From the vault: These are the best products Apple never released

The iPhones and Macs we use today aren’t mere smartphones and desktop computers—they’re the fruit of decades’ worth of research and testing behind the scenes at Apple HQ. Like most corporations in this field, Apple spends large sums of money trialing all sorts of wild and innovative prototypes. Naturally, many of these experiments never make it to the consumer market and instead act as lessons or even foundations for future devices. While there are numerous unreleased products concealed in Apple’s secret basement, here are six notable products Apple developed that never saw the light of day—and one that might top the list soon.

1. Apple Car

The most recent instance of a product that failed to get out the door is Apple’s self-driving car project. For many years, the company was rumored to be working on a self-driving vehicle dubbed Project Titan that integrates seamlessly with its ecosystem. The electric automobile could’ve potentially featured a CarPlay-like dashboard interface and relied on advanced sensors utilizing the power of four M2 Ultra chipsets to detect surrounding objects. Apple reportedly poured more than a billion dollars into researching it over the span of a decade, and thousands of employees were involved in its development.

A year ago, Apple reportedly killed the car project and decided to reallocate its resources to develop artificial intelligence technology. Given the intense competition in AI right now—and presumably due to the challenging, complex nature of releasing an autonomous vehicle that matches Apple’s high standards—pivoting away from a car makes more sense for the company. Additionally, Apple never referenced the car publicly or made any relevant promises it couldn’t keep. As a result, the firm didn’t face any significant user backlash for discontinuing it.

2. AirPower

While most unreleased Apple products were never officially unveiled to the public, Apple’s Airpower charging mat was one instance where a promised device was teased during a keynote only to be axed before its launch.

First previewed during the iPhone launch event in 2017, AirPower was supposed to act as a multipurpose wireless charging mat capable of charging an iPhone, Apple Watch, and AirPods case simultaneously. This futuristic vision, however, was riddled with technological obstacles that made executing it unfeasible.

For starters, Apple had to internally distribute coils all over the mat, as Qi wireless charging requires precise coil alignment to work. This would’ve allowed users to place their iPhones anywhere on AirPower rather than positioning them in a very specific spot. Another hurdle was the Apple Watch’s proprietary wireless charging standard, which, for reasons unknown, is incompatible with Qi. Consequently, the company had to stack two layers of charging tech in a thin mat—reportedly causing unmanageable overheating issues.

While Apple officially declared it won’t release the AirPower in 2019, its vision lived on. In 2020, the company launched the foldable MagSafe Duo Charger, bundling a MagSafe pad and an Apple Watch charging puck. However, that was discontinued in 2023 due to its high price, dubious hinge, and lack of support for fast Apple Watch charging and the larger iPhone 15 Pro Max.

3. Magic Charger

Another official charging accessory that never saw the light of day is the Magic Charger. Unlike AirPower, Apple never unveiled this gadget publicly, but a collector who came across a prototype shed light on the accessory in 2022.

The Magic Charger basically integrated a flexible MagSafe pad into a metallic stand. Like the MagSafe Duo Charger, users would’ve been able to attach an iPhone to a flat surface or stand it vertically by folding it. It’s unclear why Apple never released the accessory, especially given its practicality and the lack of major engineering obstacles. It would’ve complemented the StandBy feature introduced with iOS 17. 

@TheBlueMister

4. Paladin

Way back in 1995, Apple was reportedly working on an all-in-one device for small businesses. The Paladin was designed to function as a computer, fax machine, scanner, and phone. The device would’ve let business owners do all of their productivity tasks with a single device.

Jim Abeles/Flickr

Apple Paladin reportedly ran software dubbed Complete Office, letting users switch between its various modes with the click of a button. This would cause the interface to change depending on whether the fax or computing functions were in use. While Paladin had a basic monochrome LCD, it reportedly supported external, full-color displays through a dedicated port. It would have been revolutionary back in the 90s but alas it never saw the light of day.

5. PowerBook G5

During the early 2000s, Apple was heavily rumored to be working on a PowerBook G5 laptop to succeed the popular G4 model. That never came to fruition, though. Instead, Apple released its first MacBook Pro in 2006 with Intel Core 2 Duo processors, marking a shift in its laptop branding and design. Two years later, the iconic MacBook Air followed, offering users balanced power in a competitively sleek and timeless design.

Foundry

6. iPod phone

Before releasing the original iPhone, Apple seemingly explored an iPod phone. Building on the success of its portable music player, the company is rumored to have considered adding a cellular modem to the iPod design. However, the Click Wheel input made dialing phone numbers unintuitive, and as a result, it never made it out of the R&D stage. Interestingly, during the unveiling of the first-generation iPhone, Steve Jobs humorously previewed a mockup of a click-wheel-equipped phone, portraying its ridiculousness and impracticality—with a wink to the rumors that were circulating at the time.

Apple

Will Siri 2.0 join the list?

Of all the items on this list, only one, the AirPower charging mat, was actually announced. Apple doesn’t typically unveil new products until they’re ready to ship, a policy that gives Apple the time and space it needs to perfect them while also maintaining its credibility and users’ trust.

During last year’s WWDC, Apple promised that iOS 18 would bring a massive Siri update, giving it awareness of on-screen content, work within third-party apps, and fetch personal data from various parts of the system—such as emails and messages. There was even an ad campaign, but earlier this month, Apple delayed the upgraded Siri until “the coming year,” suggesting it might not arrive until iOS 19 in 2026. 

It gets worse: A recent report even suggested the new Siri is so far behind, that Apple might have to rebuild the project from scratch. Given the sensitivity of user data and how unpredictable AI can be, Apple is evidently struggling to build an assistant that can reliably and securely perform the promised tasks. If Siri 2.0 is back to square one, what guarantees that things will be any different a year from now?

The delays are bad enough, but failing to deliver Siri 2.0 will be a much bigger hit on Apple’s reputation than AirPower, especially when considering Google’s and other rivals’ advances in AI. Siri is already lagging behind its peers, and a failure to deliver on its promises for a smarter and more aware assistant could be Apple’s biggest failure ever.