Everyone wants to know what Apple's Next Big Thing will be. So we gazed into our crystal ball to glimpse these four ripped-from-the-future prototypes of devices that Apple could make in the years ahead. Join us this week as we post a new prototype every day thought up by the Mac|Life staff, and feel free to share your own ideas in the comments.
No visit to Apple's future would be complete without fuzzy "spy shots" of upcoming Apple gear. And of course, there's a long history of Photoshopped fakes getting the Twitternet chattering. While occasional product leaks happen—remember the iPhone 4 brouhaha last spring?—Apple is a master of controlling what gets out and what doesn't. But Apple fans are so hungry for details it's no wonder that fakes can quickly gain traction. And rolling out your own Apple fake is surprisingly easy. Just follow our step-by-step guide to grabbing your 15 seconds of internet fame.
1. Snap some pics of existing Apple gear on a desk under bad fluorescent lighting; this lends authenticity by suggesting a secret test lab. Conspicuously yet casually include other Apple products, like a keyboard or trackpad. Remember, it’s a “spy shot,” so the fewer megapixels, the better. iPhone cameras are a natural choice.
Look! It's the long-fabled 7-inch iPad!
2. The Marquee tool and layers in your favorite image editor are your friend. Select defining features like buttons or screens, then paste them into new layers. Next go back to your original layer and select the body of the product, stretching it and contorting it into a new and interesting form factor.
3. Take a photo of your manipulated image onscreen. This throws off the colors a bit more and injects the low-fi image quality you’re looking for. Save the image as a JPEG at the lowest possible setting for even more authentic spy-shot blur and distortion. For extra points, use HoudahGeo or a similar tool to change geotag data on your photo to Apple HQ in Cupertino.
Use layers in your photo editor to manipulate part of your image.
4. Post your fake on an internet forum. Claim you got it from a friend in California—or your cousin, who works for a chip maker you can’t name. In a matter of hours, every high-traffic Apple blog will be reporting your fake as news. Get your friends, grandparents, second cousins, and LARP brethren to retweet it.
5. Enjoy your internet celebrity while it lasts—which won’t be long. We hear Apple just filed a patent for a thing that does some stuff, and it’s magical. That will surely be the new blog hotness in three…two…one…
Rejected Prototype Idea 36b: An Apple throwing star. the TSA famously seized the only known prototypes of Apple’s cutting-edge technology, proving Cupertino was too sharp for its own good.
Rejected Prototype Idea 324c: Apple Nanomites, a logical progression of the iPod Nano that tattoos iPods onto customers’ skin during special appointments at Genius Bars. But yeah…ouch!
Rejected Prototype Idea 4-132c: iBike with iOS integration. Liability concerns halted further conceptualization when we realized riders were more likely to play Angry Birds than survive each trip.
Rejected Prototype Idea 17-78C: iFit fitness trainer. If Nintendo can get us in shape with the Wii, Apple can get us to run marathons! But on second thought…26.2 miles is far.
Rejected Prototype Idea 783D: Apple sewing kit. Came to an abrupt halt when we remembered one of Steve Jobs’ most common complaints—”too many buttons!”
Rejected Prototype Idea 22-321c: Apple board game. But if speculation mounted that Apple was working on new board games, Jobs would just email a fan to say “Frankly, we’re already creating a monopoly.”
Rejected Prototype Idea 66m: iFilter. This software would prioritize your content consumption—like Genius for all your media. But then we realized…who’d want a Soup Nazi for your down time?
Rejected Prototype Idea 135-78: A touch-capacitive keyboard with switchable functions. But our motto “All of the ability, none of the tactile input” killed it in its infancy.
