The Return of the Newton (Apple PDA)? - MacRumors
Skip to Content

The Return of the Newton (Apple PDA)?

AppleInsider reports that Apple has had an ongoing project to reinvent the Personal Digital Assistant (PDA). Steve Jobs had previously admitted that they had been working on an Apple PDA in the labs, but had never shipped it. Certainly back in 2003 all the rumors had aligned pointing to the imminent release of an Apple Tablet from traditionally reliable sources. The product never came to light.

AppleInsider now claims that Apple has had an ongoing PDA project which uses the same multi-touch OS X as the foundation and may soon be ready to see the light of day. They describe the PDA as an ultra-thin slate about 1.5 times the size of the current iPhone. The screen is said to have a high resolution (720x480) display that takes up almost the entire surface. The rumor site states that the PDA could see an announcement as early as January 2008 (Macworld San Francisco) but with a ship date closer to the middle of the year.

Apple's PDA project would represent another core business segment beyond the existing Mac, iPod, iPhone, Apple TV lines. The introduction of an Apple PDA would mark Apple's return to the PDA business, which it invented in 1993 with the introduction of the Apple Newton.

Related Forum: iPhone

Popular Stories

Apple Event Logo

Apple's Next Era Begins September 1

Thursday May 7, 2026 10:36 am PDT by
Apple recently announced that Tim Cook will be stepping down as CEO later this year, after 15 years of leading the company. Effective September 1, Apple's hardware engineering chief John Ternus will become the company's next CEO, while Cook will become executive chairman of Apple's board of directors. In his new role, Apple said Cook will assist with "certain aspects" of the company,...
Instagram Feature 2

PSA: Instagram Encrypted Messaging Ends on Friday, May 8

Tuesday May 5, 2026 8:24 am PDT by
Instagram will remove end-to-end encryption for direct messages between users from May 8, 2026. When the date comes around, Meta will potentially be able to see the contents of all messages between users on the social media platform. Encrypting messages has been an optional feature in Instagram since 2023, but in March of this year the social media platform quietly updated a help page to say ...
Apple Event Logo

Apple Just Released a New Accessory

Monday May 4, 2026 8:13 am PDT by
Apple today released a new Pride Edition Sport Loop for the Apple Watch. The band features a rainbow design with 11 colors of woven nylon yarns. The new Pride Edition Sport Loop is available to order now on Apple.com and in the Apple Store app in 40mm, 42mm, and 46mm sizes, and it will be available at Apple Store locations starting later this week. In the U.S., the band costs $49. There...