Newton’s August 1993 launch set the stage for what would become the iPad and iPhone

Newton’s August 1993 launch set the stage for what would become the iPad and iPhone

Apple’s Newton handheld computer was both the company’s biggest failure and its greatest peek into the future. More than thirty years after its launch, AppleInsider reminisces about what Newton was, what it meant, and where it went wrong.


Back in 1993, Apple’s press officers did the rounds of every technology magazine there was. When they reached one in London, they had the speech down pat. In particular, they knew how to fend off criticisms by asking questions first.

“What do you think it should have next?” they asked, subtly telling us more versions were coming and buttering up our egos. “Backlighting or color?” Without exception, the ten or so journalists in that office all said “backlighting” in unison.

It wasn’t a bad choice. Newton never would get color but it did get backlighting with the MessagePad 130 in 1996.

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