The Nostalgic Apple Watch Replica: A Review of its Scroll Wheel Mechanism

As I held the Apple Watch replica in my hands, I couldn't help but feel like I was holding a child's toy. The device itself is an interesting concept, with a focus on recreating the experience of using an original Apple Watch from years past. However, it falls short in several areas, particularly when it comes to its scroll wheel mechanism.

The scroll wheel is one of those features that makes a good user interface. It provides a smooth and effortless way to navigate through content, such as music libraries or photos. In this replica, the scroll wheel is housed inside the device, with a series of pulleys that connect it to the Apple Watch's crown. This mechanism works well in theory, but in practice, it's inconsistent and prone to jamming. I even tried adding some extra lube to get it working smoothly, but it still felt like it was going to break at any moment.

The lack of a functional button is also notable. Instead of having a dedicated button that can be pressed to select items or navigate through menus, the user has to tap on the screen. This is a major letdown, especially for those who have come to expect a certain level of tactile feedback from their devices. The Apple Watch replica's design does try to incorporate some haptic feedback into its interface, but it's not enough to make up for the overall lack of functionality.

Despite these flaws, there is something charming about this device. It's clear that the designers were trying to create a nostalgic experience for those who have fond memories of using older Apple Watches. However, in its current form, it just doesn't feel like a well-designed product. The materials and construction are fine, but the overall experience is marred by inconsistent performance and a lack of user-friendly design.

One interesting aspect of this device is that there is a cheaper version available that does away with the scroll wheel mechanism altogether. This version, which costs $30 less than the original, is essentially just a case for the Apple Watch form factor. While it may not offer the same level of functionality or charm as the original, it's an interesting alternative option for those who are looking for a more affordable way to experience their favorite Apple Watch features.

Overall, while the Apple Watch replica is an intriguing product, its design and functionality fall short in several areas. With some tweaks and refinements, it could potentially become a great nostalgic accessory or collector's item. However, in its current form, it feels like a toy that doesn't quite live up to expectations.

"WEBVTTKind: captionsLanguage: ena few months ago this product was announced out of nowhere it's called the tiny pod and it's a gadget that transforms your Apple watch into this iPod looking thing but it also has a scroll wheel and the marketing around this thing is very interesting it kind of hits on the whole Nostalgia and like Simplicity of a device like this but because the core of this product is an Apple Watch it has a lot of modern kind of smartphone functionality you can stream and download music on this thing you can check your messages you can use it for maps your email basically every app that exists on an Apple Watch you have access to but most importantly you have access to a phone because if your Apple watch has an LTE signal you have a phone and this tiny machine this tiny pod can suddenly be used as a tiny phone and in theory could replace an iPhone now the Nostalgia Factor on this thing was very high when I saw all this marketing I was like that is so cool if this thing's like 100 bucks or less I want to try it it turns out it's $7 $9 now I was sent an early production sample last week and it comes in a very simple packaging it's kind of like it's got some apple Vibes going on but when you pop it open the first thing I noticed was that there's like a very thin layer of grease on this whole thing it didn't make sense at first but you'll understand why in a second but the other thing I noticed right out of the box was that this thing does not look nearly as nice in real life as it did in the renders like when I looked on the website I was looking around like everything looks so perfect on that site and also the kind of plastic imperfections are not visible on the renders but here it just it almost feels like a child's toy like almost like a burner toy for kids like if Fisher Price made a burner phone for kids like this is what it would look like uh but I got it in and I'm like hey I got to check this thing out now this particular unit houses uh well the the the Apple watch I'm putting here is an Apple Watch se but they make different sizes depending on the Apple watch that you want to throw in but the first thing I checked out was the scroll wheel and it works but it's not great it's not this smooth and effortless scroll wheel like you might expect or might hope it's very inconsistent now on this particular unit I've even stuffed a piece of paper at the top of my Apple watch just to be able to make sure that it's got a very snug fit because this whole Contraption needs to have very tight fitting parts to be able to make it go um so it fits perfectly is just that the mechanism is not perfect now let me show you how this whole thing works cuz it is interesting the way they've done it if you think about it an Apple Watch is typically controlled by the crown so how do you transfer the rotational energy of your scroll movements to turning the Apple watch so they have this neat mechanism that's entirely mechanical there's no like Wireless uh stuff there's no electronics on the inside it's just a mechanical system and kind of cool so normally has screws I removed those previously but this is is the scroll wheel and as you spin it around it has a series of pulleys that in turn activates the crown of the Apple watch which would sit inside like so and as you rotate your scroll wheel and it turns the pulley it turns the crown it's a neat mechanism but if you're wondering why all that lube was sitting all over this is a mechanical thing that needs to be well lubricated in order to move properly and I think that's why there was like excess grease when I opened this thing up but it is neat as to how they were able to engineer scroll wheel to work with an Apple watch now the next thing you might think is like okay they solved that but how did they solve the click like the button how did they solve you know getting into the things that you've selected let me tell you it turns out they didn't so there's no way to select the things that you've selected using the scroll wheel area you have to touch and or tap the screen and the moment I realized this I was like this just falls apart for me like the moment you're touching the screen then the whole scroll wheel functionality falls apart and then the whole Nostalgia element of this thing falls apart because half of what makes a good scroll wheel is the mechanism of like selecting things like this is uh first generation iPod Nano super old but look at this thing like super precise right but if you want to click on something it's just like you're in right and it's like it's got this tactile feel to it now on the tiny pod there is a bit of like tactility as you scroll around because the haptics of the appple watch are clicking in but there's this is not functional I'm like what is this and I look on the website and it's not very clear that this is not a button or anything you have to tap on the screen and the moment you're doing that I don't know it almost feels like a Teemu version of what this product could have been if it worked the way that we would expect it to like if the scroll wheel worked really well flawlessly like nicely machine and everything was tight and effortless and consistent and also if the button worked like that that would be really neat but in its current state it just feels it feels like a toy that doesn't work the way that we want it to if I'm being completely honest but there is a cheaper version of this that doesn't have the scroll with they have a $30 version that's just like a case for the form factor and I will say that if you hold this device it's easier to hold and manipulate it than it would be if you're just using the like the Apple watch by itself without any straps if you're trying to use like you know I mean if this is the tiny pod this is the tiniest pod right there's no and it's it's but this is this doesn't feel comfortable in your hands if you're using it so I don't want to knock on the company I think it's really cool when companies try cool stuff like this it's interesting the idea of it not going to lie it's awesome it's just that it's not implemented in a way that I think most people will enjoy especially if you came at this thing they hope that would be like this nostalgic experience for the Apple watch all right hope you guys enjoyed this videoa few months ago this product was announced out of nowhere it's called the tiny pod and it's a gadget that transforms your Apple watch into this iPod looking thing but it also has a scroll wheel and the marketing around this thing is very interesting it kind of hits on the whole Nostalgia and like Simplicity of a device like this but because the core of this product is an Apple Watch it has a lot of modern kind of smartphone functionality you can stream and download music on this thing you can check your messages you can use it for maps your email basically every app that exists on an Apple Watch you have access to but most importantly you have access to a phone because if your Apple watch has an LTE signal you have a phone and this tiny machine this tiny pod can suddenly be used as a tiny phone and in theory could replace an iPhone now the Nostalgia Factor on this thing was very high when I saw all this marketing I was like that is so cool if this thing's like 100 bucks or less I want to try it it turns out it's $7 $9 now I was sent an early production sample last week and it comes in a very simple packaging it's kind of like it's got some apple Vibes going on but when you pop it open the first thing I noticed was that there's like a very thin layer of grease on this whole thing it didn't make sense at first but you'll understand why in a second but the other thing I noticed right out of the box was that this thing does not look nearly as nice in real life as it did in the renders like when I looked on the website I was looking around like everything looks so perfect on that site and also the kind of plastic imperfections are not visible on the renders but here it just it almost feels like a child's toy like almost like a burner toy for kids like if Fisher Price made a burner phone for kids like this is what it would look like uh but I got it in and I'm like hey I got to check this thing out now this particular unit houses uh well the the the Apple watch I'm putting here is an Apple Watch se but they make different sizes depending on the Apple watch that you want to throw in but the first thing I checked out was the scroll wheel and it works but it's not great it's not this smooth and effortless scroll wheel like you might expect or might hope it's very inconsistent now on this particular unit I've even stuffed a piece of paper at the top of my Apple watch just to be able to make sure that it's got a very snug fit because this whole Contraption needs to have very tight fitting parts to be able to make it go um so it fits perfectly is just that the mechanism is not perfect now let me show you how this whole thing works cuz it is interesting the way they've done it if you think about it an Apple Watch is typically controlled by the crown so how do you transfer the rotational energy of your scroll movements to turning the Apple watch so they have this neat mechanism that's entirely mechanical there's no like Wireless uh stuff there's no electronics on the inside it's just a mechanical system and kind of cool so normally has screws I removed those previously but this is is the scroll wheel and as you spin it around it has a series of pulleys that in turn activates the crown of the Apple watch which would sit inside like so and as you rotate your scroll wheel and it turns the pulley it turns the crown it's a neat mechanism but if you're wondering why all that lube was sitting all over this is a mechanical thing that needs to be well lubricated in order to move properly and I think that's why there was like excess grease when I opened this thing up but it is neat as to how they were able to engineer scroll wheel to work with an Apple watch now the next thing you might think is like okay they solved that but how did they solve the click like the button how did they solve you know getting into the things that you've selected let me tell you it turns out they didn't so there's no way to select the things that you've selected using the scroll wheel area you have to touch and or tap the screen and the moment I realized this I was like this just falls apart for me like the moment you're touching the screen then the whole scroll wheel functionality falls apart and then the whole Nostalgia element of this thing falls apart because half of what makes a good scroll wheel is the mechanism of like selecting things like this is uh first generation iPod Nano super old but look at this thing like super precise right but if you want to click on something it's just like you're in right and it's like it's got this tactile feel to it now on the tiny pod there is a bit of like tactility as you scroll around because the haptics of the appple watch are clicking in but there's this is not functional I'm like what is this and I look on the website and it's not very clear that this is not a button or anything you have to tap on the screen and the moment you're doing that I don't know it almost feels like a Teemu version of what this product could have been if it worked the way that we would expect it to like if the scroll wheel worked really well flawlessly like nicely machine and everything was tight and effortless and consistent and also if the button worked like that that would be really neat but in its current state it just feels it feels like a toy that doesn't work the way that we want it to if I'm being completely honest but there is a cheaper version of this that doesn't have the scroll with they have a $30 version that's just like a case for the form factor and I will say that if you hold this device it's easier to hold and manipulate it than it would be if you're just using the like the Apple watch by itself without any straps if you're trying to use like you know I mean if this is the tiny pod this is the tiniest pod right there's no and it's it's but this is this doesn't feel comfortable in your hands if you're using it so I don't want to knock on the company I think it's really cool when companies try cool stuff like this it's interesting the idea of it not going to lie it's awesome it's just that it's not implemented in a way that I think most people will enjoy especially if you came at this thing they hope that would be like this nostalgic experience for the Apple watch all right hope you guys enjoyed this video\n"