The tinyPod is a case for your Apple Watch, which probably doesn’t sound very exciting on its own. However, its unique angle (a clickable dial that controls the watch’s Digital Crown) makes Apple’s wearable device (at least in its marketing) look and feel like the company’s first revolutionary product of the 21st century: the iPod. While you can use it as a music player, it also works with everything else in watchOS, turning Apple’s smartwatch into a minimalist, distraction-free “phone.”
The $80 tinyPod works with Apple Watch Series 4 through 9 models, as well as the Apple Watch SE. (The 41/40mm and 45/44mm Apple Watches have separate tinyPods.) Meanwhile, another 49mm version for the Apple Watch Ultra — because who doesn’t want to turn their $800 wearable into a minimalist phone? — costs $90. There’s also the tinyPod Lite, a $30 case without a Click Wheel.
That click wheel is its main gimmick, and its creator apparently thinks it’ll be safe from Apple’s lawyers. (The fact that it’s based on an Apple product probably doesn’t help matters.) The case’s wheel syncs its movement to the Apple Watch’s Digital Crown via “carefully mechanized components inside” that make “direct rotational contact with the crown of your Apple Watch.” In other words, anything on watchOS that lets you scroll with the crown will be scrollable with the tinyPod’s click wheel. In theory, anyway.
The tinyPod website says you can get multiple days of battery life by turning off the watch’s wrist detection (which you don’t need here). But that might be a challenge to achieve, given the poor battery life of cellular Apple Watches when used without a phone within Bluetooth range. Sure, you could use a GPS-only model (or turn off cellular) and stick to locally stored music, but that would also limit what it can do.
tinyPod is the brainchild of Newar, a former Snap designer and jailbreak guru. In May, the creator published that it started as a side project before morphing into “a real expedition product for one reason: every time I left the house with it, I loved the way it felt.”
Whether or not the tinyPod lives up to its reputation as a minimalist, distraction-free, nostalgia-laden “phone,” its creator seems to have paid careful attention to aesthetics, clarity of purpose, and consistent marketing. Its website displays an iPod-inspired attention to detail, including period-appropriate Apple fonts and a teaser video in the classic 4:3 aspect ratio. (Create silhouettes dancing to Gorillaz.)
The tinyPod is available for pre-order before shipping “this summer.” You can reserve one today at the product website.