Sep 5, 2025
Ed Jelley’s Accidental Small Business: How a 3D Printing Experiment Led to the Miniphone Ultra, an EDC Inspired Case for the Apple Watch Ultra
When does an Apple Watch go from being a watch to being something else? I’m sure, for some, the answer is something like, “As soon as you walk into an Apple Store,” but (as I’ve discussed before) the Apple Watch has, especially in its last few iterations, really come into its own. Thanks to additions like GPS and cell service, it’s even become a decent phone replacement for those days when you want to leave your phone at home. Personally, I love the freedom I feel walking out of the house for a hike or bike ride without my phone, secure in the knowledge that if someone really needs to get a hold of me, they can (that I could also theoretically call for help isn’t the worst thing either). But despite that wonderful feeling, I still don’t love wearing an Apple Watch, especially not when it so often comes at the expense of wearing one of the many other watches I’ve picked up over the years to fill that bottomless hole that exists somewhere deep inside every collector. That’s where the Miniphone Ultra comes into play. Designed by our close friend and Worn & Wound Contributing Editor, Ed Jelley, the Miniphone Ultra is a case that transforms the Apple Watch Ultra (or Ultra II) into a kind of phone replacement, freeing up your wrist space, but still giving you the flexibility to leave the phone at home. Admittedly, using one screen to limit your use of another would sound ridiculous to our great-great-grandfathers, but it’s an elegant solution to what is a ver...