Apple’s Other Recent ‘Duo’
I keep mentioning Apple’s 1992 groundbreaking PowerBook Duo series as a precedent of the iPhone Duo’s name. But of course in 2020, Apple released the MagSafe Duo Charger, a wonderful Lightning peripheral for charging an iPhone and Apple Watch at the same time. It even folded. A brief note on the PowerBook Duo, while I’m at it. I got an email this month from a now-retired former Apple employee who…
While discussing Apple's 1992 PowerBook Duo series as a precedent for the iPhone Duo's name, it's important to note that in 2020, Apple released the MagSafe Duo Charger. This Lightning peripheral allowed for simultaneous charging of an iPhone and Apple Watch, and it even folded. A former Apple employee who helped spearhead the PowerBook Duo project mentioned that the internal motto was always "Best of Both Worlds," abbreviated internally as "BOBW."
At a time when laptops were significantly less powerful than desktop computers, the desktop computers represented an opposite of "portable" experience. The Macintosh Duo, however, was a tremendous success as it achieved the "best of both worlds" experience. A 2015 retrospective by Christopher Phin highlights just how groundbreaking the PowerBook Duo was, emphasizing that it truly embodied the "BOBW" philosophy.
To capture the same essence, the iPhone Duo should serve as a great iPhone on the outside and a great mini tablet on the inside.
Written by urgent.news from Daring Fireball's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
