The device is encased in a box to hide the fact that it’s a watch
A look at an Apple Watch prototype running pre-watchOS software has seemingly hit the internet.
In photos discovered by Twitter account Apple Demo, the wearable is covered in a security case that disguises the watch form factor. This aligns with Apple’s tendency to hide work-in-progress hardware in special boxes so employees who test them in the wild don’t leak their design.
Prototype Apple Watch with Security Case runs an Internal Pre-WatchOS 1.0 build, complete with internal testing apps and development settings. It’s extremely amazing that something like this could still exist; without having been destroyed. #appleinternal pic.twitter.com/WDTWP0NpIp
— Apple Demo (@AppleDemoYT) December 27, 2020
Further, the hardware doesn’t feature a Digital Crown and instead just sports two buttons of the left side and a home button-like input built into the case.
In the pictures, you can also get a look at the early UI and some apps, including the “Springboard zoom” which offers an interactive experience of how the watchOS home screen would function. Interestingly, there’s even a Lisa Simpson app icon for the ‘Lisa Tester’ app to reference the Apple Lisa computer from ’80s.
It’s unclear where these images originally came from, but they nonetheless offer an interesting look at what the Apple Watch might have looked like at an earlier time.
Image credit: Apple Demo YT
Via: 9to5Mac