Miss the Old iPod? This Nifty Gadget Turns Your Apple Watch into One

The TinyPod is a case for your Apple Watch that looks like an iPod of old.

Published July 19, 2024

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Apple hasn’t sold an iPod in over two years — it discontinued the last one, the seventh-generation iPod Touch, back in 2022. But for those feeling nostalgic for Apple’s vintage portable music player, there’s a neat accessory that turns your Apple Watch into a miniature iPod of sorts.

It’s called the TinyPod.

TinyPod

$79.99 at TinyPod

It scrolls, but doesn’t click

The TinyPod is a case for your Apple Watch that resembles a vintage iPod. It goes one step further than that, though, as it has a functioning scroll wheel.

Inside the TinyPod are mechanical components that sync the scroll wheel and Apple Watch’s digital crown; when you rotate the scroll wheel, it physically moves the digital crown. This means that anything you’d rotate the digital crown for, such as navigating your Smart Slack or adjusting your music’s volume, you’ll be able to control with the TinyPod’s scroll wheel.

There are several obvious limitations, of course. The scroll wheel doesn’t have a built-in button — nor does it make that iconic clicking sound — so you’ll still need to use the Apple Watch’s touchscreen for a lot of the navigation.

Also, the TinyPod requires you not to use your Apple Watch as a smartwatch — you can’t use a strap or band with the TinyPod, and thus, with it on, you won’t be able to wear the Apple Watch on your wrist.

It’s mostly just an Apple Watch case

Aside from the nostalgic look and neat scroll wheel, the TinyPod doesn’t add any other software or special features — your Apple Watch will still work like an Apple Watch.

If you want, you can use your TinyPod-wearing Apple Watch sort of like a minimalist (or “dumb”) smartphone. It’ll free you from social media apps — X (formerly Twitter) and Instagram don’t have Apple Watch apps — and you’ll still be able to call and message people, use Maps for navigation, as well listen to music … provided your iPhone is still nearby.

If you have a cellular plan for your Apple Watch, you can leave your iPhone at home and free yourself more completely.

The Apple Watch notoriously has an “all-day” battery life, which doesn’t bode well for using it as a smartphone, unfortunately. That said, if you disable your Apple Watch’s on-wrist detection — you won’t need it anyway — that should extend your Apple Watch’s battery life by at least a little bit.

Price and availability

The TinyPod will come in sizes to fit any Apple Watch Series 4 or later. There is a size to fit smaller 40mm and 41mm models and a size to fit the larger 44mm and 45mm models. There is a size to fit the 49mm Apple Watch Ultra and Ultra 2, too.

The TinyPod costs $80 for most Apple Watch models. If you have an Ultra or Ultra 2, you’ll have to pay to $10 extra for a compatible TinyPod.

I’m not sure why you would want a TinyPod without the scroll wheel — its one true neat feature — but you can buy one of those for any Apple Watch model, too. It’s called TinyPod Lite and costs $30 (or $40 for the Ultra or Ultra 2).

You can buy a TinyPod or TinyPod Lite right now and, according to the company, it’ll ship “this summer.”