We’re only days away from the “Awe Dropping” event, where Tim Cook will unveil the groundbreaking new iPhone 17 Air, a phone that’ll have iPhone users drooling (due to dropped jaws) and begging Apple to take their money. I’ve gone on record saying that I’m not investing in any of the new iPhone 17 models and holding out for a folding iPhone next year. But what am I going to do to breathe new life into my current iPhone? Native Union has come to my rescue.
The Paris-based company has announced the Pop Phone, which isn’t a full phone, but an audio accessory modeled after the phone hand receivers of yore–“yore” being the time before mobile phones became prevalent and you had to actually sit in one place, tethered to a device as you had a conversation.
The Pop Phone plugs into a USB-C port and can be used with an iPhone, iPad, or Mac. It has a “high-quality microphone and speaker” and will make FaceTime, Microsoft Teams, and Zoom calls positively nostalgic. It comes in eight different colors for $40/£40 and is available to order right now.
If you’re not sold on the retro kitchiness of it all, then perhaps this TikTok video of a fashionable mate strolling down the streets of Paris chatting on a Pop Phone will convince you.
The Pop Phone actually marks something of a comeback for Native Union. It was originally released 15 years ago, back in the day when iPhones had audio jacks; you plugged the 2009 Pop Phone into said jack. It was also available in wackier color schemes, including a gold handset, which would’ve fit right in the current White House. (Gold isn’t among the current color choices.)
Practically, Pop Phone actually solves a couple of problems for me. The first is that I won’t have to be grossed out after greasing up my iPhone display from holding the phone to my face as I take a call. The second is that now (as pointed out to me by Macworld video producer Alex Esteves), I can “slam the phone down so hard the person on the other end feels it” after arguing with an “IRS representative” who urgently needs me to transfer money to him via Bitcoin. Come at me, scammers.
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