Photos of the 2002 iPad Prototype Leak onto the Internet5 photos

Apple began developing a touchscreen tablet computer around the same time as the first iPod was released in the early 2000s. Before that, photos of one of the earliest prototypes, dated back to 2002, appeared online.

Information about this prototype was revealed by Network World in partially declassified court documents from Apple's patent dispute with Samsung over the South Korean company's imitation of the iPad's design in its Galaxy Tab 10.1. Specifically, these documents included testimony from Jonathan Ive, Apple's chief designer.

Lawyers showed him photos of the prototype—a likely non-functional one—and he confirmed that it was one of the designs developed between 2002 and 2004. This means Apple started working on the iPad long before the iPhone and eight years before the first tablet model was available for sale.

The photos, apparently taken from worn black-and-white photocopies, show a device with a white plastic casing about 1.5 to 2 centimeters thick. The entire front surface is occupied by a screen with a black border, and there are no "Home" buttons on it. The back cover features the Apple logo, which is roughly the same size as today's iPad logos.