I’m obsessed with this app that turned my iPhone into a retro iPod

So, what’s it like having an app turn your iPhone into an iPod? Honestly, it’s kind of amazing. The interface is almost identical to what you would see on an iPod Classic or an iPod Nano. The home screen shows options for shuffling your songs, browsing your music, seeing what’s currently playing, and a few app settings (plus an option to tip the developer).

You navigate the menu by using the virtual scroll wheel, which vibrates and clicks to mimic the feel of an actual iPod scroll wheel shockingly well. It feels fantastic for browsing artists and albums, but the real magic happens when you open the Cover Flow view, which looks just as incredible in 2024 as it did in 2007.

All of the music content in the app is pulled from your Apple Music library, including your saved albums and playlists. If you select the Shuffle Songs option, it starts playing a shuffle playlist from all the songs saved in your Apple Music library.

Objectively, this is nothing more than another interface for the Apple Music app. If you play a song from the My Classic app and switch to Apple Music, you’ll see it playing there, too. It’s not adding any new features. If anything, it’s a more limited way of interacting with Apple Music. You can’t search for songs or find music not already saved in your library.

However, that’s also why the app is so charming. Not only is the interface and iPod Classic UI executed so perfectly, but being forced to interact with my music in a simpler way has been so refreshing.

It makes me focus more on my music library without being distracted by new releases or other recommended playlists. I’ve found myself listening to saved albums I’ve not played in months because, in the regular Apple Music app, I typically listen to recommended playlists or new albums. I don’t know if that’s good or bad, but my music selections using My Classic have been different.

In addition to the incredible execution of the My Classic app and the way it makes you listen to music, there’s also an undeniable nostalgia factor at play here.

I grew up with a 3rd-generation iPod Nano. I received it as a Christmas gift one year from my parents, and for many years later (until I lost it), that iPod Nano was a gadget I used nearly every single day. The interface of the My Classic app is exactly like the one used on my old Nano, so using the application has felt like teleporting back in time. It has brought back memories of me sitting at the computer with my cousin and syncing songs from our iTunes accounts to our respective iPods. Or playing The Sims Bowling on car rides to school. Not to mention discovering artists like Green Day and Switchfoot for the first time.

My iPod Nano went through a lot with me, and being able to bring back that experience to my iPhone is really something special. Maybe I’m feeling particularly nostalgic because of the holiday season, but this is one of the coolest mobile apps I’ve used this year — and one I think I’ll keep on my iPhone for a while to come.