Cupertino, CA — Amid new reports of more iPhone prototypes showing up around the world, Apple is taking a new tack. Rather than trying to put the genie back in the bottle, they will now focus on monetizing the genie.
The Prototype Store is now open for business (click to enlarge)
Beginning immediately, the online Apple Store will feature a new Prototype Store where customers can do their prototype shopping from home — without having to search through bars, cafés and restaurants. The Prototype Store will feature a full line of unannounced products, including iPods, iMacs, MacBooks and Mac Pros.
Concurrently, Apple will be opening an official Apple Prototypes page on YouTube, where customers can post their teardown videos without fear of prosecution.
“Apple always puts customers first, and if our customers want a legal way to procure our prototypes and disseminate the proprietary information therein, we are happy to provide that,” says Apple spokesperson Kianna Stack.
Already an ecosystem is taking shape around the Prototype Store. Third-party manufacturers are offering a range of prototype-disguising cases, tool kits to break products open and Apple-style iMovie templates to create more professional teardowns.
Some, however, are not at all pleased with Apple’s new thinking. Local bar and beer garden owners are forming an anti-prototype coalition, fearing that if their customers can easily find prototypes online, they will have less incentive to come out searching in the drinking establishments.
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