Feeling nostalgic for the days of VHS home movies but stuck with videos on your iPhone? While you can AirPlay to a TV, it’s just not the same. This inspired developer Devin Davies to create Cassette, an iOS app that plays videos in a VHS-like format, giving your iPhone clips the feel of classic home recordings.
The app lets you virtually “load” tapes by choosing videos from a specific year. These clips are tagged with handwritten stickers like the ones on old VHS tapes.
Simply sit back and watch your life’s moments unfold, without needing to interact along the way.
This engaging experience offers a new way to watch saved media that often goes unnoticed after recording.
A friend, Charlie Chapman, inspired Cassette by sharing how modern family movie nights couldn’t replicate the old VHS feel. His wish for a seamless TV playback led Davies—known for the award-winning app Crouton—to craft Cassette from a custom app he made for Apple TV, and then shared a prototype.
Chapman recounts the emotional impact it had, describing it as an unmatched experience that captured ‘product market fit’ like never before.
Cassette’s interface features rows of VHS icons. You tap one to “load” into the TV icon, triggering playback. With AirPlay, the iPhone display comes to life on the TV, creating a full-screen experience.
Videos display location, date, and timestamps in retro pixel style, invoking memories even for those too young for VHS.
Users should note some challenges, like downloaded videos appearing as “home movies.” However, Davies is working on filters for this content.
Cassette offers a premium “ColorPlus” subscription for $0.99/month or $5.99/year, allowing manual tape selection, plus a $7.99 Lifetime purchase to support development.
Available as a free download for iPhone and iPad, Cassette brings back the charm of vintage video viewing.