We launched an App that let you customize your iPhone to look like a 2000s era MP3 player. As Rewound grew exponentially across the world from Japan to China to Iran to Russia and the rest of mainland Europe, Apple KILLED it.
What were Apple’s reasons for killing Rewound?
1. Copying iPod Design: Rewound was specifically designed not to infringe on Apple’s trademarks and we didn’t. Rewound could look many ways. Not until users started sharing/using clickwheel skins did they ban the app… Skins were user added/downloaded, we didn’t include them in the app.
2. Charging for Apple Music features
3. People would mistake it for Apple product
MacDailyNews Take: Rewound’s genius was that it made your iPhone look and work like a classic iPod without infringing via skins the user would add later. Regardless, we had a feeling it wouldn’t last long in the App Store (luckily we’ve already downloaded it and can skin it to our hearts’ content).
Via GoFundMe, Rewound has launched the REWOUND.FUND for the development of a Rewound Web App. More info here.
I’m glad I got it. I do love this app. I wish it would do inertial scrolling through.
Genius. /s
Apple should do to CitizenX what they did to Rewound. It would make the world a better place, and CitizenX could be reunited with his bosom buddy, SJ.
Apple should have done this years ago themselves… But that’s going backwards, nostalgic, fun, so no, they won’t do it. And they’ll stop others for doing so. Ugh…
Apple needs to learn that killing the fun can eventually kill the business. People like retro. If Apple felt that this app infringed on certain things, then why not license those things to the company for a nominal fee.
If Apple is worried about third party skins, then get over it. Let the people have some fun and don’t worry about losing a little revenue. This action just plays into the Apple-bashing argument that Apple devices are too locked down.
Apple, please just figure out a way to let stuff like this work without causing a bunch of controversy and without weakening your patent/design/copyright protections (which, let’s face it, really haven’t worked all that well).
Apple sux. Microsoft sux. Facebook sux. mDN sux. CitizenX sucks. Applecynic sux. GoEB mostly sucks. #Sux
On the 20th anniversary of iPod, which is in 2021, Apple should produce a limited-edition classic iPod. Make it proportionally like a classic click-wheel iPod, except scaled down in size. Use 4th gen iPod’s look; it’s the first with click-wheel and color screen. For me, it’s the iconic ”iPod”…
Use haptics to simulate “click” of click-wheel, like trackpad of MacBooks. It could run a variant of watchOS. Functionally, maybe it could serve as an Apple Watch for people who don’t like wearing a wristwatch. The digital crown is somewhat similar to the click-wheel.
Apple should do SOMETHING for iPod’s 20th anniversary. There’s only one iPod left in lineup, and iPod touch is not really an “iPod” 😉