction is sure to resonate with people all the same. Whether it feels like a stunt or a unique use for the Apple Watch, Newar is happy with what he’s created.
“The best thing was [is] People’s reactions are interesting [are] To [tinyPod] “I immediately started making purchases while on the subway or at the register using Apple Pay,” Newer said. “It just seemed like an easy thing to continue from there.”
