The VideoPad 2 prototype
Apple’s experimental device might have been cancelled in the late 90s, but Charlotte Henry reveals its modern-day value…
Significant older Apple products make fairly regular appearances in auction houses, predominantly in the US. In early November 2021, a particularly eye-catching item went under the hammer –a previously unseen-in-public Apple VideoPad 2.
The prototype device was labelled as a ‘rare early Apple tablet design’ by auctioneers Bonhams. Indeed, it was ‘the only surviving concept prototype for the VideoPad personal digital assistant’. It had been developed between 1993 and 1995, during John Sculley’s difficult tenure at Apple. The model seen at auction was actually based on sketches drawn by Sculley himself.