Early 2005 iPhone Prototype Looked More Like a Thick iPad Mini

MacRumors · Mar 11, 2013, 08:51 AM

Ars Technica shares several photos of an early functional prototype of the iPhone from 2005, revealing a device closer in size to a thick iPad mini than an iPhone.

The photos were sent to Ars by an anonymous former Apple employee who worked on the project in the early 2000s. The prototype is 5x7 inches in size, and nearly two inches thick - though much of the thickness was to accommodate features like serial and Ethernet ports installed purely to use the device in a development environment.

Quote:

Apple watchers have seen all manner of iPhone prototypes pop up on eBay, in court documents, and in leaked photos. But most were either close approximations of the first iPhone that was released in 2007 or of later models.

What we don't often get to see is early Apple prototypes, those from way before the iPhone started to look like a phone-like object. That's why we were excited to receive photos showing an in-house version of the iPhone from early 2005. The images to Ars through a former Apple employee who worked on various Apple hardware projects in the early 2000s and was thus exposed to some of the earliest versions of the iPhone.

Ars Technica points out that the Samsung ARM chip used is "a distant relative of the chip the first iPhone ended up using, just older and slower."

Article Link: Early 2005 iPhone Prototype Looked More Like a Thick iPad Mini

Unggoy Murderer · Mar 11, 2013, 08:53 AM

Wow! It's so thin.

needfx · Mar 11, 2013, 08:54 AM

that's a table, not a tablet

Shrink · Mar 11, 2013, 08:55 AM

Dainty little item that would fit well in the pocket, and come in handy for slicing meat, if necessary.

nep61 · 10:43 AM

Serial port... nice! Amazing how prototypes use available technology and then morph into what we have today.

locoboi187 · Mar 11, 2013, 08:56 AM

lol isn't this more like an iPad prototype?

SmoMo · Mar 11, 2013, 08:56 AM

Wow, that is an Atari VCS joystick port right?
Why did they scrap that feature?

Tiger8 · Mar 11, 2013, 08:56 AM

As usual, Android copies Apple! Samsung Note is a ripoff of the original iPhone!

1080p · Mar 11, 2013, 08:57 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by SmoMo

Wow, that is an Atari VCS joystick port right?
Why did they scrap that feature?

In the PC world... that is called a serial port.

gorskiegangsta · Mar 11, 2013, 08:57 AM

Are you sure this isn't a pic of a Galaxy S 4? Look at those USB/VGA beauties!

lucasfer899 · Mar 11, 2013, 08:59 AM

Thank god the iPhone was released at a later date when everything was a bit smaller.

Also, I wonder what the earlier oses were like

Kilamite · Mar 11, 2013, 09:00 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by nep61

VGA port... nice! Amazing how prototypes use available technology and then morph into what we have today.

That's a serial port, not VGA.

Tiger8 · Mar 11, 2013, 09:01 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by lucasfer899

Thank god the iPhone was released at a later date when everything was a bit smaller.

Also, I wonder what the earlier oses were like

Drunken Master · Mar 11, 2013, 09:01 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by needfx

that's a table, not a tablet

Peace · Mar 11, 2013, 09:01 AM

Is this the device that sat on a shelve until Steve picked it up and thought of a phone ? Which later became the iPad ?

Or is this after he thought of the iPhone ?

justperry · Mar 11, 2013, 09:01 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by nep61

VGA port... nice! Amazing how prototypes use available technology and then morph into what we have today.

NOT VGA, serial port!

-------

Seems like the very first prototype.

ArtOfWarfare · Mar 11, 2013, 09:01 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by lucasfer899

I wonder what the earlier oses were like

Is it bootable so we can find out?

karpich1 · Mar 11, 2013, 09:02 AM

No offense to some, as I like Apple products...

But had Apple released THAT, I'm sure SOME people would still be calling it the best thing since sliced bread.

needfx · Mar 11, 2013, 09:03 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Drunken Master

Image

seems like the magnetic pull is already upon your person

fry3k · Mar 11, 2013, 09:04 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by justperry

NOT VGA, serial port!

-------

Seems like the very first prototype.

It seriously amazes me the amount of people who consider themselves "tech savvy" that cannot distinguish the difference.

farkingdom · Mar 11, 2013, 09:05 AM

This beast beats all of Samsung's gigantic phones!

geiman · Mar 11, 2013, 09:06 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Peace

Is this the device that sat on a shelve until Steve picked it up and thought of a phone ? Which later became the iPad ?

Or is this after he thought of the iPhone ?

Typically a prototype will look nothing like the final product.

Any embedded system starts life out in a similar fashion. Phones, tablets, etc. Even though that board looks nothing like an iPhone, at it's heart they are both the same (or in this case, very close to the original).

Look at the Beagleboard:

http://beagleboard.org/

Or the Pandaboard:

http://pandaboard.org/

They are both ARM development boards meant to speed the process of developing some sort of embedded system that is targeting the OMAP3/OMAP4 series of processors. The above pictures are simply Apple's version of these boards.

jafingi · Mar 11, 2013, 09:08 AM

Very interesting! Love to see how the iPhone has developed throughout the development phases.

Would have loved to see some of the old OS prototypes it ran.

unplugme71 · Mar 11, 2013, 09:08 AM

I don't know how well a phone would work tied into an Ethernet connection. You'd have to have some seriously long cords available to be 'mobile'.

mattpreston11 · Mar 11, 2013, 09:09 AM

That really could be anything. Nothing to suggest its an Apple product.

Mar 11, 2013, 08:53 AM	#2
Unggoy Murderer macrumors regular Join Date: Jan 2011 Location: Livingston, Scotland	Wow! It's so thin. __________________ 27" iMac, i7 3.4GHz, 16GB RAM 13" MBP 2.66 GHz, 8GB RAM 3rd Gen iPad 64 GB Wifi+4G, iOS 5.1 iPhone 5 32 GB, iOS 6.0 Mac Mini 2.00 GHz, 2GB RAM
	7

Mar 11, 2013, 08:54 AM	#3
needfx macrumors 65816 Join Date: Aug 2010 Location: macrumors apparently	that's a table, not a tablet
	36

Mar 11, 2013, 08:55 AM	#4
Shrink macrumors Demi-God Join Date: Feb 2011 Location: New England, USA	Dainty little item that would fit well in the pocket, and come in handy for slicing meat, if necessary. __________________ Two things are infinite, the universe and human stupidity; and I'm not sure about the universe. -- Albert Einstein
	1

Mar 11, 2013, 08:55 AM	#5
nep61 macrumors 6502 Join Date: May 2007	Serial port... nice! Amazing how prototypes use available technology and then morph into what we have today. Last edited by nep61; Mar 11, 2013 at 10:43 AM. Reason: Serial, not VGA... oooops.
	5

Mar 11, 2013, 08:56 AM	#6
locoboi187 macrumors 6502 Join Date: Oct 2012	lol isn't this more like an iPad prototype? __________________ Macbook Pro Retina 15" iPhone 5 iPad 4 TV 3
	8

Mar 11, 2013, 08:56 AM	#7
SmoMo macrumors member Join Date: Aug 2011	2600 Wow, that is an Atari VCS joystick port right? Why did they scrap that feature?
	3

Mar 11, 2013, 08:56 AM	#8
Tiger8 macrumors 6502a Join Date: May 2011	As usual, Android copies Apple! Samsung Note is a ripoff of the original iPhone!
	11

Mar 11, 2013, 08:57 AM	#10
gorskiegangsta macrumors 65816 Join Date: Mar 2011 Location: Brooklyn, NY	Are you sure this isn't a pic of a Galaxy S 4? Look at those USB/VGA beauties! __________________ "The reason I talk to myself is that I am the only one whose answers I accept." - George Carlin
	6

Mar 11, 2013, 08:59 AM	#11
lucasfer899 macrumors 6502 Join Date: Sep 2012 Location: London	Thank god the iPhone was released at a later date when everything was a bit smaller. Also, I wonder what the earlier oses were like __________________ 2x iPhone4, 2xiPhone5, Galaxy S3, Galaxy S4(sold), HTC One. In short, the HTC One is the best phone I've ever used or owned, hands down.
	2

Mar 11, 2013, 09:01 AM	#15
Peace macrumors P6 Join Date: Apr 2005 Location: Space--The ONLY Frontier	Is this the device that sat on a shelve until Steve picked it up and thought of a phone ? Which later became the iPad ? Or is this after he thought of the iPhone ?
	4

Mar 11, 2013, 09:02 AM	#18
karpich1 macrumors regular Join Date: Dec 2007	No offense to some, as I like Apple products... But had Apple released THAT, I'm sure SOME people would still be calling it the best thing since sliced bread.
	6

Mar 11, 2013, 09:05 AM	#21
farkingdom macrumors newbie Join Date: Mar 2012 Location: Malaysia	This beast beats all of Samsung's gigantic phones!
	2

Mar 11, 2013, 09:08 AM	#23
jafingi macrumors 6502 Join Date: Apr 2009 Location: Denmark	Very interesting! Love to see how the iPhone has developed throughout the development phases. Would have loved to see some of the old OS prototypes it ran. __________________  iMac 21.5" 2011 (2.5GHz i5 + 12GB DDR3)  Late-2008 Macbook Unibody (2GHz + 4GB DDR3 + Intel 320 SSD)  iPhone 5 16GB  iPad Mini 16GB WiFi  iPad 2 16GB WiFi  + a lot of old Apple stuff
	2

Mar 11, 2013, 09:08 AM	#24
unplugme71 macrumors 6502 Join Date: May 2011	I don't know how well a phone would work tied into an Ethernet connection. You'd have to have some seriously long cords available to be 'mobile'. __________________ Mid-2010 15" MBP ML, 64GB iPhone 5 (AT&T), 64GB iPad Mini (AT&T), 8GB iPod Nano
	1

Mar 11, 2013, 09:09 AM	#25
mattpreston11 macrumors 6502a Join Date: Nov 2007	That really could be anything. Nothing to suggest its an Apple product. __________________ 11.6'' MBA 2012 iPhone 4S
	3

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