There's something intriguing about being able to check out prototypes, especially ones where the concepts never translate to retail releases. Since these devices are made for testing, most don't ever see the light of day, but on occasion, the public is blessed with a video that shows the ins and outs of the unit. Although this isn't the first time we get to see Apple's Wizzy Active Lifestyle Telephone (W.A.L.T.), this is the first known instance of it being shown in detail on camera.
Now W.A.L.T. was developed sometime in the early 90s, making its debut at Macworld in 1993. The device was co-developed by Bell South and was an advanced telephone system with a fax, and answering machine. It also offered a touchscreen display that could give access to an address book, caller ID, a messaging pad and more. Of course, at this time, capacitive touchscreens weren't even a thing yet, so you had to interact with the display using a stylus.
Of course, this product doesn't have any use in this day and age, but it's nice to get to see something from Apple's past that never made outside of the prototype phase. You can catch the device in action by watching the video above, and who knows, maybe in a decade or two, we'll get to see the firm's AirPower wireless charging pad out in the wild.
Source: Sonny Dickson
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