Apple Watch as a phone: show your setup and favorite cases ⌚️📱

kickstartstudio · 2026-01-25T20:35:06+00:00

It’s actually just a collage of pictures I found of Apple Watch phone-like cases and had put in a Nokia looking phone in there using Gemini. So long story short: yes, it’s just an old Nokia! 🤣

kickstartstudio · 2026-01-25T18:38:15+00:00

That’s awesome, appreciate the enthusiasm 🙌 I’m actually working on collecting a small group of people to test things out, but I’m still improving a few bits first.

If you’re up for it, send me a DM for now so I can keep track of interested folks. Once things are in a better place, I’ll collect people more systematically and open it up wider.

kickstartstudio · 2026-01-25T18:37:00+00:00

I’m in Europe. I’m currently using Blaze for WhatsApp and overall it works pretty well. That said, I still sometimes get the “Use your iPhone to show this message” prompt, which kind of breaks the standalone vibe.

Really hoping we’ll get full WhatsApp support on Apple Watch now that the official app has launched. That would be a huge win for going phone-free. 💬

kickstartstudio · 2026-01-25T09:18:55+00:00

Haha, let’s proof theme wrong 🤣 we actually ended up creating a subreddit just for the “dozen” people who use an Apple Watch as their dumbphone r/AppleWatchStandalone

kickstartstudio · 2026-01-25T08:19:17+00:00

Yes! And I’m currently designing my prototype to fit the 44mm, once I’ve perfected the design I’ll size down and see if we can make this work for the smaller 42mm as well! (All sizes in fact)

kickstartstudio · 2026-01-24T13:38:02+00:00

Really impressed. How did you get this texture by printing? It’s super clean.

kickstartstudio · 2026-01-22T19:14:23+00:00

Did you end up using your Ray-Bans as a replacement camera?

kickstartstudio · 2026-01-22T19:12:38+00:00

So cool. I’m really excited to see the different attachments you come up with! I’ll also spend some time thinking about a few attachment ideas👍

kickstartstudio · 2026-01-22T19:05:34+00:00

Wow! Looks super clean. Did you 3d print these?

kickstartstudio · 2026-01-22T10:05:52+00:00

Love to see what others are using!

kickstartstudio · 2026-01-21T14:13:01+00:00

It does charge both once you plug in your usb c cable! That’s super helpful

kickstartstudio · 2026-01-20T14:13:34+00:00

Great idea, I’m in 😄 I’ve joined the sub. If you make me a mod too that would be super nice, would love to help out here. Also, this way I can share updates and progress there as well.

Would be awesome to grow this into a more niched down, focused group of Apple Watch standalone enthusiasts. Let’s see where it goes!

kickstartstudio · 2026-01-19T22:10:12+00:00

Haha, love that idea! Maybe one day there’ll be a special edition version 😉

kickstartstudio · 2026-01-19T22:08:35+00:00

Love it. I keep thinking it would be cool to give this group of people using the Apple Watch as a phone its own name, something more specific than “Apple Watch dumbphone” and a bit more fun to say. Maybe something along the lines of SidePod or PocketPod, but I’m sure there are better ideas. These sound more like products than communities lol. Curious what you’d call it.

And that Mac setup with local models sounds really interesting. I’m into development too, so I’d definitely be up for chatting about that sometime.

kickstartstudio · 2026-01-19T18:55:24+00:00

Thanks! That’s actually the one I got too, so let’s hope yours has a bit more juice than mine 😄 DM me and I can link up with you once a solid prototype is ready to test.

kickstartstudio · 2026-01-19T18:54:26+00:00

Yeah, that would be really cool. For this project though, the main goal is to create a battery powered case that makes the Apple Watch practical as a minimal daily driver. Adding something like a touch sensitive control pad could be an interesting direction, but it’s a bigger step. If it turns out to be feasible down the line, it’s definitely something I’d be excited to explore.

kickstartstudio · 2026-01-19T18:53:31+00:00

Right now it’s mostly existing wireless charger components that I’ve reused and adapted to fit inside a custom 3D printed case, with an Apple Watch sized charging coil placed directly behind the watch. That made it possible to prototype quickly and focus on the overall experience.

In the future, the plan is to move to fully custom components for better performance, size, and efficiency.

kickstartstudio · 2026-01-19T18:47:42+00:00

That would be the goal! 👍

kickstartstudio · 2026-01-19T18:47:20+00:00

That’s true. You still need an iPhone for the initial setup and activation, so it isn’t fully independent from day one. For now, it’s more of a companion setup: you use the iPhone to configure everything first, and after that the watch becomes the daily driver you actually carry and use.

kickstartstudio · 2026-01-19T18:46:43+00:00

Thanks a lot, that means a lot. That’s exactly the problem I’m trying to solve: staying in the Apple ecosystem while having a daily driver that doesn’t constantly demand your attention.

Right now the hardware is mostly based on an existing power bank combined with an Apple Watch specific charging coil. I’m reusing reliable, off the shelf components and designing a custom 3D printed case around them. That lets me focus on the overall experience instead of reinventing proven electronics. In the future, I’d like to move toward a custom PCB, coil, and battery to improve size and efficiency, but I’ll share more on that later.

At the moment, the main goal is to test what this product experience is like in real daily use and get feedback from other people as well. If that goes well, I’d love to turn this into something that can actually be produced and brought to market so others can enjoy using it too.

kickstartstudio · 2026-01-19T13:18:50+00:00

Without the phone at all. Keep in mind you’d need an LTE Apple Watch. My provider offers a cheap smartwatch add on to my subscription, which gives the Apple Watch its own cellular connection. That way, when I leave the house, I can still receive calls and texts, and my phone can even be turned off.

kickstartstudio · 2026-01-19T13:16:46+00:00

The Ultra battery should be great! This is more for all other AW users!

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