I Built Apple’s 1980s iPad Concept!

[@KevinNoki]

Reaching 100,000 views in such a short time is absolutely incredible-thank you all so much! 😊🎉 This wouldn’t have been possible without your amazing support. ❤ I’m truly grateful for all the positive comments and the effort you’ve put into sharing my video-it means so much to me. This inspires me even more to create exciting new projects, not just to showcase my skills but to hopefully inspire others as well. I’ve been reading through all your comments and will do my best to respond to as many of you as I can. A heartfelt shoutout to the brilliant Hartmut Esslinger and the iconic FrogDesign team for their visionary work. 👏🎨🐸

[@jaredjoe133]

well deserved, good job!!!!

[@PCBWay]

Your hard work and dedication should take the credit👍

[@-someone-.]

Goes to show how much love there is for the retro Apple Apple IIc forever Outstanding work brother 👍

[@nahuelgarciaoronel9272]

Simply great. The amount of ingenuity and detailed work... 10/10

[@krystianpiwowarski1546]

I would be honoured if you would produce such a marvel for me

[@danb91]

From the floppy drive, to the keycaps, to the startup chime, this is executed flawlessly. Well done!

[@Leela_X]

It is, but the Fan!

[@yeknommonkey]

I was expecting an ipad in a fancy printed Case

[@PCBWay]

That's SOMETHING! We are honored to be a PART!🥳

[@joeblow229]

@@werehyenataur PCBWay sponsors a TON of creators, even relatively small channels like this one. If you've ever actually designed and ordered a PCB, it's really, really cheap, you just usually need a minimum order of a few boards (like, less than $20).

[@joeblow229]

Thanks for sponsoring so many creators on KZbin! I still mostly just use proto-boards, but when I want to print a custom PCB, I'll definitely come to you guys.

[@barnett25]

@@werehyenataur So start giving stuff away and go out of business? It is sad to see such an unintelligent comment on a video for one of the most impressive projects I have seen on KZbin in quite a long time. Thank you PCBWay for helping make this awesome project happen!

[@KevinNoki]

Thank you for your support!!! PCBWay🚀

[@Uuuuuuurrgggggghhhhh]

Thank you for sponsoring. Money well spend!

[@Kyle-xv5kv]

I hope Mr Esslinger gets to see the fruits of your work (no pun intended) It would be wonderful to know how he feels seeing one of his designs be finally brought to life in a fully functional unit.

[@radekcernik6119]

I hope in some rest of brain in apple. We all take it like dream comes true, but in now creepy days this can some jerk take like violiting all trade marks, design rights, etc. I've seen many concepts which was left over and than was taken by entusiastic people and relaized to life. Than those, whot left them, started screeming, because they don't want to accept their lost chance. Honor to this guy.

[@Avi8tor857]

I was thinking hopefully he built two to send him one.

[@herrgerd1684]

I mean if you watched the video you recognized that he asked the designer for his OK and for measurements/design pictures to get started. So I guess he'll let him know when the unit was finished :)

[@therackstar]

Just wow. 😊

[@foxcar29]

THE BEST DIY and tecnological apple recreation product since 20 year of watching youtube video.....great and awesome job

[@honestabe3100]

Totally agree

[@nickryan3417]

Utterly. It was outstanding and while the insides were a mess of board and cables... who cares? :) It worked. Very well.

[@stefankachaunov396]

I'm a former student of Hartmut, I'll try to get him to see this at the next class meeting! ⭐

[@VenomInMahEyes]

Please update how he reacts. A video would be even better!

[@KaityKat117]

commenting to get updated if/when he sees it

[@sn0n]

I'm sure he already knows.... He did mention they were in contact, just sayin..

[@sorsun46]

@@sn0n but he wants his internet points

[@DannyHustle]

Kevin, I am a 62-year-old retired computer network engineer who works with hardware and software. Before that, I worked for Raytheon in Massachusetts, soldering components and making cables for ten years. I watched you build the machine after the parts were printed and created the poster. I know enough to know what you are doing on an expert level. That film was terrific, with self-proclaimed bona fides stated. I could see the build, design, and engineering, but when you added yourself to the project, it transcended craftsmanship to art. I hope you sell these as art pieces. Absolutely beautiful work. 🙏

[@KevinNoki]

Thank you so much for your kind message. Coming from someone with your experience, it means a lot to hear your thoughts. I’m so glad you enjoyed the project and saw both the engineering and the artistic side of it. Your encouragement truly inspires me to keep creating. Thank you again for your support!

[@erinwiebe7026]

I remember seeing this design in a magazine when I was a child and instantly falling in love with the Snow White design language. At the time it looked like an impossible future design. To see it now, made with such incredible detail with a functional ADB port and ejecting floppy drive is just mind blowing to me. Unbelievable work! Thank you!

[@Juggernautiluss]

Holy crap! I can already imagine this being shared across all corners of the vintage mac community!

[@ximono]

*rounded corners

[@EyemachineStudios]

​@@ximono get a job

[@swolfington]

the project itself is cool as hell, but the absolute craftsmanship on display is top tier. seeing the whole thing come together was inspiring.

[@bencorrell]

That's crazy that Hartmut Esslinger gave you his blessing to create this. What an honor!

[@xereeto]

You executed this FLAWLESSLY. I can't believe this has so few views - I bet it won't be long before that changes.

[@thinksinksyncnyc]

The Macintosh logo is crooked but otherwise I agree!

[@xereeto]

@@thinksinksyncnyc If I was gonna pick any holes it'd be that the internal speaker is only implemented for the startup sound. I don't understand why this was done when setting the Arduino to output at line level connected through a simple audio splitter cable with the pi to a mini amplifier would have done the trick. Every other part of the build is so meticulously engineered!

[@PierreNick]

Design, 3D printing, electronics, custom mechanical keyboard, the way everything is packed neatly, the workflow at the end. This is *insane* perfect work. 😮‍💨

[@terribleart6269]

This is incredible!!! I'd love for Steve Wozniak and as many others as possible to see it! I would've got one of these if they were ever produced! Even now, seeing a modern iPad case in this paint pallet style with the keyboard, I would go bananas! Thank you for making this!

[@kobs9636]

would be really cool. with ipad mini 6. for artists and hobbyists.

[@0hN0es203]

A snap-in ipad or mini keyboard case in this style would be an instant buy for me.

[@jonjimihendrix]

Love the unceremonious yeeting of the disk from the drive. Go on, git, dang floppy! Brilliant project, brilliant execution.

[@GeeksWorkbench]

You know that this is one of the best projects ever made, Kevin! We definitely need to see this in a sci-fi production, especially in one of the Apple TV+ series; it would be a perfect fit. This should be seen by hundreds of millions of people.

[@pepperstmm]

It woulda been perfect in For All Mankind when they were in the 90s

[@GeeksWorkbench]

@@pepperstmm this!!

[@KevinNoki]

Thank you so much Cihan 🙏🏻🙏🏻🙏🏻

[@PatrickKniesler]

I think it would be fun in an alt history setting, as well. It would be funny for someone using it to eject a floppy while working on the move, like on an escalator. Now, would it fly off into one of those elaborate shopping mall fountains or hit someone in another escalator in the head?

[@ryan-zv6xp]

Fantastic job. Nice touch of the floppy drive

[@KevinNoki]

Thank you!!!🙏🏻

[@GundamGokuTV]

The Floppy Drive ejecting the floppies like a gun was fun. lol

[@airborne0x0]

Ah the era when floppies were yeeted, a word that didn't even exist yet

[@SpaciousGreen]

Since Raspberry Pi came out, many Apple fans have wondered if something like this would happen, and it did! And indeed it is beautiful. Thank you.

[@grant-is]

Another absolutely incredible job, you've outdone yourself. Extremely excited to see what's next and what an honour for the original designer to say yes!

[@JamesGarry]

Stupendous. Since seeing those early Frog designs in the Apple Industrial 'hand'book (reader: it's quite a tome) I was enamoured of them. This is simply wonderful.

[@Collinormous]

Thanks!

[@KevinNoki]

Thank you!

[@emagiannu]

You use the same amount of glue that Apple uses. 10/10

[@firesurfer]

???!! I hope this is sarcasm. He globbed it on pointlessly. There are needle glue applicators for this.

[@Mr_ToR]

Awesome as always. I'd like to suggest 2 things. Use silicon insulated wires. The insulation wont shrink with soldering. Search for "5 color cable box" They dont usually advertise them being silicone insulated. If you use them, you wont use another cable I promise. My other suggestion is get a hand heat gun. They are great for many things like shrinking shrink-tubes and any post work on PLA such as bending or imperfections etc. Get a temperature and fan speed adjustable one. I have a larger desk model but I also bought a smaller one and use the small one all the time. I had to replace the thick power cable though. They usually come with unnecessarily thick cable even though they use 200W at most.

[@KeithOlson]

FWIW, many butane soldering irons often come with a deflector so you can use them for heat shrink tubing/etc.

[@Mr_ToR]

@@KeithOlson I have many soldering irons/stations but I use the TS101 the most. It's even possible to use it with a power bank but I never used it that way. Mostly I use one of the desk power supplies to power it. I made a silicone cable for it and I easliy power it on the bench. I made a very long cable for the heat gun and I use it for so many things. Forexample it is also great for removing labels, even from cardboard boxes.

[@basicstype994]

This is so iconic and amazing! If it were for sale, many people would like to buy it.

[@danielktdoranie]

Nothing short of amazing

[@KevinNoki]

Thank you so much 🙏🏻

[@lerkomsmartgf3992]

😡😡😡😡😡

[@KeithOlson]

@@KevinNoki You should just causually walk into an Apple store/vintage computer show/etc. and start using it without explaining anything about it. :rofl:

[@kilobytecache6192]

Everything from the keyboard to the magnets holding on the panel just screams apple, i love this so much. It has so much character!

[@TechTimeTraveller]

Unbelievable. I'd want to buy one of these in a heartbeat. So well done!

[@Robert-G]

the hardware creation was already epic. but man, that you designed the poster on it, shot with a floppy camera. That was the best possible icing on top

[@ShamblerBowler]

The force it ejects the floppy at 46:14

[@Davide0033]

it was a dos floppy, it will tollerate it, but it doesn't like 'em

[@KevinNoki]

@@Davide0033 LOL 🤣

[@joeblow229]

This turned out so well, wow! I've been tinkering with electronics and 3D printing as a hobby for years, and it was truly humbling to see how much skill and passion went into making this project. I know, magic of editing, but the level of detail on the parts like the mounting plates is amazing. Personally, I would have had to print many, many iterations of the plates to get the mounting points all lined up correctly. Subbed, can't wait to see what other videos are on your channel!

[@CaffeineLoaded]

Vintage Apple project of the YEAR!

[@two76s]

There's skill, and then there's this. Simply amazing. I was glued to the screen for the entire 49 minutes. You deserve a LOT more subscribers.

[@maroernst]

Wow, this is like something from an alternative timeline. I am impressed by all the work you put into that.

[@jonnusofjon]

I was already completely blown away, and THEN you busted out the mavica 😆 bravo sir!

[@lemeledicortes]

I love the amount of creativity and possibilities 3Dprinting has unlocked, this project is so amazing

[@IanTheWoodchuck]

I really got a chuckle out of the FlatMac and the way it YEETS floppies out when they're ejected. I had a friend back in the day that modded his early Mac's floppy drive with a stronger spring so it would to EXACTLY that and scare his mom. We classic nerds would go to any length for a good prank!!

[@agent11co90]

most underrated channel ive seen. I know you are gonna blow up in a matter of time.

[@dedsecaffiliate1979]

This is an impressive combination of off the shelf hardware, customized hardware, custom hardware, and software. I've done smaller projects with similar techniques, and I believe I could probably accomplish about half of what you did here with my current knowledge, skills, and tools. Your video is inspirational, and it makes me want to try and make something bigger than I've ever successfully attempted before. Thank you so much for sharing your process!

[@MrVectrexUK]

I...don't have words! This is genuinely the most staggeringly amazing homebuilt machine I've ever seen - the attention to detail is beyond anything I've seen before. You just brought a new Apple product into the world!

[@inedex]

The keyboard alone is a masterpiece. The entire device built from scratch is just mind-blowing.

[@otopico]

The only negative is the fan noise. And for what you created, I think the fan noise is charming. Bonus points for the Mavica!

[@doink_v]

This is so far ahead of anything I've ever seen. Most people stop and declare victory at 25% of this. Truly next-level stuff. I only wish I could have one of these myself.

[@DavstrWrexham]

Wow! I'm not a Mac lover, but even I have to admit, this is cool as all hell. I wonder if someone could create an actual 68K motherboard for this. Imagine that, this cool case with true period like hardware.

[@Leofwine]

Then we'd need someone to manufacture the chips, the firmware, *new* floppy drives...

[@leocomerford]

It should be doable: there are a couple of new hobbyist M68K board designs already, though apparently it's much harder to build an M68K system than an equivalent Z80 or 6502 machine. Interfacing with the video screen and the various ports might be the hardest part.

[@synniestar]

the most impressive part for me as an artist was actually creating the poster on the thing at the end! the technical bits were impressive as well but i could see myself trying to do that bit at the end and failing 😹 very, very cool project. thanks for sharing!

[@Foodgeek]

That is a crazy amount of work. Well done! I hope this video goes totally viral 😁

[@TheTecKing-o3v]

I have watched ur video 8 times, because I wanna make something like it, and i need to know what kind of things I would need... Very great Video well done :)

[@cla3d]

Pretty amazing. Great Job!

[@KevinNoki]

Thanks a lot!

[@franci2a777]

It would be completely useless for most people, BUT this is one of the coolest DIY projects I’ve seen on KZbin! Especially the fact that it actually works, and was designed with usability and quality of life features in mind (stylus support, SD slot), making it actually a viable machine, and a capable one. Stunning.

[@DamonLaw-w7w]

MOOF! Holy dog cow that's an amazing build!

[@acquacow]

Clarus, is that you?

[@AdamJRichardson]

Absolutely amazing work, congratulations! Those old floppy eject mechanisms are so satisfying. When I worked in the SF office of frog design we had this model sitting in our foyer, always one of my favorites. So cool you built a working one (ours was just non-functioning, made out of high density polyurethane foam).

[@KevinNoki]

Thank you so much! WOW that’s so cool! I which I could have seen the original model! :-)

[@TheBasementChannel]

I like to think I’m patient, then I watch something like this. Outstanding!

[@steveking4878]

Absolutely amazing. I do electronics design, CAD, and a ton of 3D printing… and I’d just like to say, that is a work of art!

[@pcdoodle1]

I started losing it with the microwave sounds. Very fun watch!

[@davidokelly1140]

This flabbered my gast! I am not a tech guy, but am so happy to see the visions of yesteryear be created today. The best way to preserve history, whether it's a prototype, or production models, samples etc is to make it yourself, whether we had a functioning model or not. The most we can do to bulster our creativity in our respective hobbies means we must take on labors of love, which you showed me in this video. I am very impressed! Great video!

[@albertkinng]

There are geniuses and there is this guy that basically earns Steve Woz friendship card.

[@bibblybobbly9951]

This is mindblowing - creativity, skill, craftsmanship. I guess it's testament to the skill of the builder that everything just worked the first time too.

[@ak78_at]

Thanks

[@walterharoldbishop]

so this guy can do things that should take at least 3 professionals in completely different field.

[@abirrudra5463]

That’s again a Master class bro ✌🏻✌🏻✌🏻 keep up the great work and waiting now for the next one

[@KevinNoki]

Thanks Bro! ❤️ Party is coming soon 😂

[@caddyzig]

This is absolutely INCREDIBLE! Nice job. Imagine the designers of the 80s and 90s having the technologies you were able to use putting this together.

[@DOTTOTW]

Hot damn! Your use of everything from craftsmanship to coding is just sublime! And the hand in the photo even shows you got a girlfriend. Hats off to you my man! 🎉

[@admcstabby]

The all new, lightweight and groundbreaking iPad Flat! Coming in at a mere 34lbs! LOL! Amazing work! As a hobbyist that likes to begin with CAD, work through programming and hardware, and end with a finished product completely by myself as well, I am very envious of how incredible everything is. Amazing work!

[@BrainSlugs83]

Man, that eject mechanism is no joke!

[@joeblow229]

I liked that too, the "disk flinger" :)

[@danielwoods7325]

This is legitimately incredible. I particularly love that you created the poster on it, showing how it might have been used in the era. A real love letter to classic Apple design. Awesome job!

[@polymatt]

This is SO cool. What an awesome project and so well executed. 👏

[@ianpolpo]

@polymatt I thought of your builds when watching this video, nice that you've seen it!

[@polymatt]

@@ianpolpototally! I’ve been a fan since I saw the mouse build. Such cool stuff.

[@KevinNoki]

Thank you so much! I’m a huge fan of you and your content as well. You’re truly the king of retro restorations!

[@polymatt]

@@KevinNoki that’s super kind of you man. Keep up the awesome work!

[@Hans-gb4mv]

And to think that only a decade ago, designing and building something like this as a hobbyist would have been near impossible. This is just amazing.

[@broblox8088]

This is one of the best recreations i have ever seen! I assumed you just would use an iPad in a custom case, but you made a EXACT replica! Amazing work! 👍

[@themindofamadman2024]

I honestly never saw you before this, but I watched the whole video and as a person who loves 3D printing and electronics. This won my subscription. Anyone who would go through all this for a video wins my support for more. Great job. I'll like and share. Great Work. I wouldn't image this costing more that say 500 but labor 1k plus lol.

[@danielrendon7625]

Das ist mega! war das ursprüngliche von Apple ein touchscreen?

[@KevinNoki]

Danke dir! Ja, das Designkonzept sah ursprünglich einen Touchscreen vor, aber damals waren diese noch extrem teuer und konnten qualitativ nicht mit dem Standard mithalten, den wir heute gewohnt sind. :-)

[@northMOFN]

I don't want to ever listen to that sanding sound again... but that is the most beautiful computer ever made. It's as if the Apple //c I had as a kid had grown up with me. Spectacular work.

[@RicardoRamosRetrocomputacao]

Dude, my sincere congratulations. I had exactly the same idea a few years ago, but I didn't have a 3D printer, and I was afraid of the costs I would have to do it, but overall, you did exactly as I imagined you would do. I am deeply proud of you, for having done this project with such care and excellence. If I may make a suggestion, I would recommend that you make the other sketches real, and then sell the entire collection at an art auction. The unique collection is certainly worth a few thousand dollars, collectors from all over the world would give their own mother to have something like this in their collection.

[@PygmalionFaciebat]

I see one problem with this build - if i am not mistaken: The floppy drive needs a mechanical ejection system also. Because its possible for some reasons that the software cant trigger the ejection of the floppy disk. For that reason every disk drive (even cd roms to this day) have a system for manually ejection. Other than that i see no problem in this build. It definetely gives 80s vibes. The design looks perfect. It definetely would have been a bestseller back in the 80s, and even early 90s.

[@tubularmonkeymaniac]

Went to buy the book... cheapest I could find was $200 😭 Edit: For anybody interested there is a pdf of it floating around. I recommend reading it, you will not believe how far ahead of their time some of these concepts were.

[@swolfington]

such a shame its hard to get ahold of. as a major vintage apple nerd i'd love to have a copy too, but that price tag makes it hard.

[@malibugrove]

I held my breath when you were adding the final bezel decals. Fantastic work and video. Thanks Kevin.

[@CodyWalton1979]

Amazing! Keep up the cool work. Would love to see some other retro Mac concepts come to life.

[@KevinNoki]

Thank you!!! More to come! 😊

[@johnathanstevens8436]

That's really amazing, I don't think a production house could have done much better for a one off prototype. Congratulations. Glad to see another project using the teensy ADB converter.

[@MakDemonik]

That was truly amazing. For some years now I was in interested in 3d printing and making stuff at home and purchased a resin and filament printer to print the odd figurine, broken part and so on. But this is something completely different. No not only just "repair" or "restore" but recreate totally from scratch is a new tier of awesome. Immediately subscribed.

[@nickwright9064]

Everyone, please share this. This is an incredible project!!! Thanks for posting!

[@charliebrownn6622]

This is a love letter to all of us who appreciate the 70's/80's tech ! I would love to see a collaboration between you and Polymatt who does some beautiful 3D printed restorations of old ThinkPads! You are my heroes in 3D design and printing. Maravilloso 😍

[@lerkomsmartgf3992]

That's just top notch! Bravo!!! I believe Steve would appreciate your design. But how much, it's hard to say, you know his character). In any case, a tear of nostalgia from his eyes would certainly have rolled, although we would not have seen it....

[@vini021xbox]

Dude, please keep your channel going at all costs. I absolutely love your projects!

[@edeepieie]

Wow! Didn't think this would be possible, the touchscreen the floppy drive and lots more. Love the advertisement you made at the end! Great work.

[@zenazure]

I love how it violently kicks the floppy out. it also kinda sounds like a dot matrix printer. good vibes all around.

[@johnferrara2207]

Amazing. Completely amazing. The ultra-fine attention to detail, the precision of those details, and the sheer number of details is so beyond any reasonable expectation. It’s unreal that you manufactured this by hand.

[@TRIPPLEJAY00]

Wow, that's amazing, bro. As an 80s child, see all the tech gro. And now people can just make whatever they like. This is a prime example. You got yourself a new subscriber.

[@Cap10VDO]

...and you included a cameo by my favorite Sony Mavica, too! Brilliant project. Very impressive planning and execution.

[@aceman0000099]

Bless you for actually taking the time to sand and polish your 3D printing! I hate the rough ugly layers that most people ignore

[@myawen_]

This isn’t building, this is miracleing! WOW! Your ability and brilliance are at a divine level.

[@Iguana93]

This is absolutely amazing! The only objection I have is that the spray painting process of course creates more danger of cracks appearing overtime, or corners getting chipped. I think printing from apropriately colored filament and doing a lot of sanding + chemical surface smoothing on that would have created lastingly perfect finish.

[@JimboFarns]

This is honestly astonishing!! Well done!! The 30s montage of CAD design must have taken weeks! The dedication is amazing!!

[@johnmcallister7833]

I've watched this video 3 times now, it's an absolute masterclass in product design and prototyping. Great work!

[@lorenzomagnaguagno]

The poster made at the end was really the cherry on top 💯

[@alpainac]

Everything was perfect about this project. Oh, especially the sounds of this elegant beast of a computer are magical. Thank you for sharing the process of your bringing this retro-futuristic beauty to life with us.

[@AndrewHelgeCox]

Genuinely impressive for the level of detail, the finish, and for working within the constraints of the original form with the available components.

[@wslines]

This is an INSANE amount of work, done very well! Seriously, AMAZING on so many levels... artistically, technically, and empirically some of the most fascinating work I've seen in a LONG LONG time!!! Its one thing to imagine something, and quite another to turn a sketch and/or some OLD photos into a working prototype that, had it been able to do what you just did, would have BLOWN the socks off the entire world for the time and place it could have existed in... Can you imagine if this hardware existed with the speed and agility that now our hardware and software allows one to accomplish... but-- in the '80's??? I was just thinking about my first DESKTOP, and how it was leaps and bounds slower than this hardware you were able to put together. I mean, its still blowing my mind what you were able to put together and demonstrate! WELL DONE!!!

[@Noplan]

I know there was a lot of preparatory work and a lot of trial and error before recording. But it's so satisfying to see how the pieces just fit together. Good job.

[@MSTrusAgent]

was so funny when it spitted out the floppy drive onto the desk! Also love the noises the machine makes, so 80s and 90s. great work, its incredible!

[@yelowpunk]

The way the floppy is spat out in disgust is amazing. The whole thing is amazing, but that especially is amazing.

[@briebelbus1524]

This is next level DIY. At first I didn’t like the spagetti inside, but it cleaned up nicely. The layout of ports, under de floppydrive is well designed. I’m very impressed.

[@KaityKat117]

Can we all just take a moment to acknowledge how incredible it is the crazy world of technology that we live in today? When I was a kid, we didn't have things like 3D printers, raspberry pis and easily accessible custom PCBs. If you wanted to create prototypes like this, you'd have to spend a lot of money and use some expensive machinery and take months to years developing and prototyping before you had something like this. nowadays, you can go from concept to prototype in a master of days with relatively minimal cost. Such that it's actually accessible to the average consumer. Every time I think about how far we've come in technology, it positively blows my mind. How incredible is this?