The iPhones and Macs we use today are not just smartphones and desktop computers – they are the fruits of decades value of research and testing behind the scenes on Apple HQ. Like most companies in this area, the Apple Store Summer spends trying all kinds of wild and innovative prototypes. Of course, many of these experiments never come to the consumer market and instead act as lessons or even foundations for future units. While there are several non -published products hidden in Apple’s secret basement, here are six remarkable products, Apple developed that never saw the light of day – and one that may have topped the list soon.
1. Apple Car
The latest example of a product that failed to get out the door is Apple’s self -driving car project. For many years, it was raised that the company worked on a self -driving vehicle called Project Titan, which integrates seamlessly with its ecosystem. The electric car could have potentially contained a CarPlay-like dashboard interface and depending on advanced sensors using the power of four m2-ULTRA chip sets to detect surrounding objects. Apple reportedly poured more than a billion dollars to investigate it over a decade, and thousands of employees were involved in its development.
A year ago, Apple reportedly killed the car project and decided to redistribute its resources to develop artificial intelligence technology. Given the intense competition in AI right now – and presumably because of the challenging, complex nature of releasing an autonomous vehicle that matches Apple’s high standards – pivot makes from a car more sense for the company. In addition, Apple never referred the car in public or gave any relevant promises it could not keep. As a result, the company did not face any significant user back to interrupt it.
2. Airpower
While most non -released Apple products were never officially revealed to the public, Apple’s Airpower charging mat was a case where a promised device was teased under a main note only to be axed before launch.
First preview during the iPhone launch event in 2017, AirPower was to act as a multifunction wireless charging mat capable of charging an iPhone, Apple Watch and AirPods case at the same time. However, this futuristic vision was filled with technological obstacles that made it inevitable.
Airpower was hailed as the next big thing about charging, but Apple killed it quietly before it hit shelves.
Apple
For starters, Apple had to distribute coils all over the mat as Qi wire -free charging requires a precise spiral adjustment to work. This would have allowed users to place their iPhones anywhere on Airpower instead of placing them in a very specific place. Another obstacle was the Apple Watch’s proprietary wireless charging standard, as for Causes unknownis incompatible with qi. Consequently, the company had to stack two layers of charging technology in a thin mat – reported to cause unmanageable overheating problems.
While Apple officially declared that it did not release the air power in 2019, its vision lived on. In 2020, the company launched the folding Magsafe -duo charger, where he bundled a Magsafe pillow and an Apple Watch charging puck. However, it was interrupted in 2023 due to its high price, questionable hinge and lack of support for fast Apple Watch charging and the larger iPhone 15 Pro Max.
3. Magic charger
Another official charging accessory that never saw the light of day is the magic charger. Unlike Airpower, Apple never revealed this gadget in public, but a collector who encountered a prototype shed light on the accessories in 2022.
The magic charger basically integrated a flexible Magsafe pillow into a metallic stand. Like the Magsafe Duo charger, users would have been able to attach an iPhone to a flat surface or stand it vertically by folding it. It is unclear why Apple never released the accessories, especially considering its practical and the lack of major technical obstacles. It would have supplemented the standby feature introduced with iOS 17.
Apple’s magic charger is the laptop standing rack we have always wanted.
@Theblueemists
4. Paladin
Road back in 1995, Apple allegedly worked on an all-in-one device for small businesses. Paladin was designed to act as a computer, fax machine, scanner and phone. The device would have let business owners perform all their productivity tasks with a single device.
Paladin could have done for offices what iMac did for Boxy PCs.
Jim Abeles/Flickr
Apple Paladin allegedly ran software called Complete Office, letting users switch between its different modes with a click of a button. This would cause the interface to change depending on whether the fax or computer functions were in use. While Paladin had a basic monochrome LCD, it allegedly supported external, full -colored screens through a dedicated gate. It would have been revolutionary back in the 90s, but unfortunately it never saw the light of day.
5. Powerbook G5
In the early 2000s, Apple was strongly joined to work on a Powerbook G5 laptop to get the popular G4 model. However, it never came to work. Instead, Apple released its first MacBook Pro in 2006 with Intel Core 2 Duo processors marking a shift in its portable brand and design. Two years later, the iconic MacBook Air followed and offered users balanced power in a competitive slim and timeless design.
The Powerbook G5 was the rumored successor of the Powerbook G4 (left), but Apple released the MacBook Pro instead.
Foundry
6. IPod phone
Before releasing the original iPhone, Apple apparently explored an iPod phone. Based on success with his portable music player, it was refused that the company has considered adding a cellular modem to the iPod design. However, the Click Wheel -Input made the phone numbers unintuitive, and as a result it never came out of the F&U step. Interestingly, during the unveiling of the first generation of iPhone, Steve Jobs humorously humorously mockup of a click-wheel-equipped phone depicted its ridicule and impractical-with a flash to the rumors that circulated at the time.
Apple
Will Siri 2.0 take part in the list?
Of all the elements on this list, only one, Airpower charging mode, was actually announced. Apple typically does not reveal new products until they are ready to send, a policy that gives Apple the time and space it needs perfect them while also maintaining their credibility and users’ confidence.
During last year’s WWDC, Apple promised that iOS 18 would bring a massive SIRI update, giving it awareness on screen, work within third-party apps and retrieving personal data from different parts of the system-such as emails and messages. There was even an ad campaign, but earlier this month Apple delayed the upgraded Siri until “the coming year”, which suggested it may not arrive until iOS 19 in 2026.
It gets worse: A recent report even suggested that the new Siri is so far behind that Apple may have to rebuild the project from scratch. Given the sensitivity of user data and how unpredictable AI can be, Apple is obviously struggling to build an assistant who can reliably and safely perform the promised tasks. If Siri 2.0 is back to Square One, what guarantees that things will be different a year from now?
The delays are bad enough, but failing to deliver Siri 2.0 will be a much bigger hit on Apple’s reputation than Airpower, especially when considering Googles and other rivals’ progress in AI. Siri is already behind his friends, and a failure to supply his promises of a smarter and more attentive assistant could be Apple’s biggest failure ever.