Do you need to turn an old Apple Watch into an iPod? Probably not, since it’s no longer 2006. However, if you miss the old days of using a pocket-sized device whose sole purpose is to hold your music collection, the TinyPod gives you a way to relive those simpler times.
An Apple Watch housing styled to look like an iPod, it turns the erstwhile wearable into a handheld device that you can stash in your pocket, set down on the desk, or use in hand like Apple’s old music player. It even reprises the classic scroll wheel, which, basically, takes over the functions of the Apple Watch crown, so you can use it to interface with the device, much like the iPods of old.
The TinyPod is a case sized to hold an Apple Watch and give it the vintage iPod aesthetic. It gives you full access to the smartwatch display, so you can still use touch controls to interact with any of the apps, while buttons on the side of the case transfer your input to the watch. The most interesting element is, of course, the scroll wheel, which reprises the main control element of the original music player. In this case, though, it has a series of mechanical components that transfer your scroll wheel actions to the watch’s digital crown, so it, basically, just replaces the crown as a user interface.
Granted, the scroll wheel doesn’t feel exactly like the one on the iPod. There’s none of that clicking sound that we all know from years of using it, since there’s no actual button, so you’ll still have to tap on the screen to launch apps or perform any actions other than scrolling. Still, the whole thing feels like it’s a good semblance of what a modern iPod can look like if the product line continued well after smartphones with capacitive touchscreens became the standard.
The TinyPod comes with a cutout in the back, so you can still charge your Apple Watch wirelessly, although it does look a bit odd with the heart rate sensor out in the open. Well, it does look like a better solution than forcing you to remove the watch from the case any time it needs charging. Pretty much all Apple Watch functions are available when it’s in the case, except, of course, the functions that actually require it to be on your wrist. That means, you can use it to read messages, listen to Spotify, get turn-by-turn navigation, and more.
The outfit, by the way, recommends turning off the watch’s wrist detection to maximize battery life. Of course, the Apple Watch, with its small battery, probably won’t be able to last that long, especially if you’re using the cellular version or if you turn on the GPS. It’s available in three sizes: one for 40mm and 41mm Apple Watch models; one for 44mm and 45mm models; and one for the 49mm Ultra and Ultra 2.
The TinyPod is available for preorder now, priced at $79.99. Shipments are supposed to happen sometime this summer, but they don’t list an exact date.