Jonathan Reed

276 posts on MacStories since February 2024

Jonathan is a freelance graphic designer. As well as being a long-time Apple user he is a huge film and television aficionado and is very interested in the intersection between the two mediums and technology. He lives in London with his wife and daughter and is writing his bio in the third person.

Dave Lee Reveals the Old-School Technology and Flaws Behind the tinyPod

Announced back in May, the tinyPod is a plastic case that turns your strapless Apple Watch into an iPod-like phone. The company claims the case can make a cellular Apple Watch your “phone away from phone” with core apps like Messages, Phone, Music, Maps, and more. You can even use an app like μBrowser – which I talked about on this week’s AppStories – to stay connected to the web as well.

When the tinyPod was announced, I wasn’t sure whether this was incredibly silly or genius, but I was certainly intrigued to hear how it worked out. Units have now started appearing in the wild, and YouTuber Dave Lee (aka Dave2D) got ahold of one to test out.

Unfortunately, it seems like the quality of the case is poor, and the button in the middle of the scroll wheel is non-functional. Going back and looking at the promotional videos, I can now see that this was a deliberate choice.

What’s most intriguing about this accessory, however, is the mechanism the folks at tinyPod constructed to allow the scroll wheel to turn the Digital Crown. I’ll let Dave show you in detail, but suffice it to say it’s weird, old-school, and flawed – but I kind of love it. Crucially, though, it’s not enough to make me want one.

While the tinyPod seems like a no-go, I do admire people trying crazy ideas like this because every now and then, one of them sticks the landing.

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Cameras, Art Fights, and Markdown Editors

Among the highlights on the Club MacStories+ Discord: Mariken showed off their beautiful Lumix camera, shared why they’ve moved away from the iPhone for photography, and recommended a nerdy YouTube channel focused on cameras and lenses. Marty Day made me want to visit Baltimore so I could attend an incredible-sounding event called Super Art Fight...


Tech Anxiety and Dealing with the News Firehose

Source: [Ales Nesetril](https://unsplash.com/@alesnesetril) | Unsplash

Source: Ales Nesetril | Unsplash

I don’t think I’m the only one who’s recently had the feeling that tech news is becoming more toxic – that more and more product releases have this semi-political commentary or opinion attached to them. What is a photo? Is AI making a positive difference? Should we have more choices regarding what apps we put...


PDF Readers, Alarm Clocks, and Foldable Keyboards

Among the highlights on the Club MacStories+ Discord: Member bbech asked about apps to read and annotate PDFs, and the community suggested some options. TC-Guildy laid out the benefits of to-do app Godspeed, which is now available with a Setapp subscription. WJ12P is testing out the hot new alarm clock everyone’s talking about. Tim had...


OneTap : A Versatile Clipboard Manager Tucked Under Your Keyboard

The clipboard manager category has always been popular on the Mac but never really got going on the iPhone. That’s partly due to Apple’s restrictive multitasking system, but it’s also because on the iPhone, unlike the Mac, you can’t have another window hovering next to the app you’re using or hit a key combination to...



Desk Setups, Tinder for Photos, and 3D-Printed iPhone Stands

Among the highlights on the Club MacStories+ Discord: Nathan shared his beautifully clean desk setup, which prompted Robb to share his beautifully chaotic desk setup. Members commiserated and discussed the iPad mini’s value in the lineup after a hugely disappointing ‘upgrade’ this week. There were a couple of good suggestions for apps that help you...



Creating a Personal Fitness+ Collection

I’ve previously detailed my love of Fitness+, Apple’s affordable, accessible personal fitness service. The range of activities is great, the trainers are enthusiastic without being grating, and some workouts can really destroy you – in a good way. But I have a problem with Fitness+, specifically when it comes to revisiting workouts I’ve completed. While...