- The Repod is a ‘mechanical suit’ for your old Apple Watch
- The Ultra version is titanium, with a scroll wheel, but without a headphone jack
- Designed to replace your smartphone
It’s safe to say that the tech world maintains a healthy obsession with the “classic” iPod model, created before the devices were a smorgasbord of subscription services and addictive social apps. I personally dusted mine off and wrote about it last year, and recently someone did a cheap dupe with it, complete with Clickwheel-style controls. Another recently revealed piece of technology brings the iPod into the modern day, with quite a few changes.
A company simply called WGP has started selling a device called the RePod Ultra on Kickstarter (via Notebookcheck). The incredibly low initial funding target of HK$10,000 (approximately $1,200 / £940 / AU$1,820) was surpassed almost immediately, so the device is officially funded. It’s scheduled to ship in April, although never count your Kickstarter chickens before they hatch.
The RePod Ultra is essentially a ‘mechanical suit’ for the body of an Apple Watch Ultra. You house the wearable device in a titanium frame, turning it into a pseudo-iPod, complete with a large scroll wheel and its own side crown. It costs $159 (around £130, AU$260) and comes in silver, black or “natural” colors, which are described as “bold” but… well, that’s how I would describe the shades.
Aren’t you the proud owner of an Ultra smartwatch collecting dust? Kickstarter also offers the RePod C1, designed for Apple Watch from Series 3, or Apple Watch SE models. It costs $99 (about £80, AU$160) and doesn’t appear to be made of metal, but rather plastic or silicone (the listing doesn’t say this). So you have options if you own other of the best Apple watches.
iPod, therefore I am
According to WGP’s post, the RePod turns your Apple Watch into an iPod-looking replacement phone. You can play games, make contactless payments, navigate with Apple Maps, set alarms and reminders, check your messages, and of course, stream music. Via Bluetooth, of course; This is not an iPod with a headphone jack.
In a way, that makes a lot of sense. The RePod offers a half-step digital detox for people who find their phone too addictive but still want most of its features. However, the WGP list makes some surprising claims.
The product depends on you having an Apple Watch that you are not currently using. that’s enough possible with the older, cheaper models, but still, I don’t know about you, but if I had the $799 Apple Watch Ultra, it would probably be on my wrist at all times, so I could justify that eye-watering price. And if I had a new one, I’m not sure I would have left the old one collecting dust.
I’m curious to see how well the scroll wheel can be used to manipulate Watch OS, beyond moving around the main menu. WGP promises that it can also help with “volume adjustment, game interaction, option selection”, however it also says “no touch”; Former iPod owners will remember that the scroll wheel worked like a D-pad, and I can’t say if the RePod Ultra does the same.
The RePod was designed to add extra life to Apple Watches you no longer wear, and I’m interested to see whether it would encourage people to start using their wearable device regularly again as a sort of super-advanced iPod nano, or whether it would inspire a brief resurgence of interest and then become a paperweight.
I’d certainly say I’m skeptical of the claim on Kickstarter that “Holding it in your hand makes the Apple Watch Ultra easier to handle” (the Apple Watch definitely works well as something designed for the wrist), but if it’s good, this could be a great anti-e-waste device – don’t throw away an old device you no longer use, turn it into something else.
And it could be especially useful if your Apple Watch can no longer be used as a watch, but still works for other functions; If the heart rate scanner is broken or the strap connector no longer holds the strap, you can use the RePod to make sure it’s still close at hand.
This is not the first device of its kind to offer the same conversion. The TinyPod came out about a year earlier and does pretty much the same thing; It turns your Apple Watch into an iPod, with the main difference being that it’s a slim plastic device instead of a large titanium one. It comes in three sizes, for different watch models, and has a Lite alternative that lacks the scroll wheel.
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