The QWERTY keyboard design was considered by Apple after all. But that was a long time ago. According to Tony Fadell, an ex-Apple executive and a revered iPod guru, when they developed the first iPhone in January 2007, they actually entertained the idea of using a physical keyboard, instead of the then-new multitouch design that was a game changer.
Tony said that Apple narrowed down the original design to three prototypes: one was an iPod-phone hybrid, another was an undisclosed iPhone design, and of course the final design that was applied to the first generation iPhone. The iPod guru, who left Apple in 2008 to start Nest, admitted that he recognized the huge potential of using a virtual keyboard on the original iPhone.
Eventually, Steve Jobs took the final decision and adopted the virtual keyboard, leaving the two other design prototypes behind. Opting for mutitouch keyboards has proven to be one of the most significant decisions that the Cupertino-based company has made, perhaps next to Apple’s decision to focus on developing newer devices (for the company) such as the iPod.
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