A new iOS app called Cassette is bringing VHS nostalgia to your iPhone videos, transforming digital clips into retro-style home movies. Created by indie developer Devin Davies, Cassette reimagines the experience of watching personal recordings by playing them back with the look and feel of old videotapes.
Instead of browsing through a camera roll or manually queuing clips, users are greeted with a shelf of virtual VHS tapes. Each “cassette” is labeled with a handwritten-style sticker showing the year, and tapping one virtually loads it into a TV icon on the screen. From there, videos play in sequence, complete with location, date, and timestamp in a blocky retro font reminiscent of real VHS recordings. For families, the app supports AirPlay, so the videos can stream directly to a television for a more authentic living-room experience.
The inspiration for Cassette came from a conversation between Davies and fellow developer Charlie Chapman, who lamented how modern home video viewing lacked the simple, communal feel of watching old tapes. Davies, known for his recipe app Crouton, quickly built a prototype and shared it with friends. The result struck a chord, with users describing the experience of revisiting years of personal footage as unexpectedly emotional.
While the app cleverly taps into nostalgia, it isn’t without quirks. Imported online videos such as TikToks or Instagram Reels may show up alongside home recordings, disrupting the effect. Davies says the app already filters out screen recordings and is exploring ways to filter short-form downloads more effectively.
To support development, Cassette offers a premium subscription called ColorPlus, which unlocks the ability to manually choose a tape instead of letting the app shuffle videos. Pricing is modest: $0.99 per month, $5.99 per year, or a $7.99 lifetime unlock.
For those who grew up with VHS—or simply want a new way to relive personal memories—the Cassette app blends modern iPhone storage with a retro playback aesthetic. Even for users too young to have owned a VCR, the VHS-style format taps into a cultural shorthand for family nostalgia, regularly referenced in films and TV shows to evoke warmth and sentimentality.
