The iPhones and Macs we use at this time aren’t mere smartphones and desktop computer systems—they’re the fruit of many years’ value of analysis and testing behind the scenes at Apple HQ. Like most companies on this subject, Apple spends giant sums of cash trialing all kinds of untamed and progressive prototypes. Naturally, many of those experiments by no means make it to the patron market and as an alternative act as classes and even foundations for future units. Whereas there are quite a few unreleased merchandise hid in Apple’s secret basement, listed below are six notable merchandise Apple developed that by no means noticed the sunshine of day—and one which may prime the record quickly.
1. Apple Automotive
The latest occasion of a product that did not get out the door is Apple’s self-driving automobile undertaking. For a few years, the corporate was rumored to be engaged on a self-driving car dubbed Challenge Titan that integrates seamlessly with its ecosystem. The electrical vehicle might’ve probably featured a CarPlay-like dashboard interface and relied on superior sensors using the ability of 4 M2 Extremely chipsets to detect surrounding objects. Apple reportedly poured greater than a billion {dollars} into researching it over the span of a decade, and 1000’s of staff had been concerned in its improvement.
A 12 months in the past, Apple reportedly killed the automobile undertaking and determined to reallocate its sources to develop synthetic intelligence expertise. Given the extraordinary competitors in AI proper now—and presumably because of the difficult, complicated nature of releasing an autonomous car that matches Apple’s excessive requirements—pivoting away from a automobile makes extra sense for the corporate. Moreover, Apple by no means referenced the automobile publicly or made any related guarantees it couldn’t hold. In consequence, the agency didn’t face any vital consumer backlash for discontinuing it.
2. AirPower
Whereas most unreleased Apple merchandise had been by no means formally unveiled to the general public, Apple’s Airpower charging mat was one occasion the place a promised system was teased throughout a keynote solely to be axed earlier than its launch.
First previewed throughout the iPhone launch occasion in 2017, AirPower was imagined to act as a multipurpose wi-fi charging mat able to charging an iPhone, Apple Watch, and AirPods case concurrently. This futuristic imaginative and prescient, nonetheless, was riddled with technological obstacles that made executing it unfeasible.
For starters, Apple needed to internally distribute coils everywhere in the mat, as Qi wi-fi charging requires exact coil alignment to work. This is able to’ve allowed customers to put their iPhones wherever on AirPower relatively than positioning them in a really particular spot. One other hurdle was the Apple Watch’s proprietary wi-fi charging normal, which, for causes unknown, is incompatible with Qi. Consequently, the corporate needed to stack two layers of charging tech in a skinny mat—reportedly inflicting unmanageable overheating points.
Whereas Apple formally declared it gained’t launch the AirPower in 2019, its imaginative and prescient lived on. In 2020, the corporate launched the foldable MagSafe Duo Charger, bundling a MagSafe pad and an Apple Watch charging puck. Nevertheless, that was discontinued in 2023 resulting from its excessive value, doubtful hinge, and lack of help for quick Apple Watch charging and the bigger iPhone 15 Professional Max.
3. Magic Charger
One other official charging accent that by no means noticed the sunshine of day is the Magic Charger. In contrast to AirPower, Apple by no means unveiled this gadget publicly, however a collector who got here throughout a prototype make clear the accent in 2022.
The Magic Charger principally built-in a versatile MagSafe pad right into a metallic stand. Just like the MagSafe Duo Charger, customers would’ve been in a position to connect an iPhone to a flat floor or stand it vertically by folding it. It’s unclear why Apple by no means launched the accent, particularly given its practicality and the dearth of main engineering obstacles. It might’ve complemented the StandBy characteristic launched with iOS 17.
4. Paladin
Approach again in 1995, Apple was reportedly engaged on an all-in-one system for small companies. The Paladin was designed to operate as a pc, fax machine, scanner, and telephone. The system would’ve let enterprise house owners do all of their productiveness duties with a single system.
Apple Paladin reportedly ran software program dubbed Full Workplace, letting customers swap between its varied modes with the press of a button. This is able to trigger the interface to alter relying on whether or not the fax or computing capabilities had been in use. Whereas Paladin had a fundamental monochrome LCD, it reportedly supported exterior, full-color shows by a devoted port. It might have been revolutionary again within the 90s however alas it by no means noticed the sunshine of day.
5. PowerBook G5
Through the early 2000s, Apple was closely rumored to be engaged on a PowerBook G5 laptop computer to succeed the favored G4 mannequin. That by no means got here to fruition, although. As a substitute, Apple launched its first MacBook Professional in 2006 with Intel Core 2 Duo processors, marking a shift in its laptop computer branding and design. Two years later, the enduring MacBook Air adopted, providing customers balanced energy in a competitively glossy and timeless design.
6. iPod telephone
Earlier than releasing the unique iPhone, Apple seemingly explored an iPod telephone. Constructing on the success of its transportable music participant, the corporate is rumored to have thought-about including a mobile modem to the iPod design. Nevertheless, the Click on Wheel enter made dialing telephone numbers unintuitive, and because of this, it by no means made it out of the R&D stage. Curiously, throughout the unveiling of the first-generation iPhone, Steve Jobs humorously previewed a mockup of a click-wheel-equipped telephone, portraying its ridiculousness and impracticality—with a wink to the rumors that had been circulating on the time.
Will Siri 2.0 be part of the record?
Of all of the objects on this record, just one, the AirPower charging mat, was really introduced. Apple doesn’t usually unveil new merchandise till they’re able to ship, a coverage that offers Apple the time and house it must good them whereas additionally sustaining its credibility and customers’ belief.
Throughout final 12 months’s WWDC, Apple promised that iOS 18 would convey a large Siri replace, giving it consciousness of on-screen content material, work inside third-party apps, and fetch private knowledge from varied elements of the system—corresponding to emails and messages. There was even an advert marketing campaign, however earlier this month, Apple delayed the upgraded Siri till “the approaching 12 months,” suggesting it may not arrive till iOS 19 in 2026.
It will get worse: A current report even instructed the brand new Siri is thus far behind, that Apple may need to rebuild the undertaking from scratch. Given the sensitivity of consumer knowledge and the way unpredictable AI will be, Apple is evidently struggling to construct an assistant that may reliably and securely carry out the promised duties. If Siri 2.0 is again to sq. one, what ensures that issues shall be any totally different a 12 months from now?
The delays are dangerous sufficient, however failing to ship Siri 2.0 shall be a a lot larger hit on Apple’s popularity than AirPower, particularly when contemplating Google’s and different rivals’ advances in AI. Siri is already lagging behind its friends, and a failure to ship on its guarantees for a better and extra conscious assistant may very well be Apple’s largest failure ever.
