Apple had developed the iPhone in secret over those two and a half years, and for many inside the company, the device had only been known by the codenames “M68” and “Purple 2.” Apple was focused on surprising everyone with the iPhone, and that meant that many of the engineers working on the original handset didn’t even know what it would eventually look like.
To achieve that level of secrecy, Apple created special prototype development boards that contained nearly all of the iPhone’s parts, spread out across a large circuit board. The Verge has obtained exclusive access to the original iPhone M68 prototype board from 2006/2007, thanks to Red M Sixty, a source that asked to remain anonymous. It’s the first time this board has been pictured publicly, and it provides a rare historical look at an important part of computing history, showing how Apple developed the original iPhone.
Amazing exclusive, and a fascinating look at this rare development board.
Wow, the resemblance to the Sumsung devices that copied the iphone is uncanny. I can totally see Apple’s point now.
Thankfully they reduced its size, it would have enlarged my pocket and bend when I would sit down.
Kochise,
What are you talking about? It’s perfect, and that serial port is a nice touch.
And those 3.5 mm jack in/out are so old fashioned, such a hispter device, almost a steampunk one.
The display should have been a CRT if they were really trying to keep the form factor a secret.
we just miss “Steve Jobs”. After his passing away iPhone is just a name. They are not too much unique rather than others. We have to wait for the next “Steve Jobs”.
Salah Uddin,
I donno man, some people loved him, but the RDF levels were unbearable. Apparently you have to be wired for it, a few years back neurologists discovered a link between brain activity for religion and obsessing over brands like apple.
http://www.cnn.com/2011/TECH/gaming.gadgets/05/19/apple.religion/index.html
The RDF phenomenon perplexes me, yet I’ve seen it enough times to know that many people are affected. At least with tech accessories, it doesn’t much matter, but in politics the consequences of demagoguery can be serious. I’d wager that more scans would reveal the same kind of brain activity in trump fanatics. He convinces a small but ridiculously loyal fan base to believe in his reality distortion field regardless of how idiotic he is to the rest of us.
Pointless paranoia, the industry was already going towards that form factor, with earlier Nokia S90 and Maemo devices, or somewhat Symbian UIQ devices, or particularly LG Prada. But I suppose it fits with the usual Apple narrative about how they lead…