Tidbyt is the lovechild of smartphone widgets and retro 1980s tech design

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Widgets on your phone are useful for at-a-glance information. The snag is a glance can quite often suck you in, and before you know it you’ve spent six hours doomscrolling Twitter. Tidbyt ($159, shipping September 2021) gets useful info out of your phone and shoves it inside of a retro-infused box. The walnut enclosure with 64×32 RGB LED display looks like it’s beamed in from the 1980s, but the device has a modern edge, being Wi-Fi and Bluetooth-enabled. You use your Android or iOS device to define which ‘apps’ the unit shows, which include a clock, calendar, amusingly low-res photo, or custom text message along the lines of “look at me, not your phone”. These apps can be scheduled and cycled, and if you’re a dab hand at Python, you can write your own. Just avoid making a scrollable Twitter client or you’re back to square one.

About

I’m a regular contributor to Stuff magazine and Stuff.tv, covering apps, games, Apple kit, Android, Lego, retro gaming and other interesting oddities. I also pen opinion pieces when the editor lets me, getting all serious about accessibility and predicting when sentient AI smart cookware will take over the world, in a terrifying mix of Bake Off and Terminator.

Areas of expertise

Mobile apps and games, Macs, iOS and tvOS devices, Android, retro games, crowdfunding, design, how to fight off an enraged smart saucepan with a massive stick.