Foldman - Cassette player

Foldman is a retro cassette tape player for the music on your phone. Every album becomes a tape you can swap, rewind, flip to side B and wind by hand. Record your own mixtapes, play along with your music app in AUX mode, and on a foldable, close the phone to play on the cover screen.

EVERY ALBUM IS A TAPE

• Your albums stand in a rack as cassettes, from all the music on your phone or only the folders you choose. Foldman reads tags and cover art. It plays offline.

• Write the label: set the artist and album on each cassette, in handwriting or typewriter, Thai included.

• Tapes keep their place. Pull one out halfway through side B and it's still there next time.

• Auto reverse: let side A roll into side B, or flip the tape yourself.

• Tapes wear in. Turn on tape wear and favourites yellow, pick up scratches and gather dirt you can rub off.

• Wind it by hand: put a finger in a hub and turn, or flick it and let it spin until the tape goes tight.

• Keys that clack, each with its own sound and a bump of haptics.

MAKE MIXTAPES

The blank tape at the foot of the rack records a mixtape. Find songs by title, artist or album, tick as many as you like, put them in order and name the tape. Or tick songs on an album's J-card and dub them onto a new or existing mixtape. Mixtapes split into side A and side B like any tape, and there's no length limit.

AUX MODE: YOUR MUSIC APP, ON A CASSETTE

Turn on AUX MODE in the service hatch and a cassette adapter appears on your rack. Drop it in the deck and your music app's current song is on the cassette, with its title, artist and cover. The deck's keys play, stop and skip your music app, and you can hold FF or REW to seek where the app allows it. The sound is your music app's own, so there is no tape hiss. It works with music apps that show playback controls; some apps limit what other apps can control. AUX MODE asks for notification access, with an explanation, so it can see what is playing.

40+ DECKS FOR THE COVER SCREEN

Pick the body your deck wears: classic silver with piano keys, a leather case, a boombox, 80s pastels, a cassette TV, an equalizer, walnut veneer, a see-through shell and many more, each in a few period finishes.

A WIDGET FOR YOUR HOME SCREEN

The loaded tape sits on your home screen with turning hubs and keys to play, stop and wind. Lock screen and notification controls work too.

BUILT FOR FOLDABLES, FINE ON PHONES

On a book-style foldable the hinge is the switch, tuned first for the Galaxy Z Fold 8. Open the phone for the cassette door: your rack and the deck, side by side. Close it and the cover screen is the player. Like a real deck, the tape only runs with the door shut. For the deck to appear when you close the phone, turn on "Continue apps on cover screen" for Foldman; the app takes you there the first time.

On a Galaxy Z Flip, and on any phone that doesn't fold, the cassette door opens by touch. Tap the window, or press STOP twice to eject, and the door swings open onto your rack. Drop a tape in, then shut the door with CLOSE or Back.

BRING YOUR OWN MUSIC

Foldman doesn't come with any songs. It plays music files you own and keep on the phone: MP3, M4A, FLAC, OGG, Opus or WAV, like CD rips or purchased downloads.

FREE, NO ADS, YOUR MUSIC STAYS ON YOUR PHONE

Every feature is free, and there are no ads or accounts. If you like Foldman, you can buy a coffee in the service hatch to say thanks. Your music and folders never leave the phone. Foldman sends anonymous usage counts, like how often the lid is folded, and you can switch them off in the service hatch. If you ask it to find a cover for a tape, only that tape's artist and album name are sent to search.

TAPES OR CDS

Foldman - CD player is the same idea with CDs instead of cassettes. Choose the same Foldman folder in both apps and they share one library: labels, cover photos, hidden albums and the rack order.

Inspired by Duo-Man by Vidit Bhargava.