Newly-shared images of an early Apple Watch prototype with a ceramic back show that Apple did test the striking material long before the original Apple Watch model arrived back in 2014.
A leaked photograph picturing an Apple Watch prototype indicates that Apple a few years back considered bringing the iPad's Smart Connector to its wearable device.
Apple has a penchant for going to great lengths to protect its secrets, including concealing early Apple Watch prototypes in special cases resembling a bricked-phone design.
A trio of images published by Benjamin Geskin last night have gotten some folks excited (or worried, depending on your point of view). The photos appear to show an early iPhone 8 prototype, which he says was obtained from an insider.
The device pictured on the images does not have its front-facing FaceTime camera and the speaker integrated into the display, like we're expecting in the final model due this fall.
Instead, there's a “chin” at the top of the display, albeit thinner than on current iPhones.
The images show that the device came in the box with an iPhone 7 screen protector applied to its display. What's more interesting than that is a blue “passport” we can clearly see in the box.
For the uninitiated, iPhone prototypes are accompanied by this passport document at all times, for quality assurance and control testing.
According to Australian leakster Sonny Dickson:
Each component or product that is tested they document in the page. The person writes their initials next to it and any notes about it passing or failing or any other comments. It makes its way through each test and person. It then is finally sent with its 'passport' from China to Apple.
That being said, we're still unsure if the device shown on Geskin's image is in fact one of the ten iPhone 8 prototypes Apple has reportedly tested this year or simply a dummy unit created based on rumors, but we're posting it here for the sake of discussion.
So, what do you say?
Is this a real iPhone 8 prototype? And if so, does it represent the device we're going to see this fall or one of the designs that Apple has ultimately abandoned?
Let us know by posting a comment below.
Australian leakster Sonny Dickson today shared claimed photographs that allegedly show a fully functional engineering prototype of Apple's original iPad model. You may remember Dickson as he was behind other leaks and in the past provided us with photographs of an early iPhone prototype with a click-wheel.
Dating back to six months before launch, the prototype unit shown on the images runs Apple's internal diagnostics software, called SwitchBoard. It was allegedly manufactured in January 2010, approximately six months prior to the launch of the device, Dickson told 9to5Mac.
“According to the owner, the unit was discovered several years ago in the Bay Area, enclosed in a thick metal case to disguise its appearance,” he said.
As you can see for yourself, the Apple logo on the prototype's rear side features some sort of etching.
Other things we can glean from the images include the prototype serial numbers, Apple Development Team prototype identification stickers, engineering asset tags identifying the manufacturer of each part, cutouts revealing the Wi-Fi antenna connections and more.
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“On the front side of the iPad, the corresponding Development Team ID number is laser engraved into the glass in three places,” Dickson noted.
Seven years since debuting the original iPad, Apple is poised to launch a brand new 10.5-inch model at its upcoming annual developers conference in June. The device is expected to have a similar form factor to the 9.7-inch iPad model, but with a larger 10.5-inch display thanks to the narrower side bezels.
After sharing images and a video of an early-stage prototype iPhone software based on iPod's click wheel interface, leakster Sonny Dickson is back at it with another wonderful piece of Apple history.
A new video posted on Dickson's website pits a pair of early iPhone prototypes against each other: Tony Fadell’s “P1” device based on the click wheel UI and ex-iOS chief Scott Forstall's “P2” project.
New photos and a video have surfaced online showing an early-stage prototype of the original iPhone with a click wheel interface. Noted tipster Sonny Dickson is behind the leak, who says Apple called the operating system "Acorn OS."
As you can see in the images, Acorn OS's interface closely resembled that of the iPod, with a touchscreen click wheel and a small gray menu. You can also see phone functions like Dial and SMS, and features like Contacts and Notes.
Various leaks published over the past few months by solid sources have strongly indicated that the iPhone 7 would at long last ditch its oft-criticized 16-gigabyte tier, replacing it with a 32-gigabyte SKU as the new entry-level option for buyers. Based on the image of an info sticker of an alleged iPhone 7 prototype obtained from Foxconn, that smartphone leakster The Malignant tweeted out this morning, it would seem that the next iPhone might indeed start out at 32GB.
In a follow-up to his 2012 book 'Design Forward,' industrial designer Hartmut Esslinger released 'Keep it Simple' late last year. The book talks about the collaboration between Esslinger and Steve Jobs during the mid-80s, which led to the creation of several iconic Apple products.
For a little context, Esslinger founded the design firm 'Frog' in 1969, which was contracted by Apple in 1982. Most notably, the firm developed the 'Snow White' design language for Cupertino company, but it was also responsible for designer a number of lesser known prototypes...
The Wall Street Journal is reporting this morning that Google is building a new tablet with advanced 3D imaging capabilities. The device is being developed as part of the company's 'Project Tango,' which produced a smartphone back in February.
Citing sources familiar with the project, the news outlet says that the tablet has a 7-inch display and is equipped with two rear cameras, infrared depth sensors, and advanced software that can capture precise three-dimensional images of objects...
Both Apple and Google are believed to be working on wearable devices right now with plans to release them before the end of the year. And while we've seen zero physical evidence of Apple's iWatch project, some photos of an alleged Google smartwatch prototype just surfaced.
Android Police has posted photos of what appears to be a Motorola-branded smartwatch in an early development stage. The site says the device would have debuted with the "Google Watch" moniker as part of the Nexus family, but believes Google chose to go a different route...
A batch of new images surfaced online this afternoon, purportedly showing an authentic iPhone 6 prototype. The photos are believed to have originated from China, and they show the front and back of what appears to be a larger handset designed by the Cupertino company.
It's impossible to know if these are legitimate iPhone 6 parts—one thing that immediately stands out is that the back appears to show FCC markers, somewhat odd for a prototype—but even if the photos are fake, they do give a good idea of what a larger iPhone could look like...