Apple prototype from 1983 shows phone with touch screen capabilities

It would appear that Apple’s interest in touch technology when it comes to phones may have started as far back as 1983. A prototype of such a device was recently uncovered and apparently it dates back to 1983 and was designed by none other than Hartmut Esslinger, who was also the founder of Frogdesign, the same company that went on to help design several of Apple’s products back in the day.

The phone pictured above looks like that of a landline as opposed to a mobile phone, but it did show that Apple could have been interested in a phone with touch capabilities. We’re not sure what sort of features/functions that we could have expected, but needless to say it never made it to production. Heck, it even featured a stylus, a feature that Steve Jobs decided ultimately to get rid of when it came to the iPhone.

So what do you guys think? Would you have been willing to pay for a touchscreen phone if Apple had released it back in the 80’s, and what sort of features and functions do you think this phone might have had?

Tyler Lee
Categories: Apple, Design
Tags: prototype