Prototype 3rd Gen iPod Touches with Camera Appear on eBay - MacRumors
Skip to Content

Prototype 3rd Gen iPod Touches with Camera Appear on eBay

105711 Picture 1
Two prototype iPod touches were listed on eBay for a short time this morning before they were removed. The listing was first noted on our forums with photos posted by 9 to 5 Mac before the listing was removed. According to a YouTube video by Bilsta57, the original eBay description was the following:

"Well..These were R & D units..One wont turn off and has some wierd OS...or lack of firmware So it will be dead when you get it,,,but will power up when you plug it in...The other won't turn on has a brown spot on the screen. Both have cameras"

Blista57 also reports that when questioned about their origins, the auction seller wrote "Sorry... Have no idea... I bought them from a guy at a flea market and he bought them from a live auction here in the Bay Area."

iPod touches with a back-facing camera had been extensively rumored last fall. Photos and 3rd party case designs of the devices both suggested the existence of the units. Ultimately, however, it is believed that the feature was removed at the last minute, and tear downs of the final shipping 3rd Gen iPod touches revealed an empty space where a camera might reside.

105712 Picture 5105711 Picture 2105712 Picture 3105956 Picture 4
Note that these images seem to represent last year's prototype models of the currently shipping iPod touch, and not any future model.

Popular Stories

Apple Logo Gradient 16x9 1

Apple Just Made an Extremely Rare Product Announcement

Thursday August 27, 2026 7:58 am PDT by
The new Mac mini and Mac Studio models unveiled by Apple this week are the company's first new Macs announced in August since 2020. It is extremely rare for Apple to announce new products of any kind in August, excluding smaller things like new color options and accessories. As mentioned, Apple's last notable August product announcement was in 2020, when it updated the 27-inch iMac and a...
Surprise and Shine Feature

Apple Event Announced for September 9: 'Surprise and Shine'

Wednesday August 26, 2026 9:02 am PDT by
Apple plans to hold its annual iPhone-centric event on Wednesday, September 9 at the Apple Park campus in Cupertino, California. The event will begin at 10:00 a.m. Pacific Time, with select members of the media invited to attend. Subscribe to the MacRumors YouTube channel for more videos. The September 2026 iPhone event will see Apple announce the iPhone 18 Pro, the iPhone 18 Pro Max, and the ...
Apple Event Logo

Apple Unveiled Four New Products Today

Tuesday August 25, 2026 8:39 am PDT by
Apple today unveiled a new Mac mini with M6 and M5 Pro chip options, a new Mac Studio with M5 Max and M5 Ultra chip options, a new version of the Polishing Cloth with a lower price, and updated Magic Keyboards for Macs. To learn more about these products, read our coverage below: Apple Announces New Mac Mini With M6 and M5 Pro Chips and More Apple Unveils New Mac Studio With M5 Max and M5...

Top Rated Comments

AriX Avatar
213 months ago
Definitely real. I have personally used some of this prototype software before (except much older- it was pre-1.0 OS) including BurnIn, Operator, and SkankPhone.

Operator is a test suite that automatically tests several of the internal components of the device (seen here, mislabeled as BurnIn: http://theiphonewiki.com/wiki/index.php?title=Image:1.jpg)

BurnIn is a much more comprehensive testing suite that is fully automatic. It tests components like NAND, RAM, and various system functions like reboots: //www.youtube.com/watch?v=oPpTROJ48aQ
It then dumps you into Operator on completion.

SkankPhone is a program with integrated mini-apps that show basic components of the phone. There is a phone component for making phone calls, a test thing for the camera, a HORRIBLE web browser, a media player that doesn't seem to work (probably because I didn't install the prototype OS correctly), a few simple games/tests, and a bunch more.

Unfortunately the prototype iPhone software I used to have running on my iPhone 1G has become corrupt somehow; eventually I'll reinstall it and make a YouTube video showing off SkankPhone and the pre-1.0 OS.
Score: 1 Votes (Like | Disagree)