If you’re feeling nostalgic for your old iPod, I have great news for you. TinyPod is a case that you can put on your Apple Watch (without a band) so you can hold it and use it like your favorite vintage MP3 player. A $79 version includes a scroll wheel, which lets you physically rotate the watch’s digital crown. For $29, you can get a case without a scroll wheel and with a cutout so you can access the digital crown directly.
But TinyPod could be more than just a way to turn your watch into a pretty media player: It’s designed to make your watch a more capable companion to your phone. Lately, we’ve seen all sorts of minimalist gadgets and phones that promise to help you unplug while still keeping you connected to what matters. But for the most part, they’re too underpowered, too complicated, or simply not smart enough to be useful, and the smartphone as we know it remains undefeated.
That’s why the TinyPod’s “if you can’t beat them, join them” stance is so appealing. It’s not a replacement for your phone, it’s designed to be “your phone away from the phone.” as the company calls it. And while you can put any old Apple Watch in the case, the concept makes more sense with a cellular model. Leave your phone behind while still having access to essentials like messaging, calling, mobile payments, and music playback: a minimalist phone’s dream.
If all this rings a bell, you might be thinking of the iPod Nano-inspired watch case concept designed by Joyce Kang that surfaced a few years ago. Despite claims that it was “coming soon,” it doesn’t appear that the case ever made it to market. Kang’s case was also more of an exercise in nostalgia, as the scroll wheel wasn’t functional.