Sidebar Sidebar
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.

Unreleased iPod Touch with Mac Pro Glossy Black Finish Shared Online

MacRumors

MacRumors

macrumors bot
Original poster
Apr 12, 2001
68,665
39,551


Twitter user @DongleBookPro has today posted images of what seems to be a first-generation iPod Touch prototype with a 2013 Mac Pro-style glossy black finish.

EeX5H5PWoAADG5f.jpeg


The Twitter user claims that the iPod Touch prototype pictured has "the same coating as the 2013 Mac Pro." Had the finish been selected for the final product, it also would have been similar to the metallic glossy black finish that was included on the special U2 edition of the fifth-generation iPod in 2006.

The glossy black Mac Pro was announced at WWDC in 2013, with a radical cylindrical re-design. The design proved to be highly divisive, and the device has often been unofficially identified as the "trashcan" Mac Pro.

The first-generation iPod touch was released in September 2007. This prototype device, with no Apple logo on the rear, appears to vary considerably from the final released product. It retains the same plastic cut-out in the top-left corner, 30-pin connector, and lock button. Apple ultimately chose a mirror finish, which was similar to other iPods available at the time. The final mirror finish was criticized for its susceptibility to scratches.

EeX5IOeXgAccTRI.jpeg


Apple's glossy black finishes have similarly been criticized for durability. Apple warned users that its glossy Jet Black iPhone 7 would see "fine micro-abrasions" with use and instructed concerned customers to use a case, but no similar warning was given about other iPhone 7 colors.

Apple has experimented with glossy black finishes a number of times, such as on the iPhone 3G, Jet Black iPhone 7, and Space Black Apple Watch, in addition to the 2013 Mac Pro. The only remaining Apple device sold in glossy black is the Space Black Apple Watch in stainless steel or titanium.

@DongleBookPro regularly posts images of unreleased Apple devices and prototypes.

Article Link: Unreleased iPod Touch with Mac Pro Glossy Black Finish Shared Online
 
Article Link
https://www.macrumors.com/2020/08/02/glossy-black-ipod-touch/
Last edited:
Puppuccino said:
I bet it’s fake. Anyone can claim that they have a prototype. It doesn’t even have an Apple logo on the back so I don’t believe it.
Click to expand...
Prototypes don’t always have an Apple logo on them, it’s not like they need a reminder on who made it. If they are testing materials, they may not have made a decision on how to implement the Apple logo.
 
  • Like
Reactions: V.K., michaelnugent, martyjmclean and 6 others
Black iphone 5s was my favorite color - even though I always use a minimal case to hold a Rivet. Hoping for a black iPhone 12.
 
sunapple said:
Jet Black iPhone 7 was my favorite finish, anything that makes the device look more like seamless solid block. This has that same vibe, sort of.
Click to expand...
Jet black was beautiful brand new.
However, after 3.5 years in a case, mine has more than “micro scratches”. It has freckles of corrosion and blemishes. Yeah, stuff gets in there. I’m not a hospital.

The surface is uncleanable and unrepairable. There are dozens of people who have made theirs worse trying to clean and renew the finish.

At least I know better (Thanks to them) than to try!
 
  • Like
Reactions: Regbial
Amazing how they shared that whole iPod online and not just the pictures - how can I join the party? /s
 
I had totally forgotten that the 1st gen had that weird square-edged antenna cutout on the back that looks like a placeholder for a camera.

I was thinking that it must be kind of funky like that because it's a prototype, but looking back, no, it's identical just a different finish.

To those skeptical because it doesn't have an Apple logo, the 1st gen had an etched logo on the back, not a cutout-style, so it's entirely possible that they were just testing the finish and hadn't even gotten to the stage of figuring out how to print or etch the logo on the back yet.
 
  • Like
Reactions: martyjmclean
sunapple said:
Jet Black iPhone 7 was my favorite finish, anything that makes the device look more like seamless solid block. This has that same vibe, sort of.
Click to expand...

I have had Jet Black iPhone 7 before. Well this looks super nice, but it is super stretchable and it is fingerprint magnet.

I have had it in a case for the whole time, but 2 years down the road, it had stretches at few places and lots of stretches around lightning port.

I am much more perfect the matt black finish or the black glass back.

I won’t pick jet black or glossy black anymore.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Register on MacRumors! This sidebar will go away, and you'll see fewer ads.
Top Bottom
Back