From AirPower to abandoned tablets, Apple’s road to success has been littered with failures
Apple has removed is planning to enter the automotive industry with its mysterious self-driving electric car, turning its attention to the wildly popular world of genetic artificial intelligence. The project saw the company hire prominent executives from places like Tesla and Ford. Its end led to job losses for some employees, while others moved departments within the company.
The so-called Project Titan has reportedly been in the works since 2014. It could have proved tough competition for Tesla and others, given Apple’s history of disrupting various markets. The company did it with the iPod, iPhone, Apple Watch and, more recently, with AirPods (jury is still out on Vision Pro).
But not all projects were a resounding success for the company. Before Project Titan, there were several attempts by Apple that failed to see the light of day. Here are some of the most notable examples of Apple projects that didn’t make it to market.
AirPower
Image Credits: apple
Not every example is from the distant past. The wireless charging layer, which Apple first announced in 2017, was expected to use the Qi standard to charge up to three devices simultaneously. However, the company canceled the project in 2019, citing a failure to meet its “high standards”. Apple replaced AirPower with the MagSafe Duo foldable travel charger in 2020. But unlike the AirPower mattress, the MagSafe Duo only supports charging up to two devices simultaneously: your iPhone and Apple Watch or iPod.
TV
Apple TV (not to be confused with Apple TV) is another example of a long-rumored project that failed to materialize. Analysts and investors awaited the arrival of a full HDTV from the company in 2011. Like Project Titan, Apple never publicly disclosed its existence before it was reportedly scrapped years ago.
Vademecum
Apple pioneered an early tablet more than a decade and a half before the first iPad was released. In 1994, some early images of the project surfaced online, suggesting that it was exploring adding a stylus and a built-in camera. However, as former Apple executive Dan Russell was discussed in a 2018 blog post, the company killed the project as “there was no market for a tablet computer” at the time.
MessageSlate
The Vademecum wasn’t Apple’s only failed attempt at designing a table. Around the same time, the company was also working on a Newton OS-based project called MessageSlate (codenamed Senior). A trademark application for the device appeared in 1993. However, Apple dropped it and delivered the MessagePad, a smaller version of the original MessageSlate, later that year.
WALT
Before the iPhone, Apple try a “phone mac” codenamed WALT It appeared to have a touch screen with stylus support and included functions such as fax and caller ID. Some early WALT units even appeared on eBay for auction. However, Apple has never publicly discussed the device.
PenLite
In 1992, Apple developed another tablet. PenLite appeared to be based on System 7.1 — the first version of Apple’s Macintosh operating system designed for PowerPC-based computers. Reports suggested it would have a stylus and a 25 MHz Motorola processor. Unlike the Vademecum, the PenLite was developed without a camera. Apple eventually scrapped that project as well. Like the last device, the company found that the market just wasn’t ready.
