- The Repod is a ‚mech suit‘ for your old Apple Watch
- Ultra version is titanium, with a scroll wheel, but no headphone jack
- Designed to replace your smartphone
It’s safe to say that the tech world maintains a healthy obsession with the ‚classic‘ model of iPod, created back before gadgets were a smorgasbord of subscription services and addictive social apps — I personally dusted mine off and wrote about it last year, and someone made a cheap dupe of it recently, complete with Clickwheel-style controls. Another newly-unveiled piece of tech brings the iPod into the modern day, with quite a few twists.
A company simply called WGP has begun selling on Kickstarter (via Notebookcheck) a device called the RePod Ultra. The incredibly-low initial funding goal of HK$10,000 (roughly $1,200 / £940 / AU$1,820) was surpassed almost immediately, so the device is officially funded. It’s due to ship in April, though never count your Kickstarter chickens before they hatch.
The RePod Ultra is essentially a ‚mech suit‘ for an Apple Watch Ultra body. You house the wearable in a titanium frame, turning it into a pseudo-iPod, complete with a big scrolling 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 now how I would describe the hues.
Not the proud owner of a dust-gathering Ultra smartwatch? The Kickstarter also offers the RePod C1, designed for Apple Watches since Series 3, or Apple Watch SE models. This costs $99 (roughly £80, AU$160) and doesn’t seem to be made of metal, but plastic or silicone (the listing doesn’t say). So you have options if you own others of the best Apple Watches.
iPod, therefore iAm
According to WGP’s posting, the RePod turns your Apple Watch into an iPod-looking ersatz phone. It can play games, do contactless payments, navigate with Apple Maps, set alarms and reminders, check your messages and, of course, stream music. Via Bluetooth, of course; this isn’t a headphone jack-toting iPod.
In a way, that makes a lot of sense. The RePod offers a half-step digital detox, for people who find their phone too addicting but still want most of its features. However WGP’s listing makes a few eyebrow-raising claims.
The product hinges on your owning an Apple Watch that you don’t currently use. That’s quite possible with the older and cheaper models, but still – I don’t know about you, but if I owned the $799 Apple Watch Ultra, it probably would be on my wrist at every moment, so it could justify that eye-watering price tag. And if I had a new one, I’m not sure I’d have just left the old one gathering dust.
I’m curious to see how well the scroll wheel can be used to manipulate Watch OS, beyond moving through the main menu. WGP promises it can help with „volume adjustment, game interaction, option selection“ as well, however it also says „no tapping“ – old iPod owners will remember that the swipe wheel doubled as a D-pad, and I can’t tell whether the RePod Ultra does the same.
The RePod was designed to add an extra lease of life to Apple Watches you no longer use, and I’m interested to see whether it’d encourage people to start using their wearable regularly again as a kind of super-advanced iPod nano, or if it’d inspire a brief resurgence in interest and then become a paperweight.
I’d certainly say I’m skeptical of the claim on the Kickstarter that „Held in your hand, Apple Watch Ultra becomes easier to manage“ – 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 out an old gadget you no longer wear, turn it into something else.
And it could be especially handy if your Apple Watch is no longer usable as a watch, but still works for other functions; if the heart rate scanner is busted, or the strap connector no longer holds the strap, you could use the RePod to ensure it’s still handy.
This isn’t the first such gadget to offer the same conversion. The TinyPod came out about a year prior, and it does just about the same thing; it turns your Apple Watch into an iPod, with the main difference being that it’s a thin plastic device instead of a large titanium one. That comes in three sizes, for different models of watch, and has a Lite alternative that misses the scroll wheel.
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