Apple maintained its secrecy when it came to developing new products.
However, photographs and videos of prototype Apple devices periodically appear on the Internet, some of which were never presented in the series.
The Apple Prototype Market is a small community of fans willing to pay thousands of dollars for gadgets that are often only available in limited editions.
Briefly:
Where are Apple prototypes sold?
How much do prototypes cost?
What other unique Apple devices can you buy?
How to find a prototype
The main thing is not to fall for a fake
How to legally choose prototypes
Brief summary
Where are Apple prototypes sold?
At the time of writing, a prototype Apple Watch with test firmware is being sold on eBay for $200.
Apple prototypes can be purchased from almost anyone. Most often, such construction announcements on eBay, as well as in the United States, are usually auctions where you sell ringing devices that never became mass-produced Apple products. Another way to purchase a unique gadget is to find it on Chinese free message boards, such as Xianyu.
In addition, the perpetrators can reach an agreement with the collector directly, but it is not a fact that he agrees to the development.
Apple computer prototypes rarely sell, so collectors tend to keep a close eye on eBay and other message boards.
Very rare prototype Macintosh laptop
Usually the devices are sold to Apple employees who somehow got their hands on them. Sometimes they may sell to their friends or employees of Apple partner companies instead.
For example, in 2022, one Reddit user included a photo of a prototype Macintosh laptop with a question about where it could be sold. The laptop was his girlfriend who worked at Apple in the 80s. There are only four such prototypes in the world, and they were not produced in series. The cost of such a device is approximately $20 thousand, but how much it was sold is unknown.
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How much do prototypes cost?
This is a prototype of the iPhone 12 Pro Max without iOS. Costs $2000
Differently. Old prototypes of devices that Apple designed in the 20th century can cost up to $500 thousand. The price is always set individually and depends on many factors:
▶︎ What kind of device is this
▶︎ When was this done
▶︎ Who used it (Steve Jobs’ things are very expensive)
▶︎ Was there mass production later?
▶︎ What condition is it in, and if the gadget is not working, then it is really difficult to restore it
The most expensive prototypes are the computers that Apple produced in the 70s and 80s.that is, when Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak worked at the company.
Apple Computer A prototype, consequences for Steve Jobs, put up for auction
There are also no fixed prices on a modern Apple device. For example, in 2014, a working prototype of the iPhone 6 with test firmware was sold for $11 thousand.
At the same time, one of the collectors bought a prototype iPhone 14 in 2023 for $165, intended for internal use by Apple developers.
Sometimes rare Apple prototypes sell for very little. In 2010, one person was able to buy a prototype Apple Interactive Television Box for $46. It was a TV set-top box that Apple planned to release in the 90s, but it never came to fruition.
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What other unique Apple devices can you buy?
In addition to prototypes, Apple devices that were not intended for sale are sometimes sold online. These could be demo samples or gadgets used at the Foxconn factory or Apple Store.
Such devices, like prototypes, are valuable not only for ordinary collectors, but also for hackers. More often they run on special firmware, this debugging mode allows you to better study the code..
Security researcher Matthew Bryant specializes in devices. He bought the time capsule on eBay for $38. At first he thought he was buying a regular Apple adapter, but he ended up getting a device that was in one of the European Apple Stores in the 2010s and stored a lot of confidential data.
There was everything you can imagine. The files on the disk were deleted, but when I examined it, it was definitely not empty.
Matthew Bryant
It was probably a server backup from the Apple store. The recovered data includes service records, employee bank account information, documentation and Apple emails.
At the bottom of the Time Capsule was the inscription “Property of Apple Computer, Written Hardware.” As a result, the selected router was returned to Apple’s London office.
Another interesting find of his is a written Mac mini, which he purchased in China at the Foxconn factory. The Mac mini had a lot of Foxconn stickers on it and was probably used on a quality control testing line.
The computer was put up for sale in China, but as a spare part because its body was drilled to destroy all data. After analyzing the photos, Bryant concluded that the hard drive might be intact and ordered this Mac mini. As a result, he was able to recover the data. The computer used software that Apple uses in the factory for testing, including special interfaces to communicate with prototypes and quality control departments.
He also returned this computer to Apple.
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How to find a prototype
Some collectors make amazing displays under their devices.
If you really want an Apple prototype, be prepared to regularly monitor listings on eBay and similar marketplaces.
Of course, searching for keywords like Apple demo, prototypes, unreleased sometimes helps, but you still need to look through a lot of ads.
Some collectors create algorithms that automatically select interesting offers for them. Bryant, for example, gets this. He developed a program that searches for advertisements on various sites using keywords, and then analyzes photographs using computer analysis. If they have unusual lettering or logos, the program sends those ads to Bryant so he can check them personally.
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The main thing is not to fall for a fake
The prototype of the first iPhone was sold on eBay in 2018 for $12 thousand.
We regret that there are many fake gadgets on the market disguised as original ones. But among the prototypes, it turns out, there are also fakes.
About a recent case of a collector under the nickname Apple Demo. He said that several counterfeit prototypes of the iPhone 2G, made back in 2008, have appeared on the market. The first iPhone was released in 2007.
Fake iPhone 2G prototype
Apple never engraves serial numbers or IMEI on the back panel, even on prototypes. Also, this iPhone 2G had a crooked bell icon on the sound switch, which shouldn’t be there.
What the prototype of the very first iPhone looked like
Probably, someone will try to pass off this prototype as the original and sell it profitably (the first iPhones are highly valued), so they took this, at first glance, a strange step.
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How to legally choose prototypes
On the left is an iPhone 4 prototype that an Apple employee forgot in a bar.
You may be wondering: If the prototypes are the property of Apple, is it legally dangerous to buy them? In short, there is nothing to fear when purchasing.
Until now, there has not been a single case of Apple legally pursuing ordinary fans in the sale and purchase of prototypes, even if the device ultimately did not go into production.
Photos of a working prototype of the iPhone 8 with Touch ID on the back have appeared online
They don’t care about vintage computers from the 20th century, nor do they care about modern devices.
The most notorious scandal involving the prototype occurred in 2010, when an Apple employee left the iPhone 4 prototype in a bar, and then a Gizmodo journalist bought it and reviewed it several months before the presentation.
Then Apple went to the police, the Gizmodo editor’s house was searched, but the prosecutor’s office refused to press charges, and for Gizmodo this story ended without serious consequences, despite all the dissatisfaction of Steve Jobs.
But the person who sold the prototype was eventually charged as a result of misappropriation of lost property. He was fined $125 and given 40 hours of community service. Almost all the money raised from the sale of the smartphone had to be spent on a lawyer.
The story of the lost iPhone 4 prototype. First hand
The employee who forgot the prototype continued to work for Apple and was subsequently transferred to the iOS security team.
But, I repeat, this was done according to the rules. This was a big blow to Apple’s reputation, and a big company didn’t do that. The proceedings likely began because the iPhone 4 was a mandatory upgrade, and Jobs’s temper played a role.
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Brief summary
Apple prototypes are freely sold online. There is a choice for every budget. However, the oldest and rarest specimens are very expensive.
Some devices may be faulty and this should also be taken into account before purchasing. A regular service center is unlikely to be able to repair them, and the lack of spare parts will only complicate the restoration process.
Otherwise, the prototype market is not much different from the used device market.
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Source: Iphones RU
I am a professional journalist and content creator with extensive experience writing for news websites. I currently work as an author at Gadget Onus, where I specialize in covering hot news topics. My written pieces have been published on some of the biggest media outlets around the world, including The Guardian and BBC News.
