Apple's focus on design has long been one of the key factors that set its computers apart. Some of its earliest and most iconic designs, however, didn't actually come from inside of Apple, but from outside designers at Frog. In particular, credit goes to Frog's founder, Hartmut Esslinger, who was responsible for the "Snow White" design language that had Apple computers of the ’80s colored all white and covered in long stripes and rounded corners meant to make the machines appear smaller.
In fact, Esslinger goes so far as to say in his recent book, Keep it Simple, that he was the one who taught Steve Jobs to put design first. First published late last year, the book recounts Esslinger's famous collaboration with Jobs, and it includes amazing photos of some of the many, many prototypes to come out of it. They're incredibly wide ranging, from familiar-looking computers to bizarre tablets to an early phone and even a watch, of sorts.
This is far from the first time that Esslinger has shared early concepts from Apple, but these show not only a variety of styles for computers but also a variety of forms for them. Some of the mockups still look sleek and stylish today, but few resemble the reality of the tablets, laptops, and phones that Apple would actually come to make two decades later, after Jobs' return. You can see more than a dozen of these early concepts below, and even more are on display in Esslinger's book.
Comments
These look very good, and i dont really apple. the watch phone seems very cool
By mrjapanman on 05.28.14 10:50am
omg iWatch confirmed!!!!!
By hammydbest on 05.28.14 11:23am
That first computer is the star of the show :O and they even added boobs in there! How great is that!
By technofou on 05.28.14 1:37pm
It is the Apple Lisa Ann model.
By CaptainCanada on 05.28.14 4:58pm
I see wut u did there….
By Dave in San Diego on 05.29.14 3:25pm
By ap0calyp5e on 05.29.14 7:02am
HUGE tracts of … design.
By nico_mach on 05.29.14 8:03am
Verge knew exactly what they were doing.
By Bluesix on 05.30.14 8:22pm
YEAH they do! …..
oh, all the electronics stuff is kinda neat too….
By fluidj on 05.28.14 1:53pm
Hadn’t realized they turned the word “apple” into a verb. I do google, but I don’t believe I’ve appled.
Only teasing.
By TonyV on 05.28.14 2:44pm
Hey apple! Hey apple!
By harvey_dent on 05.28.14 4:54pm
“had Apple computers of the ’80s colored all white and covered in long stripes and rounded corners…”
- Jacob Kastrenakes
Is this guy trolling on his own article or what??
By highest.ranked on 05.29.14 9:58am
Those last few pictures remind me a lot of Dieter Rams designs.
By OneBagTravel on 05.28.14 10:50am
the last tow…or…a lot of stuff, that saw the light of apple’s days?
http://www.cultofmac.com/188753/the-braun-products-that-inspired-apples-iconic-designs-gallery/
By hyaenidae on 05.28.14 12:07pm
the “bashful” tablet multicolored setup looks very pretty and useful
By mrjapanman on 05.28.14 10:51am
Surface version .01. Jobs secretly gave Gates the blueprints in exchange for the Great Apple Bailout.
By nico_mach on 05.29.14 8:06am
I’m pretty much obsessed with that bashful tablet. That stylus was bomb.
By BaeBae on 05.28.14 10:54am
That’s not a stylus, it’s a light pen.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Light_pen
By VoxMediaUser1660841 on 05.28.14 11:15am
even cooler
By Hadi Farnoud on 05.28.14 2:53pm
Well, I like that first picture at least…
By notoriousyid on 05.28.14 10:59am
Apple: Days of future past.
By bjpresceo on 05.28.14 11:01am
Too bad Pippin isn’t on that list.
By andr0idralphie on 05.28.14 11:03am
Why would it be, you can go on eBay right now and buy a Pippin, it wasn’t really a “lost future”, and it was past prototype stage. It failed because it was a bad product. I remember being a kid and hoping that the Pippin would change everything about gaming (Kind of like the Xbox), but it never really happened.
By jmhalder on 05.28.14 12:05pm
I think he is saying he wishes Pippin was lost along with the other things on this list lol.
By SMDH on 05.28.14 1:53pm
Keyboards with 1 giant button? Well it works for their mice so I guess that’s the next logical step.
By dicobalt on 05.28.14 11:04am