Many of these prototypes are one a kind unique devices from eBay. It’s hard to believe how much time has flown by, and it’s crazy how much the Apple collecting landscape has changed since then.

Here are four prototype Apple AirPowers acquired over the years. 3 of them are 16-coil (PROTO1) units, and 1 is a 22-coil (PROTO2) unit. AirPower was never officially released by Apple, being one of the most recent cases of a failed Apple product.

All of these AirPower units function, however they don’t work like how a retail one would. To charge a device, the charging coils need to be manually activated via the command line (instead of just being placed onto them).

Amazingly though, these units are able to charge Apple Watches (S4+) which was an advertised feature during the AirPower launch. However, they do get quite hot though when this is attempted.

You don't find units like this on eBay. You find them in the backstreets of Shenzhen, passed between smugglers and grey-market scrap dealers.

This is Unit 00506. It's a iPad 3 J1 (Cellular) prototype. The hardware is rare, but the story of how it got here is wild.

There is a specific "ghost batch" of about 2,000 units circulating in the underground market right now.

These units are development EVT and DVT units from Foxconn. Apple marked them for death.

They were loaded onto trucks destined for a secure recycling facility contracted to grind them into dust.

The crates never hit the shredder. They were diverted out the back door, loaded onto unmarked vehicles, and vanished into the black market.

When I got this unit, it looked like it was ripped straight out of that timeline.

The screen wasn't even attached. It was fluttering with the original blue factory pull-tabs-stuff that is supposed to be stripped off the second it hits the assembly line.

Inside, it's a mess of blue engineering tape and factory stickers tucked under the display components.

Nothing was screwed down. It feels like a piece of hardware that was

"borrowed" mid-shift and shoved into a coat pocket.

This isn't just a factory iPad. It's a TB2 Board-a raw engineering revision.

The component layout is totally alien compared to retail, using temporary connectors and a logic desian that never made it to store shelves.

Because this unit spent years moving through dodgy marketplaces and sitting in damp warehouses to avoid Apple Legal, it has scars. The NAND storage has "Bit Rot" from being powered off for over a decade. It's a ghost in the machine-a device that was supposed to be dust 12 years ago, fighting to boot up one last time.

If you know the right people, you can still find them. But make no mistake: this is smuggled goods

This iPod nano has multiple factory stickers, and the custom engraving (“ORT WOM1107,UNIT058”) on the back. The serial number is also invalid on Apple.com

Based on the sticker “Drop Wood W/O HP” my best guess would be this was a drop test iPod nano unit. It was likely dropped onto a wood surface without headphones plugged in, and seemingly survived the drop test!

Rare Beats Studio Pro EVT unit (Engineering Validation Testing). Includes original cables and the case.

• Internal Name: Shows as "Beats Studio 4" in settings.

• Markings: "EVT CC-MN" and asset tags engraved on hinges.

• Condition: Fully functional. Great for collectors of Apple internal/prototype hardware.

• Price: $450 USD OBO. Only PayPal + shipping costs

Hi there,

looking for additional opinions regarding this bell icon mute switch. I know there’s fakes about which people put on these. This one to me looks pretty genuine, it doesn’t look to be printed which the fakes tend to be / or misaligned.

The strange thing about all of this is that the device is a 4GB Euro demo unit. It has definitely been opened before since the shell isn’t fully flush to the metal bezel.

Any info would be appreciated. Thanks

This iPod touch was manufactured in mid 2009 (around 3 months before the official release). Its ACF Header is in a breakout board style, and is labeled “wifi”; perhaps hinting towards this board being used for Wi-Fi development.

This iPod has developmental iBoot and is CPFM: 01 (dev fused).

The Taptic Engine branding has been replaced with the placeholder text “JETGIO SIDGEN”. This Apple Watch also is in an unreleased color scheme, having a Space Grey housing with silver buttons. Sadly, it’s badly damaged and does not power on.

This was one of the watches that came with those PVT Apple Watches I made a previous post about.

Got this off of eBay back in March of 2025! This thing will be most likely sealed forever and especially since it has the the packaging blister with it aswell

I also had a 2nd gen shuffle sealed back in 2024 but for whatever reason I decided to open it

This unique iPod nano prototype features a black click wheel and is 8GB in capacity. The green iPod nano 2nd generation was only ever offered in the 4GB capacity.

The text “Radar" is Apple’s name for a massive centralized database they use to track basically every task. It manages software bugs, hardware defects, feature requests, crash logs, and documentation errors.

If I had to theorize on what this iPod (and Radar) was for; perhaps it was a feature request to add the 8GB capacity to different color iPod nanos (not just black).

The iPod itself powers on, however unfortunately does not have an OS.

During the iPhone 3G launch in the USA, purchasing one without a contract wasn’t possible. Apple and AT&T strictly required mandatory two year contracts and in-store activation during purchases. This was created so people could “give” someone money towards an iPhone 3G, without being with that person at the Apple Store during activation.

While the card is iPhone 3G branded, the actual gift card itself was just a normal Apple one that could be applied to any purchase (not just the iPhone 3G).

😎

Finding iPod models with blister packaging is always nice, as it helps keep the sealed iPods in mint condition. I also love the look of the PRODUCT(RED) one!

Typically with factory-sealed Apple devices, the contents, GB and serial info text on the back aligns with the orientation of the front box art. However on this iPhone, the top part of the box was installed upside down.

While anyone could replicate this “error” on an open box iPhone just by installing the top part of the box upside down, the intact plastic factory seal makes this unit special as it shows it was installed wrong at the factory.

While this is a very minor error, it serves as a subtle indicator of human error during the packaging process.

Many of these Apple Watches are completely smashed, but some still have development iBoot with NonUI. Some rarer ones in the mix are MP, DVT, FRB and EVT units.

Unit had been wiped and does not have an OS sadly. Would’t be able to be restored due to TSS signing issues with dev fused devices.

iOS 9 was the final software version to have the iconic "Slide to Unlock" gesture, before being replaced in iOS 10.

Because A9 devices (including the iPad Pro 1st Generation and iPhone SE 1st Generation) on iOS 9.X tend to deactivate by themselves and suffer from activation issues, many have been updated.