Man gets exclusive look at Apple prototypes so rare even Tim Cook hadn’t seen them

A very lucky journalist got an exclusive look at Apple prototypes so rare that even Tim Cook hadn’t seen them, and the crash course through tech history is truly remarkable.

To mark Apple’s 50th anniversary, Wall Street Journal reporter Ben Cohen was invited inside Apple Park to see a stash of archival treasures ranging from early patents to chunky prototypes of products that would later change the world.

The twist was that even Apple CEO Tim Cook admitted some of the items were completely new to him, saying: “I did not [know about them]… I’m guilty of that.”

Did you know they existed?

The exclusive look at Apple prototypes with early versions of iconic devices

This trip for one lucky WSJ journalist was like opening a 50-year-old tech time capsule.

One of the standout moments came when Ben Cohen was shown an early iPhone prototype board by Tim Cook, and it was absolutely huge.

Compared to the sleek device people carry around now, it looked more like a cutting board than a phone, which made it a brilliant reminder that even the most polished gadgets usually start life looking a bit…chunky.

Cook explained that these oversized builds were part of proving everything could work before the company figured out how to shrink it down to make it more user-friendly.

He also admitted Apple had no idea the iPhone would go on to sell in the numbers it did, saying it ‘surprised probably everyone… including me’.

The original iPhone was an instant success, even on launch day.

The original iPod also made an appearance, with Cook recalling how revolutionary it felt to suddenly have ‘a thousand songs in your pocket’.

At the time, even having a multi-CD changer felt like a luxury, so the leap forward was huge.

The products were so rare even Tim Cook hadn’t seen them

What really stood out was just how hidden these items have been over the years.

Cook openly admitted Apple doesn’t really display this kind of material, explaining: “We don’t have a place where we display all of this,” which is why so much of it felt new even to him.

Some of the most fascinating details were about the decisions that changed these products forever.

Cook recalled that early iPhone users found the screens were getting scratched by coins and keys in their pockets, prompting Steve Jobs to push for a last-minute switch to glass.

He described that moment as a “man on the moon project”, with the team racing to completely change the design in just a few months.

It’s a perfect example of how close some of Apple’s biggest products came to looking very different from the Apple prototypes that came before them.

Perhaps the biggest thing to take away from this walk through Apple history was Cook’s simple point that major products are only overnight successes in reverse.

Behind every sleek device is a messy early Apple Prototype, a few surprises, and a lot of people figuring it out as they go.

It’s a story of trying and certainly failing.

DISCOVER SBX CARS: The global premium car auction platform powered by Supercar Blondie