The Weirdest Products Apple Tried To Sell In The 1980s

The Weirdest Products Apple Tried To Sell In The 1980s

In 1986, Apple tried to turn itself into a beacon for the fashion world. Banking on the popularity of the Mac, the company launched an extensive catalogue of clothing and accessories known as the Apple Collection. And it couldn’t have been more 80s.

A lot of the photos from the catalogue are well known — the baseball caps and coloured knits would still be the dream of any modern preppy hipster. But buried in the later pages of the catalogue, we find really weird objects — even for the 80s — that would be amazing to see redesigned today. Below, we’ve selected the oddest, with prices adjusted for inflation.


The iSurfboard

The Weirdest Products Apple Tried To Sell In The 1980s

Build with EPS and covered with impact-resistant ASA, Apple considered this one of the lightest windsurf boards available. It came with two mylar sails with its rainbow logo. Today the price would have been close to $US2,375.


The iDecanter

The Weirdest Products Apple Tried To Sell In The 1980s

Designed by Apple in California… manufactured in Romania. These limited edition decanters had the Apple logo etched on the top. It would have cost you around 86 bucks in today’s money.


The iToy Truck

The Weirdest Products Apple Tried To Sell In The 1980s

“The truck the future comes in.” Those aren’t our words, but Apple’s: “it runs as well on big kid’s desk as on little kid’s floors.” It was probably followed by the release of Samsung’s 22 wheeler Toy Truck. Today, it would cost around $US60.


The iClip

The Weirdest Products Apple Tried To Sell In The 1980s

The catalogue includes various pages dedicated to all sorts of accessories for the office. This clip is exactly what it looks like — a paper clip with the Apple logo. It would cost about $US6 in today’s money.


The Apple-Braun iCalculator

The Weirdest Products Apple Tried To Sell In The 1980s

Dieter Rams’ designs have inspired Apple for years, and his guiding principles are a clear influence on Jonathan Ive’s current style. But during the 80s, Apple used the widely popular ET 66 calculator as part of its merchandising. This design was later used to create the calculator app for the first iPhone. Price today: $US172.


The iDesk

The Weirdest Products Apple Tried To Sell In The 1980s

Designer Marc Newson and Johnny Ive collaborated last year to create this minimalist aluminium desk. But it’s not the first one out from Cupertino. In 1986, Apple created the beechwood desk in the image above. Known as MacDesk, it included a space to place the original Mac and it was adjustable in height. Today it would have cost about $US866. [via Imgur]


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