
A look at an original iPhone prototype - Assossa
https://www.theverge.com/2019/3/19/18263844/apple-iphone-prototype-m68-original-development-board-red
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yellowapple
Seeing what looks like a full iPhone attached to it (I know it's just the
screen, but the inclusion of a taped-over home button is interesting) gives me
kind of a "Thinking quickly, Dave constructed an iPhone using a circuit board,
some tape, and an iPhone" vibe.

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augustl
I was also curious about that. In other stories I've read, I've heard it
referred to as a big ugly box with a touch screen embedded on top of it, which
is what I imagined most people worked on. But this just looks like a normal
iPhone with a large breadboard connected.

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ianhowson
I always imagined that the iPad came about because some engineer had a Retina
iPhone prototype on a standard 72dpi screen and figured it might work to
replace a laptop.

Take the old eMac software, and bam, iPad.

(100% speculation)

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saagarjha
I believe “iPad” was actually being developed prior to iPhone and was put on
pause while multitouch and other technology was lifted from the project to
support iPhone.

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sjwright
That's how Steve Jobs tells it.

[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i5f8bqYYwps&t=2233](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i5f8bqYYwps&t=2233)

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elagost
If anything a big board like this is one way to ensure it's not easy to steal.

The on-board (pun intended) documentation - "Do not connect battery without
removing J49", etc - is pretty neat too. Is this something that's fairly
standard in the industry?

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ATsch
It's pretty common. If you have the time and space on a board, it's a good
idea to fill the silkscreen with useful or important information.

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PascLeRasc
I love when the info makes it to the shipped version. My bass amp has a
miniature schematic drawing etched into itself, it's been incredibly useful.
Here's my favorite PCB etching though:
[http://i.imgur.com/28cYobo.jpg](http://i.imgur.com/28cYobo.jpg)

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tyingq
The "M68" name is interesting, given that Apple has a long history with the
M68K processor, which isn't involved here. I wonder if it's a nod to the first
Mac or the Lisa.

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corobo
Probably named that way to throw people off the scent if the project name got
leaked

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pdxandi
That's really interesting. Whose job is it to actually design and develop the
prototype board? It seems like that team would have to know quite a bit, if
not nearly everything, about the device.

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hatsunearu
Usually the design engineer that handles the production board goes through the
EVT boards.

Basically the purpose of EVT to a) ensure all the _components_ identified in
the initial survey/design review actually work together b) enable software
development early in the process c) iron out any showstoppers and kinks that
could jeopardize the project later on.

The next few design stages usually get rid of all the super-debug stuff (such
as the ethernet port on the iphone; also maybe get the form factor down) while
still retaining the regular debug stuff (JTAG etc). This usually when
mechanical can jump in and preliminary compliance stuff can take place (EMC
etc)

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Cd00d
Why the anonymous source? 10 year old secrets in a rapid-development
technology seem like non-secrets, so who's willing to "leak" but not be
identifiable at this point?

Maybe Apple has strict secrecy rules that are only partially enforced? I don't
quite get it.

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daniel_reetz
Apple has an extreme focus on secrecy.

Apple probably considers this board their property.

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95014_refugee
It _is_ their property. They paid for it, and it was never sold or otherwise
transferred.

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daniel_reetz
Thanks for the helpful clarification. Clearly someone has this dev board or
has access to it in such a way that they were able to share it. My point was
simply that they might have something they shouldn't, and that fact helps
explain some quirks of the article that seemed confusing to the GP.

I'm ex-Apple, BTW.

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mandeepj
> "many of the engineers working on the original handset didn’t even know what
> it would eventually look like"

This is a stretch. Guaranteed that if you are working on just chips then you
might be living in just your own silo.

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retSava
Is it me or does it look like the top layer has reaaaaally thick copper? Look
at how it differs between areas with those squares contra area without. Looks
like it's very very thick. Perhaps the solder mask.

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jacquesm
Nothing out of the ordinary for prototypes. Much easier to solder fixes to
without accidentally stripping a trace and better RF properties, which will
help with an oversized board like this one.

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omilu
Is the checkerboard pattern on the top layer for aesthetics, or is it
functional for EMI reduction.

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jeffwheeler
I suspect this is to avoid warping on a large board. They probably used
hatching to match the amount of copper on the top and bottom of the board.

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zpeti
Does it connect to my airpods though? :)

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saagarjha
The new AirPods supposedly require "an iCloud account and macOS 10.14.4, iOS
12.2, or watchOS 5.2", so it doesn't look like it :P

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jacquesm
What a nonsense. As if earbuds would require the cloud to function somehow.
This 'I'm forcing my cloud down your throat' stuff has to stop.

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tinus_hn
It would help if you actually looked at what it is before trashing it.

