Oh great, now I want an Apple Watch again

As committed readers of my Creative Bloq oeuvre will know (hello both of you), I have a love/hate relationship with the Apple Watch. I’ve bought three – and returned three. Every couple of years I decide I really want to start tracking my fitness again, then after a few weeks of wearing one, I remember that I don’t enjoy wearing my emails on my wrist.

Once again I find myself wanting one, but for a different reason entirely this time. It’s all thanks to tinyPod, a new case that claims to turn the Apple Watch into an iPod – complete with a click wheel capable of turning the physical digital crown. But rather than the nostalgic iPod angle, it’s the ‘dumbphone’ potential that’s tempting me. (For the lowdown on Apple‘s latest smartwatch, check out our Apple Watch Series 9 review).

In many ways, the Apple Watch is the perfect dumbphone for anybody who wants to spend less time on their phone. It’s tiny – you’re not going to watch Tenet on this thing. But thanks to watchOS, it isn’t missing some of the essential features you won’t get on a Nokia – Apple Pay, WhatsApp, Maps, Music. And as long as you have a cellular model, you can leave your smartphone at home. The only problem is you have to wear it on your wrist, which, while not quite Vision Pro levels of goofy, doesn’t appeal to everyone. 

tinyPod seems to understand that what most people are looking for in a dumbphone is a secondary device, not a replacement. It even claims that the product turns your Apple Watch into “your phone away from phone”.