Apple, why deny it, has a history of revolutionizing markets. It has happened with the arrival of the iPhone, the iPod and we will see what happens with the Vision Pro. And that was precisely what was expected from its so-called Project Titan to develop an autonomous vehicle that began in 2014, but was recently abandoned to focus on intelligence artificial. Logically, In Apple's race, there are other “abandonments”. Here are some of them.
Air Power
One of the most recent discards in Apple's history of resignations is the Air Power, a wireless charging station, which was first announced in 2017 and would allow up to three devices to be charged at the same time. However, the company canceled the project in 2019, claiming it failed to meet its “high standards”. The replacement was the MagSafe Duo charger in 2020, which only supports simultaneous charging of up to two devices, be it iPhone, the Apple Watch or an iPod.
Televisions
No, it is not the Apple TV streaming service, but rather a project by the California company to develop an ultra high definition television which began in 2011. Unfortunately, as with the Apple Car's Project Titan, its existence was never publicly revealed before it was scrapped.
Vademecum
The first generation of iPads was introduced in 2010, but more than a decade earlier, Apple had created the prototype of one of the first tablets on the market. In 1994 one of the first images of the Vademecum project was published, suggesting that it was exploring the addition of a stylus and built-in camera. However, as former Apple executive Dan Russell commented in 2018, the company canceled the project because “there was no market for a tablet”… at the time.
MessageSlate
Those over 30 will remember the boom in PADs or personal digital assistants. Apple tried to create their own and the name was going to be MessageSlate. So much so that in 1993 they submitted a patent application for the device. However, Apple scrapped it and delivered the MessagePad, a smaller version of the MessageSlate or Newton prototype, later that same year. Few remember it.
WALT
Long before the arrival of the iPhone, Apple tried its luck with a “Mac phone”. Its code name was WALT (an acronym for Wizzy, Active Lifestyle Telephone). Based on the images, it appeared to have a touch panel with stylus support and included features like fax and caller ID. However, Apple never spoke publicly about the device.
PenLite
Probably one of Apple's first discards. In 1992, Apple envisioned a future of tablets and even designed the first version of Apple's Macintosh operating system for these devices. It talks about a stylus and a 25MHz Motorola processor. Unlike the Vademecum, the PenLite supposedly did not have a camera. Apple ultimately scrapped that project as well. As with the later device, the company determined that the market simply wasn't ready.