Early iPhone prototype is unrecognisable – and it even had an iPod wheel

AN EARLY iPhone prototype looked very different from the modern smartphone we know today.

Apple wowed the world with its original iPhone in 2007 – but that wasn’t the only design that had been considered.

Tony FadellThis was an early prototype for an Apple smartphone[/caption]

The original iPhone was absolutely tiny by today’s standardsAP:Associated Press

Former Apple engineer Tony Fadell has now revealed an Apple phone prototype.

Fadell is hailed as the inventor of the iPod and iPhone, before leaving the tech giant in 2008.

Until 2007, Apple’s only mobile device was the iPod.

So it’s no surprise that the early iPhone prototype looked a lot like an iPod, as revealed in a rare photo first shared by TechCrunch.

At the time, late Apple founder Steve Jobs was intent on building his own smartphone after a failed iTunes partnership with Motorola.

Fadell’s early design shows how Apple attempted to put phone tech inside an iPod.

This was ultimately scrapped in favour of an iPhone built from the ground up.

But the prototype features the iPod’s iconic click wheel.

This could even turn into a number pad for entering digits on the handset.

A small camera was positioned on the back.

And the screen was tiny – clearly smaller than the 3.5-inch display on the original iPhone.

“We did iPod Plus Phone,” Fadell told TechCrunch.

“You took the headset, which had a microphone on it and the one ear thing.

“You could use the Click Wheel to select numbers and names, or you could dial with it, like a rotary phone, which was the ultimate death of it.

“You couldn’t enter anything, because there’s no textual input. But it was an iPod Classic with a phone in it.”

According to Fadell, Jobs was very keen for the click wheel system to work.

But ultimately it didn’t fit with the idea of a smartphone – so we wound up with the modern iPhone design.

Memory lane

The first Apple iPhone was announced on January 9, 2007, and didn’t actually go on sale until June that year.

It was the brainchild of late Apple founder Steve Jobs, who had only envisioned a multi-touch screen on a computer just two years earlier.

At the launch event, Jobs famously said “today, Apple is going to reinvent the phone” – and he was right.

But by today’s standards, the original iPhone was a bit rubbish. It had just 4GB of storage, exactly 16 times less than the cheapest 2018 iPhone.

We take apps for granted these days, but they weren’t always a given.

In fact, the original iPhone didn’t have an App Store when it launched.

That came later in 2008.

The iPhone did have apps on it – Apple fare like Phone, Calendar, Weather, Notes and more.

But you couldn’t install third-party apps through the official Apple App Store until July 2008.

The iPhone was missing loads of features at launch, including a front camera for selfies, video recording, and even a torch.

In the absence of a flashlight, some early iPhone apps allowed you to set a white screen to maximum brightness.

When the iPhone came out, it had a tiny 3.5-inch screen.

By comparison, iPhones of today typically range from 5.8 inches to 6.7 inches across.

When it was first rumoured – and then launched – Apple was mocked by many.

People joked about making phone calls on a glorified iPod, and thought the lack of a physical keypad would never catch on.

The original iPhone retailed for $499, which is closer to $669 in today’s money.

That’s actually cheaper than the iPhone 13 proper, which costs $799.

The first model cost $499 – a far cry from today’s pricey modelsAP:Associated Press

Read all the latest Phones & Gadgets newsKeep up-to-date on Apple storiesGet the latest on Facebook, WhatsApp and Instagram

We pay for your stories! Do you have a story for The Sun Online Tech & Science team? Email us at tech@the-sun.co.uk