The iPhone X’s futuristic features have some folks thinking Back to the Future. Almost immediately after Apple’s big event this week, some were waxing nostalgic about an eight-year-old device that in some respects, resembles Apple’s latest handset.
Photo: Palm
The Pre-iPhone X
The phone they are reminded of is the Palm Pre, a reasonably successful slider phone which made its debut in 2009. While never a success of iPhone proportions, the Pre still carved out a reasonably loyal fanbase for its innovative features.
One of these was inductive charging. Today, this is something that a large number of Android handsets — as well as the iPhone X — offer, but back in 2009 the Palm Pre was all alone in this department. The technology had only fleetingly been used by other products, such as toothbrushes, but it was very innovative for a smartphone to include it.
iOS resembles WebOS on Palm Pre
The UI is the other reason most people are reminded of the iPhone X. Palm’s WebOS in some ways resembles iOS 11, with a multitasking, card-based interface.
Curiously, the iOS 11 interface for multitasking looks a whole lot like webOS for the Palm Pre. See the YouTube video above that walks you through WebOS. In addition, both systems have a dock for parking frequently used apps (although iOS 11’s is more adaptable and smarter). Like WebOS, apps in iOS 11 are quit by swiping up.
Interestingly, Palm at the time was led by Jon Rubinstein, Apple’s former head of hardware who took over the company after leaving Apple.
Of course, there are plenty of differences too. The Pre was a squat, chunky little device, with a much smaller screen. It had a hardware keyboard that slid out from underneath the screen. And there’s no sign of the iPhone X’s marquee features like biometric face scanning or Siri. Still, the Pre’s foreshadowing of some iPhone/iOS features is interesting and a lesson in tech history. Most of the latest, greatest features in technology have long and circuitous histories.
For more nostalgic fun, check out the Palm Pre keynote below.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oUSui3rH1a8
And if any of you readers are former Palm users, please let us know of other commonalities. Did you own this device? Leave your comments below.
Luke Dormehl is a U.K.-based journalist and author, with a background working in documentary film for Channel 4 and the BBC. He is the author of The Apple Revolution and The Formula: How Algorithms Solve All Our Problems … and Create More, both published by Penguin/Random House. His tech writing has also appeared in Wired, Fast Company, Techmeme and other publications.
10 responses to “iPhone X excitement makes people nostalgic for an 8-year-old phone”
It also had wireless charging!!! WebOs was great only downside was the App Store , not many good apps but every thing else was good, Palm Pre was my first smart phone and I loved it!!! Then came the Palm Pre2 and I still own it sad Hp just threw money away
NO ONE WANTED THE PALM PRE! Thats why PALM went out of business. Remember the TREO 650? It was horrible, but better then everything else at the time. Palm Pre was just another version of that, running WEB OS. It was slow, clunky, and destined to be the TV OS of the future. (LG uses Web OS).
I owned both a Treo 650 and Palm Pre. basically disagree with your entire post. Palm Pre’s websOS was a step forward/risk that I loved.
Dude, are you high? The TREO 650 was way ahead of it’s time, assad the Palm Pre. Im just wondering what clunky piece of crap you spoke into during this heyday.
The appearing/disappearing notification bar (was at the bottom on the Palm Pre) was borrowed and improved upon by both Android and iOS. Before Palm Pre’s websOS, that didn’t exist.
Biggest issue with Palm Pre IMO was the plastic build quality, ie: the screen wasn’t glass (eek)
The app cards were such a satisfying UI. And that the OS was open/rooted by nature.
I see a lot of hate but I have been a loyal apple fan since the days of my first Apple IIfx and I camped out for the pre and I loved it. I didn’t care for the build quality but the phone had so much potential and I think people forget the pre came out when the iPhone was just getting started. It had features 9 years ago that are just now starting to show up regularly. Also, they had plans if I’m not mistaken for a larger iPhone like pre. I still miss that phone… or at least I’m still nostalgic for what could’ve been.
I’ve been an Apple fan for most of my life, though I’ve waned ever since “Apple Computers, Inc”, turned into “Apple, Inc.” The Pre is what I wanted the iPhone to be, this especially considering that Jon Rubenstein was involved in it’s development. Now I’m an Android user, only because I feel Android is the most Palm/Garnet/webOS-like modern OS, complete with expandable memory, app-sideloading, and removable batteries. I used my Pre 3 for years until I was given a Note 4, and while I felt it was a fair 1:1 trade off, I still miss my slide out physical keyboard.
It still pains me to think about how much HP destroyed Palm’s and webOS’ potential, and seeing many of webOS’s features appearing on the iPhone X just makes me more nostalgic over what could’ve been.
My last phone before finally switching to iPhones in 2011. Really enjoyed my two years with that phone. A lot of features or hardware that phone had I was waiting for Apple to implement into the iPhone line (multitasking, wireless charging etc.)
It looks like my Samsung SGH-A797 phone that I still use and love!
I had a Pre and it was the last Palm product I owned. To compare the pre to any Apple product is an insult. The Pre was a battery drain, lasting 6 hours at best between charges. Palm’s answer to that was to turn off many of it’s features rendering it useless as a smartphone.