Apple Made This Prototype to Hide the Original iPod Design from Leakers

Oct. 31, 2021

Apple has been developing products since the earliest days of computer history and has come up with various revolutionary products over the past three decades. One of these revolutionary products is the iPod that changed how we listen to music on the go. The device recently completed its 20th anniversary, and as part of the occasion, anearly prototype of the first-generation iPod surfaced online. And well, it looks nothing like the original iPod.

Coming to the design of the P68 device, it looks like a large pager rather than an iPod. It is almost10 times largerthan the original iPod, comes with a vibrant yellow casing, a tiny screen, some control buttons, and even a click wheel. However, as Fadell mentioned in his tweet, although the click wheel worked, it did “poorly”.

Opening up the device, there are not many components fitted inside it. Fadell says that“it was mostly air inside”the device, and only a few components and wires for the display and the buttons. However, it is worth mentioning the prototype device was assembled“very quickly”before the launch of the first iPod, as per Fadell.

Now, I personally do not think that anyone in the market has ever used the P68/ Dulcimer to listen to music. However, it is interesting to see to what lengths Apple would go to hype their products and hide them from the world before the official release. So, what do you think about the P68 iPod prototype? Would you have bought the iPod if it came in this form factor instead of the design that we know and love? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below.

A geek at heart, you’ll find me fidgeting with an iOS device or sitting in front of the laptop, scouring the internet to find interesting technological innovations. In my free time, you’d find me playing Valorant or listening to Pink Floyd.