The plethora of court cases between Apple and other companies over trademarks, design decisions, and patents have only occasionally offered anything of interest to the average observer. Today, however, The Verge has dug up a treasure trove of images of early iPhone and iPad prototypes.
Of particular note are multiple iterations of the iPad featuring different types of kickstands, what appears to be a 16:9 model with wide handles on either side, and an eight-sided iPhone with diagonal corners. Also of interest is a slim, sleek iPhone prototype labeled the N90. The N90 was widely believed to be the codename for the iPhone 4, and while this narrow device definitely bear some aesthetic similarities to Apple's glass-and-metal design, this variant appears to feature a much smaller screen.
One Sony-inspired design from 2006, which bears a "JONY" logo in honor of Apple chief designer Jonathan Ive, looks strikingly similar to the iPhone 4 that debuted years later.
Thursday June 19, 2025 11:28 am PDT by Joe Rossignol
In select U.S. states, residents can add their driver's license or state ID to the Wallet app on the iPhone and Apple Watch, providing a convenient and contactless way to display proof of identity or age at select airports and businesses, and in select apps.
Unfortunately, this feature continues to roll out very slowly since it was announced in 2021, with only nine U.S. states and Puerto...
Apple will finally deliver the Apple Watch Ultra 3 sometime this year, according to analyst Jeff Pu of GF Securities Hong Kong (via @jukanlosreve).
The analyst expects both the Apple Watch Series 11 and Apple Watch Ultra 3 to arrive this year (likely alongside the new iPhone 17 lineup, if previous launches are anything to go by), according to his latest product roadmap shared with...
The iPhone 17 Pro and iPhone 17 Pro Max are three months away, and there are plenty of rumors about the devices.
Below, we recap key changes rumored for the iPhone 17 Pro models as of June 2025:Aluminum frame: iPhone 17 Pro models are rumored to have an aluminum frame, whereas the iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 16 Pro models have a titanium frame, and the iPhone X through iPhone 14 Pro have a...
Apple is hiding a new ringtone within iOS 26.
The new ringtone is an alternative version of the existing Reflection ringtone, which has been the default ringtone since the iPhone X was released in 2017. It was discovered within the code for the first developer beta of iOS 26, but it remains hidden, so you will not find it in the list of ringtones available in the Settings app for now.
It...
Wednesday June 18, 2025 10:24 am PDT by Juli Clover
Apple today seeded the first betas of upcoming iOS 18.6 and iPadOS 18.6 updates to public beta testers, with the betas coming just a few days after Apple provided the betas to developers.
Testers who have signed up for beta updates through Apple's beta site can download iOS 18.6 and iPadOS 18.6 from the Settings app on a compatible device by going to General > Software Update.
When the...
With iOS 26, Apple has made some additions to the iPhone Lock Screen that aim to make it more customizable than ever.
Of course, things can always change before the software makes its way to the general iPhone-owning public, but here are five new things iOS 26 can do on the Lock Screen as of the current developer beta.
Widgets Top or Bottom
In iOS 18, the row of widgets on your Lock...
Spotify appears to be gearing up to launch its long-awaited lossless music tier.
Chris Messina (via TechCrunch) and Spicetify (via The Verge) spotted new lossless references within the code for Spotify's desktop app and web player.
With assistance from Aaron Perris, MacRumors has confirmed that the latest beta of the Spotify app for the iPhone also contains new lossless-related code....
Apple this week revealed that iOS 26 is compatible with the iPhone 11 series and newer.
That means that iOS 18 is the end of the road for the iPhone XS, iPhone XS Max, and iPhone XR, which were all released in 2018. However, those devices will continue to receive security updates for at least a few more years.
iOS 26 is compatible with the following iPhone models:
iPhone 16e
iPhone...
Wednesday June 18, 2025 8:10 pm PDT by Joe Rossignol
Every year between 2015 and 2024, at least one Apple executive agreed to be interviewed by Daring Fireball's John Gruber for a special WWDC episode of his podcast, The Talk Show. Last year, for example, Apple's software engineering chief Craig Federighi, marketing chief Greg Joswiak, and top AI researcher John Giannandrea joined Gruber on stage at the California Theatre in San Jose to discuss...
I can imagine Jony Ive's voice as he introduces that prototype: "Until now, people have—albeit inadvertently—associated octagons with authority and restriction. But what we've done is almost mentally rebrand the octagon as something that is really wonderful and liberating. And the end result is practically cathartic."
(I photoshopped/rendered something from this image (http://4.bp.blogspot.com/--yWxs0pVTko/Tck-d4TzGdI/AAAAAAAAAGw/wkfmG_TjIh8/s320/Jonathan+Ive.jpg) to really drive the point home)
So even when Apple blatantly copies Sony, that is all fine and dandy, but when Sammy was apparently "inspired" by Apple, a court case is immediately started... Ok, then....
"Blatantly copies"?
Did you read the article?
The design was made by Apple, not Sony, they just decided to put a Sony logo on the concept image to imagine what a nice looking Sony phone would look like. It was just Jony Ive having a little fun, those were not meant to be publicly shown originally.
So even when Apple blatantly copies Sony, that is all fine and dandy, but when Sammy was apparently "inspired" by Apple, a court case is immediately started... Ok, then....
So even when Apple blatantly copies Sony, that is all fine and dandy, but when Sammy was apparently "inspired" by Apple, a court case is immediately started... Ok, then....
Copies Sony? Did you even read the article. It was Apple designer who made that, because they wanted to see what Sony phone might look like back in 2006. It was all part of research. It was inspired by Sony's design ethics, but that's not Sony's product. Read!
But "The iphone design is obvious!", so why on earth are there all these alternative design prototypes... I mean, it's not like they took a long time on working out the exact way a phone like this should look, because that would mean the design patent might be a valid use of the patent system. :rolleyes:
Biggest design overhaul since iOS 7 with Liquid Glass, plus new Apple Intelligence features and improvements to Messages, Phone, Safari, Shortcuts, and more. Developer beta available now ahead of public beta in July.