Never before seen Apple Watch prototypes discovered at e-waste facilities
Rare prototypes of the original Apple Watch have been uncovered, offering a glimpse at six of the various designs Apple had been testing prior to the release of the wearable in 2015.
The pre-production Apple Watch models, now belonging to Italian collector Giulio Zompetti, all show slight design differences. For example, one model can be seen with a never before seen sensor placement, and others feature subtle differences to the Digital Crown and curvature.
Motherboard, who first reported on the find, says Zompetti isn’t revealing where exactly he purchased the devices from, but said they come from e-waste facilities.
According to Zompetti, enough key components belonging to the prototypes are intact that he believes he can repair them, with the intention to later sell the devices as rare collectors pieces. “This stuff doesn’t have an estimated value,” he said.