The iPhone 15 Pro Max Clear Case was described by Apple as “Thin, light, and easy to grip” to show off “the brilliant colored finish of iPhone 15 Pro Max while providing extra protection.”
The case was made from “a blend of optically clear polycarbonate and flexible materials.” The sides of the case had a slightly more flexible feel, while the back was rigid. Apple touted that “all materials and coatings are optimized to prevent yellowing over time.” I have selected Apple’s clear polycarbonate cases since the iPhone 11 in 2019 and all are still essentially clear with almost no yellowing in over 5 years (as of this writing).
This case uses MagSafe as a design element on the back. The round Magsafe magnet is bright white and perfectly surrounds the Apple logo on the back of the iPhone. Below the circle is a capsule-shaped dash that allows chargers and accessories to align to the magnets in the system. Apple describes the iPhone version of MagSafe:
“With built-in magnets that align perfectly with iPhone 15 Pro Max, this case offers a magical attach experience and faster wireless charging, every time. When it’s time to charge, just leave the case on your iPhone and snap on your MagSafe charger, or set it on your Qi-certified charger.”
The AirTag Leather Key Ring was designed to contain an Apple AirTag, a small, disc-shaped accessory that uses Apple’s Find My network to easily locate items.
According to Apple:
“The leather key ring is thoughtfully crafted from the finest materials. The stainless steel is as striking as it is strong, while the European leather is specially tanned and soft to the touch. And it fits snugly over your AirTag, so you never have to worry about it falling out.”
When The AirTag was released, “a wide range of Apple-designed AirTag accessories” were also available. Accessories included: a Polyurethane Loop, a Leather Loop, and a Leather Key Ring. In addition, Apple and Hermès introduced the AirTag Hermès with an “assortment of handcrafted leather accessories including the Bag Charm, Key Ring, Travel Tag, and Luggage Tag.” The Hermès accessories were sold with a custom-engraved AirTag with the Hermès Clou de Selle logo.
The The AirTag Leather Key Ring was originally available in three colors including Baltic Blue, Saddle Brown, and (PRODUCT)RED. This example is in Saddle Brown.
The Milanese Loop was among Apple’s original Apple Watch band designs. In the press release in September 2014 announcing the original Apple Watch, Apple wrote: “Apple also created an entire range of watch straps [including] the Milanese Loop in a flexible magnetic stainless steel mesh.” The original Milanese Loop was available only in silver, but has been offered in a total of five colors: Silver (Spring 2015), Space Black (Spring 2016), Graphite (Fall 2020), and two shades of Gold (Fall 2018, Fall 2020).
This example is the Generation 1 version of the Gold Stainless Steel Milanese Loop. (The Generation 2 version released in Fall 2020 had a slightly less red tone.)
Apple describes the Milanese Loop:
“A modern interpretation of a design developed in Milan at the end of the 19th century. Woven on specialized Italian machines, the smooth stainless steel mesh wraps fluidly around your wrist. And because it’s fully magnetic, the Milanese Loop is infinitely adjustable, ensuring a perfect fit.”
Apple specifies that the Milanese Loop is not water resistant and cautions that the band contains magnets that may cause interference with the Compass on the watch.
The 38/40/41mm version of the band band fit 130–180mm wrists, while the 42/44/45/49mm version fit 150–200mm wrists. Although this design and color was released in 2015, this Milanese Loop is dated 2019 on the packaging, and the product was still available on the Apple website as of March 2023 (for $99).
Apple sponsors challenges for their employees a few times each year. Employees who participate in company-sponsored events generally receive a printed card and a gift to celebrate the accomplishment of successfully completing the challenge.
This 2023 Eat Well Challenge included a card printed on heavy textured paper that reads:
“Savor the moment. Food, like life, is meant to be enjoyed. Sense, savor, and feel satisfied with all of life’s flavors and keep it fresh with this set of food storage containers. Seal in your healthy habits.”
The card measures 4.75 x 3.25 inches.
Employees who successfully completed the challenge received a set of food storage containers packed in this white logo box. I do not (yet) have the containers, but my collection includes the custom box and card.
This Apple lanyard is all black with a breakaway neck strap and an integrated clip. A white Apple logo is placed above the clip in circular plastic housing that allows the lanyard to be adjusted.
The breakaway strap bears the manufacturer name SnugZ-USA. As of 2023, the company still exists at snugzusa.com, and their website indicates that, “Since 1989, SnugZ has always been committed to providing an exceptional customer experience and producing high quality products for their customers.” Although they appear to have over 100 lanyard designs, this exact design no longer appears to be available.
The iPhone 8 was announced September 12, 2017, at the same time as the iPhone X (iPhone ten). Except for a glass back (replacing a metal back), the iPhone 8 (and the iPhone 8 Plus) were similar in design to the iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus models that preceded them. The iPhone 8 was arguably eclipsed by the iPhone X with Apple’s first edge-to-edge screen with no Home button and a design that hinted at future designs of iPhone and iPad devices.
The iPhone 8 had a 4.7-inch Retina HD touchscreen (1334×750 at 326 ppi). Its solid-state Home button used Apple’s Taptic engine and a Touch ID fingerprint sensor. Its front camera was a 7-megapixel FaceTime HD camera, and its back camera was a 12-megapixel 4K camera with a six-element lens system with augmented reality (AR) support.
The iPhone 8 was first offered in gold (white front with gold glass back), silver (white front with silver glass back), and space gray (black front with dark gray glass back), and Apple later added a (PRODUCT)RED Special Edition model (black front with a red glass back).
Internally, the iPhone 8 used an A11 Bionic processor with six cores, 2 GB RAM, and was offered in storage options of 64, 128, and 256 GB. Wireless connections included 802.11ac Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 5.0, LTE (4G), and NFC (Apple Pay). Its only wired connection was the Lightning port (the headphone jack had been removed from the previous iPhone 7 models).
Qi wireless charging was also introduced with the iPhone 8—and also the iPhone 8 Plus and iPhone X, introduced at the same time.
When Phil Schiller introduced the iPhone 11 at a special event on September 10, 2019, he described the device:
“iPhone 11 is the next generation of iPhone, packed with great new capabilities in an incredible design, including new Ultra Wide and Wide cameras for gorgeous videos and photos, the power and ease of use of iOS 13, and A13 Bionic—the fastest chip ever in a smartphone that quickly handles the tasks that matter most to people every day.”
The iPhone 11 was the first of Apple’s base model phones to include a dual-camera system. Apple described the cameras in a press release:
“iPhone 11 introduces a dual-camera system with all-new Ultra Wide and Wide cameras that are deeply integrated into iOS 13, offering the highest quality video in a smartphone and major advancements in photography for the ultimate camera experience.”
Compared to previous models, the camera system was a major leap forward for iPhone. The camera system had two 12MP cameras (Ultra Wide and Wide). The A13 chip allowed Portrait mode with advanced bokeh and Depth Control, and Portrait Lighting included six effects: Natural, Studio, Contour, Stage, Stage Mono, and High-Key Mono. Panorama mode allowed photos of up to 63MP. Videos could be recorded at up to 4K (at 24, 25, 30, or 60 fps). Machine learning capabilities allowed Cinematic video stabilization (4K, 1080p, and 720p) and continuous autofocus video.
iPhone 11 was available in six “stunning colors” including purple, green, yellow, black, white and PRODUCT(RED). This example is purple, a lighter shade of purple sometimes referred to as “lilac.”
This phone had a Liquid Retina HD display that measured 6.1‑inch (diagonal) display at 1792 x 828‑pixel resolution (326 ppi). The A13 Bionic chip allowed for “the best machine learning platform in a smartphone” at the time of its release. It used a 6-core CPU with 2 performance and 4 efficiency cores, a 4-core GPU, and an 8-core Neural Engine.
The iPhone 11 was also the first base iPhone to lack a Home button. Its six sensors included Face ID, barometer, 3‑axis gyro, accelerometer, proximity sensor, and an ambient light sensor.
The design of the iPhone 11 included rounded edges and the front and back were made of glass. Apple noted, “With a back design that is precision milled and sculpted from a single piece of glass, iPhone 11 features the toughest glass ever in a smartphone.”
This iPhone is shown in an iPhone 11 Clear Case. Apple described the case as “Thin, light, and easy to grip.” According to Apple’s website:
“Made from a blend of optically clear polycarbonate and flexible TPU materials, the iPhone 11 Clear Case provides a solid, comfortable feel. The back is designed to be sturdy, while the sides are made from a softer, more flexible material that fits right over the buttons for an improved grip. And when it’s time to wirelessly charge, just leave the case on and set your iPhone on your Qi-certified charger. On the surface, a scratch-resistant coating has been applied to both the interior and exterior. And all materials and coatings are optimized to prevent yellowing over time.”
Apple says that iPhone SE Generation 2 is “The Most Affordable iPhone Features A13 Bionic, the Fastest Chip in a Smartphone, and the Best Single-Camera System in an iPhone.”
According to Apple’s press release, the iPhone SE Generation 2 is:
“a powerful new iPhone featuring a 4.7-inch Retina HD display, paired with Touch ID for industry-leading security. iPhone SE comes in a compact design, reinvented from the inside out…The new iPhone SE is powered by the Apple-designed A13 Bionic, the fastest chip in a smartphone, to handle the most demanding tasks. iPhone SE also features the best single-camera system ever in an iPhone, which unlocks the benefits of computational photography including Portrait mode, and is designed to withstand the elements with dust and water resistance.”
This iPhone SE was offered in three colors: black, white, and (PRODUCT)RED. This product packaging is from the (PRODUCT)RED model.
Replacing the “squat” design of the Generation 3, the iPod nano Generation 4 (model A1285) returned to a “skinny” design similar to its predecessors. The new wraparound curved aluminum and glass case was offered in an unprecedented nine colors: silver, black, purple, blue, green, yellow, orange, pink, and (PRODUCT) RED Special Edition. The display was a wide-format 2-inch (diagonal) color LCD display at 320×240.
The iPod nano Generation 4 used Click Wheel navigation and had either 8 GB or 16 GB of flash memory, capable of storing 2000 or 4000 songs, 7000 or 14,000 photos, and 8 hours or 16 hours of video.
Apple indicated that “You can distinguish the iPod nano (4th generation) from previous iPod nano models by:”
Its taller screen
Its curved surface
Its oval shape when seen from the top or bottom
The inclusion of an accelerometer that is used by the Shake feature.”
The iPod nano Generation 4 included an accelerometer (automatically switched to “Cover Flow” navigation in landscape orientation), games and videos only played in landscape, a new Genius feature to dynamically create playlists, and shake-to-shuffle for songs. Accessibility options were added including larger text and spoken menu items. It also included Nike+iPod support, FM radio tagging (using the Apple Radio Remote), support for audio crossfade, and games including Maze, Klondike, and Vortex.
Replacing the “squat” design of the Generation 3, the iPod nano Generation 4 (model A1285) returned to a “skinny” design similar to its predecessors. The new wraparound curved aluminum and glass case was offered in an unprecedented nine colors: silver, black, purple, blue, green, yellow, orange, pink, and (PRODUCT) RED Special Edition. The display was a wide-format 2-inch (diagonal) color LCD display at 320×240.
The iPod nano Generation 4 used Click Wheel navigation and had either 8 GB or 16 GB of flash memory, capable of storing 2000 or 4000 songs, 7000 or 14,000 photos, and 8 hours or 16 hours of video.
Apple indicated that “You can distinguish the iPod nano (4th generation) from previous iPod nano models by:”
Its taller screen
Its curved surface
Its oval shape when seen from the top or bottom
The inclusion of an accelerometer that is used by the Shake feature
The iPod nano Generation 4 included an accelerometer (automatically switched to “Cover Flow” navigation in landscape orientation), games and videos only played in landscape, a new Genius feature to dynamically create playlists, and shake-to-shuffle for songs. Accessibility options were added including larger text and spoken menu items. It also included Nike+iPod support, FM radio tagging (using the Apple Radio Remote), support for audio crossfade, and games including Maze, Klondike, and Vortex.
