Apple abandons cars: Here are other projects the company has canceled

Image credits: Alexi Rosenfeld/Getty Images

Apple has backed away from plans to enter the auto industry with its mysterious self-driving electric car, instead shifting its focus to the wildly popular world of generative AI. For this project, the company hired high-profile executives from companies such as Tesla and Ford. As a result of this demise, some employees have lost their jobs and others have moved from one department to another within the company.

The so-called “Project Titan” has reportedly been in development since 2014. Given Apple’s history of disrupting various markets, there could be stiff competition for Tesla and others. The company has done that with the iPod, iPhone, Apple Watch, and most recently with AirPods (the jury is still out on the Vision Pro).

However, not all projects were a huge success for the company. Before Project Titan, there were several Apple initiatives that never saw the light of day. Here are some of the most notable examples of Apple projects that never made it to market.

air power

Image credits: apple

Not all examples are from the distant past. The wireless charging mat, first announced by Apple in 2017, was expected to charge up to three devices at once using the Qi standard. However, the company canceled the project in 2019, saying it could not meet its “high standards.” Apple replaced his AirPower in 2020 with the foldable travel charger MagSafe Duo. However, unlike the AirPower mat, the MagSafe Duo only supports charging up to two devices (iPhone and Apple Watch or iPod) at the same time.

tv set

Apple’s TV (not to be confused with Apple TV) is another example of a project that has been rumored for years but never materialized. Analysts and investors had expected the company to launch a full-fledged ultra-high-definition TV in 2011. Like Project Titan, Apple never announced its existence until it was reportedly discontinued years ago.

vademekam

Apple created an early tablet prototype more than a decade and a half before launching the original iPad. In 1994, early images of the project were posted online, suggesting that they were considering adding a stylus and built-in camera. However, as former Apple executive Dan Russell discussed in a 2018 blog post, the company canceled the project because “there was no market for tablet computers” at the time.

message slate

Vademecum isn’t Apple’s only failed attempt at designing a table. Around the same time, the company was also working on his Newton OS-based project called MessageSlate (codenamed Senior). A trademark application for this device was filed in his 1993 year. However, Apple scrapped it, and later that year he offered his MessagePad, a smaller version of the MessageSlate prototype.

walt

Long before the iPhone was introduced, Apple tested a “Telephone Mac” code-named WALT. It had a touchscreen panel with stylus support and appeared to include features such as fax and caller ID. Some of WALT’s early units were put up for auction on eBay. However, Apple has never publicly discussed this device.

Penlight

In 1992, Apple was developing another tablet. The PenLite appears to be based on his System 7.1, the first version of Apple’s Macintosh operating system designed for PowerPC-based computers. According to reports, it will be equipped with a stylus and a 25MHz Motorola processor. Unlike Vademecum, PenLite was being developed without a camera. Apple ultimately canceled that project as well. As with later devices, the company simply decided the market wasn’t ready.