.After several months of designing, building, testing, and continuously reworking the project, UltraPod is finally available.

UltraPod is my take on digital minimalism. It is an attempt to turn a modern smartphone into something simpler, calmer, and more intentional.

It keeps the familiar interaction style and visual character of a classic music player, while adding practical tools for reading, fitness, photography, notes, and everyday life.

More Than an App: I’m Also Designing a Physical Case

I am currently designing a 3D-printable UltraPod case that you can place an iPhone inside.

The case physically covers most of the screen, leaving only the essential display and control areas visible. The idea is not to remove the capabilities of your phone, but to make distracting social apps, endless feeds, and unnecessary notifications less accessible.

I genuinely believe that attention is one of the most valuable—and most easily lost—resources we have in the digital age.

Sometimes, software restrictions are not enough. A physical boundary can change how we interact with a device.

15 Lightweight Built-In Apps

To make UltraPod feel more like a complete modern feature phone, I have built 15 lightweight internal apps.

Each app has its own custom-designed interface and icon set. UltraPod also includes 15 visual themes inspired by different design styles, including classic, Y2K, toy-like, skeuomorphic, minimal, and flat design.

Some of the built-in apps include:

Music
Apple Music integration, support for high-resolution local audio files, and a classic Cover Flow-inspired album browsing experience.

Books
A distraction-free reader supporting EPUB, TXT, and Markdown, designed to help you actually read instead of endlessly scrolling.

Fitness
A minimal workout-tracking interface that only shows the information you need.

Camera
A retro-inspired camera with custom LUT support, made for simple photography without the immediate pressure to edit, post, or share.

UltraPod also includes Photos, Voice Memos, Notes, Calendar, Stopwatch, Clock, Sleep Timer, Contacts, Lock Screen, Shuffle, Settings, and more.

What Has Changed Since My Last Update?

Since I last shared the project, I have added and rebuilt a lot:

1. Fifteen Complete Themes

The theme system has grown to 15 different styles, including more modern flat-design options and complete custom icon sets.

2. Apple Watch Support

You can now control music playback from your Apple Watch while running, cycling, working out, or simply keeping your phone in your pocket.

3. A Rebuilt Caching System

I rewrote the caching system to improve data loading, artwork handling, page transitions, and overall responsiveness.

4. Landscape Cover Flow

UltraPod now includes a landscape Cover Flow mode for browsing albums while the phone is positioned horizontally.

You can flick albums across the screen and let one land at random, turning the process of choosing music into something playful rather than another search box.

5. Lyrics

The music player now supports synchronized lyrics, making the listening experience feel much more complete.

I’m Not Trying to Build Just Another Music Player

UltraPod is not intended to be a replica of the original iPod, and it is not simply a skin placed over an iPhone.

I want it to become a different way of using a smartphone:

Less distraction.
Fewer endless feeds.
Fewer notifications demanding an immediate response.

More music, reading, movement, creativity, and time that actually feels like your own.

My long-term goal is for UltraPod to grow into a kind of dumbphone launcher—a focused environment that gives you access to useful smartphone features without constantly pulling you back into distracting apps.

However, this is still an early-stage personal project, and there is a lot of work left to do.

I hope people approach UltraPod as a fun DIY project and a digital toy, rather than expecting it to completely replace a smartphone. Treating it as a full phone replacement would create expectations that the project is not yet ready to meet.

For now, it is an experiment in designing a calmer relationship with the device we already carry every day.

Pricing and Access

UltraPod’s core experience is completely free, and all essential features can be used without paying.

Optional DIY features, additional themes, and alternative control methods may be available through one-time purchases. These purchases are not required and do not restrict the core experience.

There are no advertisements.

UltraPod is officially live, but this is only the beginning.

Next, I will continue improving the 3D-printable case, experimenting with physical control systems, supporting more devices, and refining the overall experience.

I would genuinely appreciate your feedback—especially what works, what feels confusing, which theme you like most, and what you think UltraPod should become next.

You can access UltraPod directly search for “UltraPod” on the App Store. You can also find many other fun and interesting DIY projects on my website ultrapod.gigassbox.com

A while ago, I posted a design concept of an Apple Music player on Chinese social media. To my surprise, it blew up and got over 1.5 million views. People kept leaving comments asking me to make it a real thing. So, I spent the last few months coding, and now it's a real app called UltraPod.

As I developed it, the idea evolved. It went from a simple music player into a complete "Dumbphone" conversion. I'm currently designing a 3D-printable physical case that you can slip your iPhone into. The case physically blocks out most of the screen, sealing your phone away from distracting social apps and toxic notifications. I truly believe that focus is the most precious quality we have in this digital age.

To make this a fully functional dumbphone, I built 15 mini-apps inside the system, and each of them has custom icons designed to match different UI themes like Basic, Y2K, Toy, Skeuo, Flat, and more:

• Music: Integrates with Apple Music and high-res local files, featuring the classic Cover Flow.
• Books: A text page reader that imports EPUB, TXT, and Markdown, so you can read books instead of doom-scrolling.
• Fitness: A distraction-free workout tracker screen.
• Camera: A retro-style camera with custom LUTs for simple snaps without instant editing or posting.
• Photos, Voice Memos, Notes, Calendar, Stopwatch, Clock (with sleep timer), Contacts, Screen Lock, Shuffle, Settings, and Extras.
• (Full disclosure: The weather icon is there, but I haven't finished developing the weather app yet, so it doesn't work right now).

The app is currently in TestFlight. It is 100% free, and there are 10,000 slots available, so basically everyone who wants to try it can get in. It requires iOS 16+. iPad is supported, but honestly, it probably has some UI bugs since I'm still optimizing the tablet layout.

I will release the 3D-printable case files (STL) for free very soon so you can print your own shell.

I am a solo indie dev with zero marketing budget. I only have one request: if you genuinely like UltraPod, please consider sharing a video or photo of your setup on your social media. That's the only way this project can get noticed.

You can request the free beta invitation directly on the website: https://ultrapod.gigassbox.com/

I'd love to hear your feedback. Let me know what you think!

The concept uses an iPhone as the core hardware. When the case is installed on the front, the phone enters an iPod-style focus mode with only essential apps:

Music, Photos, Fitness, Reading, Voice Memos, Notes, Weather, and Calendar connected to Apple Calendar.

Music would support both local files and Apple Music, including offline listening where technically allowed through Apple’s ecosystem.

The interesting part is the case interaction:

Install the case on the front → iPod / focus mode Move the case to the back → normal iPhone use

The goal is not to make a fake retro gadget, but a believable modern iPod experience: fewer distractions, better focus, and a more intentional way to listen to music.

Would you use this? What would you add or remove?

I built this app a while ago and previously shared the iPod Classic mode.
Just added a new iPod Nano 6 mode — if you prefer touch controls and a full-screen UI, you might actually like this one more.

I also made sure every feature actually works. It’s not just a visual mockup or fake skin.

Free download:
https://github.com/Gigass/squarepod

https://github.com/Gigass/squarepod/releases/tag/v1.0.0

Many people were interested in the post the day before yesterday. I quickly completed the V1.0 demo. It is suitable for all square Android devices, just download it directly.