If you think the iPad and iPhone are amazing, just wait until you’re reminded of these surprising blasts from the past…

All around Apple’s Cupertino campus there are people working on the Next Big Thing: it could be the iPhone 5 or an iPad 3, a proper Apple TV or a new kind of Mac. It may even be something you could never imagine. And that happens all day, every day. And it’s been going on since Apple was founded.

Of course, not all of the products Apple has come up with over the years have been successful. For every iPhone there’s been a G4 Cube. Or even a Flower Power iMac come to that. But it’s by experimenting with new ideas, coming up with different kinds of products, and learning from each failure that has made Apple the company it is today. It’s only by delving into its past that we can understand its present and future. As Apple proudly declared ahead of the iPhone’s launch in 2007: the first 30 years were just the beginning.

Here is a selection of some amazing Apple gadgets that time forgot: touch-sensitive tablets that are obvious precursors to the iPad, portable, internet-connected phones and pioneering digital cameras. There’s even a games console lurking in there somewhere… one thing’s for sure – there are plenty of surprises in store.

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11 Apple Gadgets that Time Forgot

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  Apple Cadillac (codename)

  When: 1992-1997

  Modern equivalent: Apple iPad

  We all know that Apple was working on an iPad-style tablet long before the iPhone arrived in 2007, but as far back as 1992-93? Surely not, right? Apple eventually dropped the tablet because it couldn’t find a market. How times have changed.

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  Apple Printers

  When: 1985-1997

  Modern equivalent: Modern All-in-ones

  In the 1980s, you could barely move for the assorted Apple ImageWriters and LaserWriters, many of which were used to churn out pages from programs like Aldus PageMaker. ImageWriters, arrived first in 1984, with LaserWriter laser printers in 1985. Apple’s first consumer-oriented inkjet, the StyleWriter, arrived in 1993. Apple’s printer range fell victim to Steve Jobs’ austerity cuts on his return in 1997.

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  Apple Scanners

  When: 1988-1996

  Modern equivalent: Modern All-in-ones

  The original Apple Scanner made its debut in 1988 – an A4 flatbed model that was capable of capturing 4-bit images in up to 16 shades of grey and took around 20 seconds to complete a full scan. Apple was still selling scanners when Steve Jobs arrived back in 1997, but by then its days were numbered: the last one to roll off the production line was the Color OneScanner 1200/30 in 1996.

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  Apple AirPort

  When: 1999-2003

  Modern equivalent: Apple AirPort Extreme/Time Capsule

  Famous for being the ‘one more thing’ revealed by Steve Jobs during his Macworld Expo keynote in 1999, the AirPort sparked a wireless revolution that continues to go from strength to strength to this day. PC-friendly versions of the technology eventually arrived a year later, but by then history had already been made.

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  Apple Pippin

  When: 1995-1997

  Modern equivalent: Modern Game Consoles

  What video game consoles from 1995 can you think of? Sony Playstation? Nintendo 64? Sega Saturn? Sure. The Pippin? Not really… The charmingly named machine was a desperate attempt to cash in on the gaming boom. It was a PowerPC-based console that Apple built for Bandai in the US/Japan and Katz Media in Europe, but it was vastly underpowered, overpriced and lacking in any sort of credible software.

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  Apple eMate 300

  When: 1997-1998

  Modern equivalent: MacBook Air

  Designed as a tough, compact ‘computer’ for schools, the 1997 eMate 300 is arguably the ancestor of the netbook PC and MacBook Air, but was got rid of by Steve Jobs just one year into its lifespan. However, the eMate’s legacy survived its untimely demise – its design clearly influenced the original iBook, which arrived in 1999.

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  Apple Newton

  When: 1993-1998

  Modern equivalent: iOS Devices

  Before the iPad, the iPhone, and iPod touch, there was this: the world’s first touchscreen PDA. First launched in 1993, it introduced the idea of using a touch-sensitive screen and stylus to consumer devices. Although it was eventually banished by Steve Jobs in 1998, the Newton still has its fans. Smart, tough and beautiful, it arguably inspired the templates for the iOS devices and smartphones that we use today.

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  Apple PowerCD

  When: 1993-1997

  Modern equivalent: iPod

  The PowerCD chiefly served as an external CD-ROM for the optical drive-less PowerBooks of the time, but could also be used as a portable music player by slotting batteries into its base and teaming it with a pair of AppleDesign Powered Speakers. Although the PowerCD’s slick design was Apple’s own, the mechanics inside weren’t: Philips, co-creator of CD technology alongside Sony, made them.

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  Apple QuickTake

  When: 1994-1997

  Modern equivalent: iOS Cameras

  We may take digital photos for granted today, but back in the 90s, the technology was a frontier town full of all kinds of exciting possibilities – and Apple was at the very forefront. It became the first company to launch a consumer digital camera in the US in 1994 with the QuickTake 100. Built by Kodak, the binocular-style camera had a fixed lens and could store up to eight VGA-resolution images at a time.

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  W.A.L.T. (codename)

  Description: 1990-1993

  Modern equivalent: iPhone, iPad

  The W.A.L.T. – or Wizzy Active Lifestyle Telephone – was a portable communications tablet jointly developed by Apple and US phone network BellSouth. Key features include a touch-sensitive screen with stylus input, handwriting recognition and a built-in address book, message pad and fax machine. Sadly, the W.A.L.T. project was not to be. It mysteriously ground to a halt in 1993.

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  Paladin (codename)

  Description: 1993

  Modern equivalent: A Home Office

  This was another attempt to marry computers with the world of telephone communications. This time the gadget appeared in the shape of an all-in-one Mac, phone, scanner and fax machine aimed at small businesses. The whole thing was controlled by an application called Complete Office, which enabled easy switching between its various modes.

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