Prototype iPhones bearing engraved mute button surface in photos

Posted:
in iPhone
Photographs of unreleased prototypes for the iPhone 2G have been published on Twitter, indicating Apple was considering different positions for the mute switch, as well as engraving the button itself.

[via <a href=@DongleBookPro]" height="368" />
[via @DongleBookPro]


Apple put considerable efforts into creating what it thought was the ideal smartphone with the original iPhone 2G, with this work including the creation of prototype designs. In images shared by @DongleBookPro on Twitter, these prototypes gave Apple's designers a better idea of what the final product would be like, allowing for changes to be made before mass production commenced.

The three prototypes pictured are extremely similar in terms of size and design, with the rear including details ranging from cellular and networking details to stickers with more information about that particular unit. At this stage in production, the units included the customary Apple logo, but not all of them had the regulatory engraving or capacity indicator.

[via <a href=@DongleBookPro]" height="472" />
[via @DongleBookPro]


A close-up shot of the mute switch on the three devices shows a few of the minute variations between the units, with the button's position marginally changing. The surface of the button is also shown to have a little bell engraved onto it, as a hint to users as to what the button can do.

[via <a href=@DongleBookPro]" height="440" />
[via @DongleBookPro]


Another image shows the iPhones turned on and equipped with Apple's internal diagnostic tools, including "SkankPhone," a basic user interface that allowed for core functions to be tried out without using the final UI design. Other icons are also visible for AT Command, Burn-In, Operator, Soundwave, and Rumble, as well as a graphic suggesting users could connect the iPhone using a USB cable to a Mac or PC running iTunes.

Before the production of prototypes that look similar to the final product, engineers would usually work on more abstract prototypes. One such board surfaced in 2019, revealing an "exploded" view of the iPhone's internals and connections for easier development.

This latest batch of images from @DongleBookPro follows a similar release one week ago, which suggested the first-generation iPod touch could have had a black coating similar to the 2012 Mac Pro.
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Comments

  • Reply 1 of 23
    RS232RS232 Posts: 8member
    There was never an “iPhone 2G”. The original iPhone was named “iPhone”.
    tommikeleSpamSandwichflydogwatto_cobra
  • Reply 2 of 23
    XedXed Posts: 2,575member
    RS232 said:
    There was never an “iPhone 2G”. The original iPhone was named “iPhone”.
    You don't think they don't know what iPhone models were named? It should be clear that simply calling it an iPhone prototype wouldn't be very descriptive. I would've referred to it as the original iPhone, but iPhone 2G works perfectly well.
    lordjohnwhorfinnapoleon_phoneapartbraytonakwatto_cobra
  • Reply 3 of 23
    Why is it important to know about iPhone 2g at this point? 
    tommikeleBeatsRayz2016
  • Reply 4 of 23
    tommikeletommikele Posts: 599member
    Why is it important to know about iPhone 2g at this point? 
    It isn't. No one except the geekazoids will care one iota about this. Nice picture for an Apple museum. Other than that ... feh.
  • Reply 5 of 23
    tommikeletommikele Posts: 599member

    Xed said:
    RS232 said:
    There was never an “iPhone 2G”. The original iPhone was named “iPhone”.
    You don't think they don't know what iPhone models were named? It should be clear that simply calling it an iPhone prototype wouldn't be very descriptive. I would've referred to it as the original iPhone, but iPhone 2G works perfectly well.
    I don't really care too much about the "discovery" of the pictures, but I do get a little irked about things like what you said. It has a name given to it by Apple. That name is not 2G or 2. Never was and never will be. Just because the person writing the article chose to make up their own name doesn't make it "work perfectly well." Find me somewhere  Apple called it that or referred to it with that name and then we can talk.
    edited August 2020 randominternetperson
  • Reply 6 of 23
    XedXed Posts: 2,575member
    tommikele said:
    Xed said:
    RS232 said:
    There was never an “iPhone 2G”. The original iPhone was named “iPhone”.
    You don't think they don't know what iPhone models were named? It should be clear that simply calling it an iPhone prototype wouldn't be very descriptive. I would've referred to it as the original iPhone, but iPhone 2G works perfectly well.
    So just make up your own names is your philosophy? It is a prototype of the model that was called iPhone. That's the name. There was no iPhone 2 or 2G.  It was never referred to as 2 or 2G and there is zero evidence Apple ever did. It was iPhone, the iPhone 3G, then 3GS.Making up your own name for someone else's product that has a name does not work perfectly well.
    Slow your roll. They didn't make up a name. They added a qualifier to let the reader know which model it is, just like you'd do with calling it the original iPhone. 
    napoleon_phoneapartbraytonakwatto_cobra
  • Reply 7 of 23
    tommikeletommikele Posts: 599member
    Xed said:
    tommikele said:
    Xed said:
    RS232 said:
    There was never an “iPhone 2G”. The original iPhone was named “iPhone”.
    You don't think they don't know what iPhone models were named? It should be clear that simply calling it an iPhone prototype wouldn't be very descriptive. I would've referred to it as the original iPhone, but iPhone 2G works perfectly well.
    So just make up your own names is your philosophy? It is a prototype of the model that was called iPhone. That's the name. There was no iPhone 2 or 2G.  It was never referred to as 2 or 2G and there is zero evidence Apple ever did. It was iPhone, the iPhone 3G, then 3GS.Making up your own name for someone else's product that has a name does not work perfectly well.
    Slow your roll. They didn't make up a name. They added a qualifier to let the reader know which model it is, just like you'd do with calling it the original iPhone. 
    Slow your own roll Xed and refrain from the condescending tone unless you would like to engage me on that level. Call it what it is - the original iPhone if you need to distinguish it from other models. Quote from the article "the original iPhone 2G". Sure does seem like they made up a name. There is no such thing as "the original iPhone 2G." Would you like to dispute that? The was no iPhone Apple called second generation or cell service called 2G was there? The term original distinguishes it from other models. You and the author may call it anything you want. That doesn't make it accurate.

    If you had left out the condescending tone the conversation would have ended after I made my point in my first post about making up names.
    randominternetperson
  • Reply 8 of 23
    XedXed Posts: 2,575member
    tommikele said:
    Xed said:
    tommikele said:
    Xed said:
    RS232 said:
    There was never an “iPhone 2G”. The original iPhone was named “iPhone”.
    You don't think they don't know what iPhone models were named? It should be clear that simply calling it an iPhone prototype wouldn't be very descriptive. I would've referred to it as the original iPhone, but iPhone 2G works perfectly well.
    So just make up your own names is your philosophy? It is a prototype of the model that was called iPhone. That's the name. There was no iPhone 2 or 2G.  It was never referred to as 2 or 2G and there is zero evidence Apple ever did. It was iPhone, the iPhone 3G, then 3GS.Making up your own name for someone else's product that has a name does not work perfectly well.
    Slow your roll. They didn't make up a name. They added a qualifier to let the reader know which model it is, just like you'd do with calling it the original iPhone. 
    Slow your own roll Xed and refrain from the condescending tone unless you would like to engage me on that level. Call it what it is - the original iPhone if you need to distinguish it from other models. Quote from the article "the original iPhone 2G". Sure does seem like they made up a name. There is no such thing as "the original iPhone 2G." Would you like to dispute that? The was no iPhone Apple called second generation or cell service called 2G was there? The term original distinguishes it from other models. You and the author may call it anything you want. That doesn't make it accurate.

    If you had left out the condescending tone the conversation would have ended after I made my point in my first post about making up names.
    Did you have that much of a stick up your butt when people started using "iOS" in forums years before Apple adopted that name. What a weird issue to through a tantrum over. I bet you're also the guy that posts in forums when the author makes a typo in an article.
    napoleon_phoneapartbraytonakshark5150watto_cobra
  • Reply 9 of 23
    BeatsBeats Posts: 3,073member
    Why is it important to know about iPhone 2g at this point? 

    Because it's the greatest invention of mankind maybe? Because it brought a new economic opportunity to the entire world? I don't know.

    /s
    Dogpersonmuthuk_vanalingam
  • Reply 10 of 23
    jd_in_sbjd_in_sb Posts: 1,600member
    This is a forum for geeks which means that getting terminology correct matters. The first models were iPhone and iPhone 3G. The reference to “iPhone 2G” is nonsense. “Original iPhone” should have been used in this story. 
    SpamSandwichflydog
  • Reply 11 of 23
    y2any2an Posts: 189member
    I just thought it was interesting that despite scrambling just to have a product
    to launch in the US, they were already internationalising it. The last image says Notruf...
    watto_cobra
  • Reply 12 of 23
    csdbcsdb Posts: 6member
    I have one original iPhone and it show a system error it says something like "Logic error" or " Baseband error" and refuses to boot into the springboard
    I have tried may tricks over the years without success. I would love to be able to bring it back to life !
    Can anybody help ?
    watto_cobra
  • Reply 13 of 23
    I love how it says “Skank is the new black.”

    watto_cobra
  • Reply 14 of 23
    Good examples of the worst parts of this site above. 

    I find this very very interesting. Great to see these come out. I welcome anymore!
    Xedwatto_cobra
  • Reply 15 of 23
    mr lizardmr lizard Posts: 354member
    Why is it important to know about iPhone 2g at this point? 
    Clearly important enough for you to comment on an article about it. 
    Xedwatto_cobra
  • Reply 16 of 23
    mr lizardmr lizard Posts: 354member
    tommikele said:
    Xed said:
    tommikele said:
    Xed said:
    RS232 said:
    There was never an “iPhone 2G”. The original iPhone was named “iPhone”.
    You don't think they don't know what iPhone models were named? It should be clear that simply calling it an iPhone prototype wouldn't be very descriptive. I would've referred to it as the original iPhone, but iPhone 2G works perfectly well.
    So just make up your own names is your philosophy? It is a prototype of the model that was called iPhone. That's the name. There was no iPhone 2 or 2G.  It was never referred to as 2 or 2G and there is zero evidence Apple ever did. It was iPhone, the iPhone 3G, then 3GS.Making up your own name for someone else's product that has a name does not work perfectly well.
    Slow your roll. They didn't make up a name. They added a qualifier to let the reader know which model it is, just like you'd do with calling it the original iPhone. 
    Slow your own roll Xed and refrain from the condescending tone unless you would like to engage me on that level. Call it what it is - the original iPhone if you need to distinguish it from other models. Quote from the article "the original iPhone 2G". Sure does seem like they made up a name. There is no such thing as "the original iPhone 2G." Would you like to dispute that? The was no iPhone Apple called second generation or cell service called 2G was there? The term original distinguishes it from other models. You and the author may call it anything you want. That doesn't make it accurate.

    If you had left out the condescending tone the conversation would have ended after I made my point in my first post about making up names.
    Alright Dwight Schrute 
    Xedwatto_cobra
  • Reply 17 of 23
    flydogflydog Posts: 1,124member
    Xed said:
    RS232 said:
    There was never an “iPhone 2G”. The original iPhone was named “iPhone”.
    You don't think they don't know what iPhone models were named? It should be clear that simply calling it an iPhone prototype wouldn't be very descriptive. I would've referred to it as the original iPhone, but iPhone 2G works perfectly well.
     Obviously they don't because there is no such thing as an iPhone 2G.  Here is the completed (and correct) list:

    https://everymac.com/systems/apple/iphone/index-iphone-specs.html

    Some people refer to it as "2G" because it ran on EDGE networks, but that was never an official or internal name. It is an iPhone. 
  • Reply 18 of 23
    flydogflydog Posts: 1,124member

    mr lizard said:
    Why is it important to know about iPhone 2g at this point? 
    Clearly important enough for you to comment on an article about it. 
    How long have you been waiting to trot out that gem of a comeback?
  • Reply 19 of 23
    XedXed Posts: 2,575member
    flydog said:
    Xed said:
    RS232 said:
    There was never an “iPhone 2G”. The original iPhone was named “iPhone”.
    You don't think they don't know what iPhone models were named? It should be clear that simply calling it an iPhone prototype wouldn't be very descriptive. I would've referred to it as the original iPhone, but iPhone 2G works perfectly well.
     Obviously they don't because there is no such thing as an iPhone 2G.  Here is the completed (and correct) list:

    https://everymac.com/systems/apple/iphone/index-iphone-specs.html

    Some people refer to it as "2G" because it ran on EDGE networks, but that was never an official or internal name. It is an iPhone. 
    Even the link you posted says "iPhone (Original/1st Gen/EDGE)" but if you were well versed in the iPhone you'd not assume that "(Original/1st Gen/EDGE)" was part of its official name, but a descriptor to indicate how it was often referred. What is missing is the use of "2G" as that is generation of data connectivity.

    Look at it another way. If I said "I have an iPhone" would you assume it's the 2007 model simply because I didn't say "iPhone 11"? If you did, that would be profoundly foolish. If one has an iPhone from 2007 you'd expect that they would add a common descriptor to let you know that it couldn't be any other iPhone except the one with a "2G" radio.
    watto_cobra
  • Reply 20 of 23
    flydogflydog Posts: 1,124member
    Xed said:
    flydog said:
    Xed said:
    RS232 said:
    There was never an “iPhone 2G”. The original iPhone was named “iPhone”.
    You don't think they don't know what iPhone models were named? It should be clear that simply calling it an iPhone prototype wouldn't be very descriptive. I would've referred to it as the original iPhone, but iPhone 2G works perfectly well.
     Obviously they don't because there is no such thing as an iPhone 2G.  Here is the completed (and correct) list:

    https://everymac.com/systems/apple/iphone/index-iphone-specs.html

    Some people refer to it as "2G" because it ran on EDGE networks, but that was never an official or internal name. It is an iPhone. 
    Even the link you posted says "iPhone (Original/1st Gen/EDGE)" but if you were well versed in the iPhone you'd not assume that "(Original/1st Gen/EDGE)" was part of its official name, but a descriptor to indicate how it was often referred. What is missing is the use of "2G" as that is generation of data connectivity.

    Look at it another way. If I said "I have an iPhone" would you assume it's the 2007 model simply because I didn't say "iPhone 11"? If you did, that would be profoundly foolish. If one has an iPhone from 2007 you'd expect that they would add a common descriptor to let you know that it couldn't be any other iPhone except the one with a "2G" radio.
    Ok so you agree that there’s no mention of 2G anywhere. 

    Glad we got that settled. 
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