Apps

You can make your iPhone or Apple Watch look like an old-school Nokia

Someone show me how to get Snake working.

by
Ste Knight
November 12, 2020

Image: App Craft Studio

The Apple ecosystem is known for its stunning Retina displays. The latest Super Retina XDR displays look pretty epic, so it makes sense that you would want to witness them in all of their vibrantly-colored glory.

Why not, then, make your iPhone or Apple Watch look like a Nokia 3310? All of those two shades of green and black will undoubtedly make your brand-new 2020 device look real swell, right? Erm…right.

Make your new phone look old

Let’s face it, nobody wants to be looking at eye-wateringly beautiful, full-color images on their brand new $1,000 smartphone. We all know that you’d rather be looking at a mocked-up version of a phone screen from two decades ago. Thankfully for you, making your phone look rubbish is high on the agenda for App Craft Studio.

Obviously, I’m being quite the asshole here and bagging on what is essentially a nice little bit of nostalgia. The Parisian app brand develops nifty little widgets to assist with iOS-based problems. Previous projects include the creation of a dedicated “Buy Me a Coffee” button and a kaomoji virtual keyboard for iOS. This new Retro Widget is their latest fun project.

The allure of a scientific calculator

retro widget that looks like nokia screen on iphone

Image: KnowTechie

If basic LCD screens set fire to your loins, then you’re in for a treat, as Retro Widget includes three variations on the classic Nokia screen. The app, available on the Apple Store for $1.99, allows you to transform your screen into that of the 20-year-old Nokia 3310.

This means you can view that awful, pixelated, pointing-finger image in all of not-so-majesty. It also means you can try to remember what it was like playing Space Impact on the Nokia. “Try”, because you can’t actually play it, you just get to look at the title screen. Jeez, what do you want? Blood?!

In all seriousness, though, App Craft Studio has done a great job of capturing all 700 pixels of the Nokia 3310. The widgets look really nice and if you are like me you will appreciate the app for its sense of fun and its retro appeal.

A little bit of nostalgia with this Nokia-style widget

The Retro Widget is good fun. However, it does only have a limited appeal. That being to people who actually know what a 3310 is and what it looked like. Anyone born post-1985 is unlikely to remember much about this screen, if anything. For some, though, it does represent a fun little trip down memory lane. Myself included, despite acting like a prick throughout this article.

There are plenty of other ways you can customize your Apple device if a retro theme isn’t your bag. Why not try changing the appearance of apps in iOS 14 or create a custom smart stack widget? That way you can make your phone look different without having to install apps.

What do you think? Would you pay $1.99 for this retro Nokia widget? Let us know down below in the comments or carry the discussion over to our Twitter or Facebook.