This tiny turntable is the coolest way to listen to records I've seen all year

There are plenty of things I didn't expect to get excited about this year, and a record player the size of a shoebox was probably one of them. But Tiny Vinyl has somehow made miniature vinyl look ridiculously appealing, and now there's a tiny turntable to match.

The Tiny Vinyl Player is an all-in-one manual belt-drive turntable made specifically for the company's four-inch records. It spins them at 33⅓rpm and has a built-in speaker, so you don't need to connect it to a separate hi-fi system just to hear your tiny collection.

There's Bluetooth too, so you can send the audio to a wireless speaker or headphones if the built-in speaker isn't quite enough for your listening session. There's also a wired audio connection on the back for hooking it up to a larger system.

And yes, the records really are tiny. Each one has a single track on each side, with around four minutes of music per side, and the format has already attracted releases from artists including Chappell Roan, BTS, The Rolling Stones, Sabrina Carpenter and Noah Kahan.

The records are also designed as collectibles, with individual releases numbered and officially licensed. Tiny Vinyl says it has now pressed more than one million of the little discs, so this isn't quite the novelty format it might initially sound like.

There's an important catch: the Tiny Vinyl Player can only play four-inch Tiny Vinyl records. You can't put your prized copy of Rumours on it and expect the world's smallest Fleetwood Mac listening session.

That's actually part of the appeal. Tiny Vinyl records can already be played on many conventional turntables at 33⅓rpm, so this player isn't a necessary purchase for existing vinyl fans. It's more of a fun, affordable way to build a dedicated little collection around the format.

The player itself is about the size of a loaf of bread, with a faux-leather exterior and a simple control panel. There's even a storage slot integrated into the platter area that can hold around five or six Tiny Vinyl records, depending on the packaging.

Tiny records, tiny accessories

Tiny Vinyl has also introduced a couple of accessories to turn the player into a miniature music system. The $20 (£15) Crate sits underneath the Player and can store up to 30 of the four-inch records, while the $15 (£11) Frame displays four of your favourites on the wall.

It's a cute setup, but there's more thought behind it than simply shrinking a normal record player. The platter, tonearm and controls have all been designed around the smaller format, while the motor has been calibrated to keep the records spinning at the correct 33⅓rpm.

The obvious compromise is sound quality. This isn't intended to compete with a proper hi-fi turntable, and hands-on testing found the built-in speaker to be rather tinny and muffled, although the player itself runs quietly and Bluetooth gives you the option of using much better speakers.

How much does the Tiny Vinyl Player cost?

The Tiny Vinyl Player costs $49.99 (£38) and is currently available exclusively through Target in the US. A UK release is reportedly being considered for later in 2026, although there's no confirmed UK launch date yet.

At $50, it's cheap enough to feel like a fun impulse purchase rather than a serious hi-fi investment. And while you could quite reasonably argue that you don't need a dedicated turntable for records that already work on a normal one, that's completely missing the point.