Had Apple co-founder Steve Jobs rushed the iPhone to the market before 2007, the handset might have had the same screen size as the iPad mini, an early prototype shows.
A 2005 prototype obtained by ARS Technica from an unnamed Apple employee shows a bulky iPhone measuring 5 by 7 inches and sporting a USB port, Ethernet and serial.
The device is said to be a development prototype and may have been purposely blown up to allow engineers to easily tinker with the internals.
On the other hand, the larger display may mean that Apple may have actually intended a tablet-style device rather than a handset.
What Else You Need To Know
- The iPhone shipped to consumers in 2007 featured a 3.5-inch display and ditched its USB and Ethernet ports for a lone 30-pin connector.
- The chip used in the prototype was the older version of the Samsung-made ARM design used in the actual first iPhone -- indicating that the partnership was in place long before Apple went into full-scale production.
- Although the iPad was released years after the first iPhone was released, Jobs admitted in 2010 that worked on the iPad before it ever began work on Apple phone.
- Apple was forced to publicly disclose a number of prototype devices last year in its ongoing patent infringement litigation with Samsung.
Other sources
It looks like something engineers duct-taped together after a brainstorming session in Apple’s kitchen, with a bunch of chips, tacked-on ports and a massive screen measuring five by seven inches.- Christian Zibreg, iPhone Download Blog
[E]ven though they never would’ve shipped it, it’s funny to imagine that Apple was making phablets long before Android OEMs were stretching the limits of what sized device can comfortably be termed a “phone.”- Darrell Etherington
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