The iPhones and Macs that we use today are not simple smartphones and desktop computers – they are the fruit of decades of research and test behind the scenes of the Apple seat. Like most companies in this area, Apple has large sums of money to test all kinds of wild and innovative prototypes. Naturally, many of these experiences never go to the consumption market and rather act as lessons or even foundations for future devices. Although there are many unpublished products hidden in Apple's secret basement, here are six notable products developed by Apple that have never seen the light of day – and the one that could at the top of the list soon.
1. Ampe car
The most recent body of a product that has failed to get out is Apple's autonomous car project. For many years, the company has worked on an autonomous vehicle nicknamed Project Titan which fits perfectly into its ecosystem. The electric automobile could have potentially have a carplay dashboard interface and rely on advanced sensors using the power of four ultra M2 chipsets to detect surrounding objects. Apple would have paid more than a billion dollars to find it over a decade, and thousands of employees have been involved in its development.
A year ago, Apple would have killed the automotive project and decided to reassign its resources to develop artificial intelligence technology. Given the intense competition in AI at the moment – and probably due to the difficult and complex nature to release an autonomous vehicle which corresponds to the high standards of Apple – turning away from a car is more logical for the company. In addition, Apple has never referenced the car publicly or made of relevant promises that it could not hold. Consequently, the company was not confronted with any way of significant users to have interrupted it.
2.
While most unprecedented Apple products have never been officially revealed to the public, the Apple air power carpet was a case where a promised device was teased during a speech only to be deleted before its launch.
The first preview during the launch event of the iPhone in 2017, Airpower was supposed to act as a versatile wireless charge carpet capable of simultaneously loading an iPhone, Apple Watch and Airpods case. This futuristic vision, however, was riddled with technological obstacles that made the execution impossible.
Airpower was greeted as the next great thing in charge, but Apple killed him quietly before he reached the shelves.
Apple
To start, Apple had to distribute coins internally throughout the carpet, because the Qi wireless load requires precise coil alignment to operate. This would have allowed users to place their iPhones anywhere on Airpower rather than positioning them in a very specific location. Another obstacle was the proprietary wireless charge standard of the Apple Watch, which, for unknown reasonsis incompatible with Qi. Consequently, the company had to stack two layers of load technology in a thin carpet – causing unmanageable overheating problems.
While Apple officially declared that he would not release air power in 2019, his vision lived. In 2020, the company launched the loading of the foldable Magsafe duo, bringing together a Pad Magsafe and an Apple Watch load washer. However, this was abandoned in 2023 because of its high price, its dubious hinge and its lack of support for the fast load of Apple Watch and the largest iPhone 15 Pro Max.
3. Magic loader
Another official load accessory that has never seen daylight is the magic charger. Unlike Airpower, Apple never unveiled this gadget publicly, but a collector who came across a prototype highlighted the accessory in 2022.
The magic charger has essentially integrated a flexible pad in a metal support. Like the Magsafe duo charger, users could have attached an iPhone to a flat surface or support it vertically by folding it. We do not know why Apple has never published the accessory, especially given its practical aspect and the lack of major engineering obstacles. He would have completed the watch function introduced with iOS 17.
The Apple magic charger is the portable magazine stand that we have always wanted.
@TheBlueMISTER
4. Paladin
In 1995, Apple worked on an all-in-one device for small businesses. The paladin was designed to operate as a computer, a fax, a scanner and a phone. The device would have allowed business owners to do all their productivity tasks with a single device.
The paladin could have done for the offices of what the iMac did for Boxy PCs.
Jim Abeles / Flickr
Apple Paladin would have executed software doubled on the complete desktop, allowing users to switch between its different modes by clicking on a button. This would cause the interface change depending on whether the fax or calculation functions were used. While Paladin had a basic monochrome LCD screen, he would have supported external color screens via a dedicated port. It would have been revolutionary in the 90s, but alas, he never saw the light of day.
5. PowerBook G5
In the early 2000s, Apple worked sharply on a PowerBook G5 laptop to succeed the popular G4 model. But it never concluded. Instead, Apple published its first MacBook Pro in 2006 with the Intel Core 2 Duo processors, marking a change in its brand and its design of laptops. Two years later, the emblematic MacBook Air followed, offering users a balanced power in a competitive and timeless design.
The PowerBook G5 was the successor to rumors of the PowerBook G4 (left), but Apple rather published the MacBook Pro.
Foundry
6. iPod phone
Before publishing the original iPhone, Apple apparently explored an iPod phone. Based on the success of its portable music reader, the company would have planned to add a cellular modem to the design of the iPod. However, the entrance to the click wheel rendered the phone numbers to number the phone numbers and, therefore, it has never made the R&D stage. Interestingly, during the unveiling of the first generation iPhone, Steve Jobs presented with humor a model of a phone equipped with the click wheel, depicting its ridiculous and impracticity – with a nod to the rumors that circulated at the time.
Apple
Siri 2.0 will join the list?
Of all the articles on this list, only one, the power carpet of power, has been announced. Apple generally does not reveal new products until they are ready to ship, a policy that gives Apple the time and space it needs for Perfect them while maintaining its credibility and user confidence.
During the WWDC last year, Apple promised that iOS 18 would bring a massive update of Siri, which gives it a consciousness of the content on the screen, would work in third-party applications and recover personal data from various parts of the system, such as emails and messages. There was even an advertising campaign, but earlier this month, Apple delayed Siri improved until “the coming year”, suggesting that it could not happen before iOS 19 in 2026.
This is getting worse: a recent report even suggested that the new Siri is so far behind, that Apple could have to rebuild the project from zero. Given the sensitivity of user data and the way in which the unpredictable AI can be, Apple obviously has trouble building an assistant who can carry out the promised tasks in a reliably and solid way. If Siri 2.0 is back to square one, what guarantees that things will be different in a year?
The delays are quite bad, but not to deliver Siri 2.0 will be a much more successful success on Apple's reputation than air power, especially when you consider Google and other rivals in AI. Siri is already lagging behind, and a failure to keep his promises for a smarter and more aware assistant could be Apple's greatest failure.
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