REWINDThe 1996 pocket cassette player on your iPhone
This 1996 pocket cassette machine (tape84) is free in REWIND for iPhone. A black cassette with a cream label stripe sits on a clear acrylic plate, its white hubs turning while your own MP3, AAC or FLAC files play offline. Swipe the cassette to wind forward or back.
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What was a pocket cassette like in the mid-1990s?
By 1996 the pocket cassette was the default way to carry music out of the house. Players were cheap, ran on a pair of AA batteries and ate tapes in a second when the belt got tired. Everyone owned a shoebox of mixes recorded off the radio, and the thick plastic click of a button was part of the commute.
What do you see and touch on this 1996 tape?
The mechanism is drawn opened up on a clear acrylic plate, like a bench specimen. The cassette is black with a cream stripe across the label, a dark window and two white toothed hubs. A small center window carries a counter scale, and below the cassette sits a trapezoid with five holes. Silver guides and springs run down both sides.
Press play and the hubs start to turn. The tape pack follows the music, so the visible reel proportions change as the song moves along.
- Swipe the cassette sideways to wind or rewind
- Pause gives a real tape stop, the pitch slides down
- Keys click with haptics, switchable in Settings
- Tap the year title to open the machine catalog
Which sound settings suit this tape?
This is a tape machine, so lean into the tape part of analog sound. Raise tape saturation a little for body, add a touch of wobble for the slow drift of a worn belt, and keep hiss low unless you want the full cheap-deck effect. The equalizer preset Warm rounds off bright MP3s nicely.
Is the 1996 Cassette Player free or PRO?
This 1996 tape is the plainest way into REWIND. It is one of the 8 free machines, so you can install REWIND, import your files and play on it without buying anything. Analog sound and the equalizer are free on every machine, including this one.
Frequently asked questions
Is the 1996 pocket tape free in REWIND?
Yes. It is one of the free machines, so no purchase is needed to play your own files on it.
Does the cassette really rewind?
You swipe the cassette to wind or rewind, the hubs spin, and the tape pack shifts from one side to the other. The sounds are synthesized on the phone.
What files can I play on this tape player?
MP3, AAC/M4A, ALAC, WAV, AIFF, FLAC and CAF files you import from the Files app. Streaming-service downloads are DRM-protected and cannot be imported.
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