As you'll see from our Apple Watch 9 review and Apple Watch Ultra 2 review, Apple's smartwatch is a powerful little computer – and you don't necessarily have to wear it on your wrist, as a new hardware project called the TinyPod proves.
As announced on social media (via 9to5Mac) as "coming soon", the TinyPod puts a strapless Apple Watch inside a case that looks like a miniature iPod. There's even a clickwheel on the front for controlling apps and actions.
If you think about everything you can do with the Apple Watch, it's essentially a smaller and more limited version of the iPhone: you're able to make calls, send texts, listen to music, take down notes, and plenty more besides.
Add in the iPod-inspired hardware design and a pair of the best AirPods, and you've got something that mixes the ideas of an iPhone and an iPod together – all in a little gadget that comfortably slips in your pocket or straps to your clothing.
A phone away from phone
This summer. Live different pic.twitter.com/7qvu5Sm3XvMay 24, 2024
In one of the TinyPod teaser trailers that's already appeared, the device is described as "your phone away from phone", which gives you some idea of how it's being targeted. It's like a secondary device to complement your phone (as is the Apple Watch itself).
Perhaps everything this mini-phone can't do – browse the web, scroll through social media, play videos – helps it be a less distracting and less stress-inducing alternative to your actual iPhone. It might suit times when you don't need a full phone with you.
Now there's still a lot we don't know about the TinyPod, not least how much it's going to cost or when we'll be able to buy it (it's apparently coming in the summer in the US). From what we've seen so far though, it's a promising idea.
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This isn't actually the first project we've seen to try and turn the Apple Watch into something else: there's also the Cake gadget, which looks a lot like the Rabbit R1, and which is currently at the prototype stage.
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David Nield
Freelance Contributor
Dave is a freelance tech journalist who has been writing about gadgets, apps and the web for more than two decades. Based out of Stockport, England, on TechRadar you'll find him covering news, features and reviews, particularly for phones, tablets and wearables. Working to ensure our breaking news coverage is the best in the business over weekends, David also has bylines at Gizmodo, T3, PopSci and a few other places besides, as well as being many years editing the likes of PC Explorer and The Hardware Handbook.
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