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You need to see how hideous the original iPhone looked running the decoy version of iOS

Updated Dec 19th, 2018 8:52PM EST

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It goes without saying that the original iPhone blew away the tech world when it was first unveiled in 2007. However, the development of the device was such a secret that not even all of Apple’s hardware engineers were allowed to test out the finished product that ran iOS. The Next Web points out that Apple actually developed an ugly, dumbed-down version of iOS known as “Skankphone” software that Apple engineers used to test out the device’s hardware capabilities to prevent leaks of the final UI design. As you might expect, this decoy user interface looked absolutely hideous.

RELATED: How the original iPhone forced Google to completely rebuild Android

As you can see, there were no cute skeuomorphic icons on the home screen like the ones found in the finished product — instead, we get an extremely unattractive set of blue rectangles that give us the options to manage basic settings.

If you think the home screen is nasty, however, you haven’t see anything yet. The phone dialer screen sets new standards for ugly with an uneven layout of icons that would have made Steve Jobs go on a murderous rampage if this was the actual final design of iOS.

If you want to check out even more pictures showing how hideous the iPhone looked running on the “Skankphone” software, head on over to The Next Web by clicking the source link below.

Brad Reed
Brad Reed Staff Writer

Brad Reed has written about technology for over eight years at BGR.com and Network World. Prior to that, he wrote freelance stories for political publications such as AlterNet and the American Prospect. He has a Master's Degree in Business and Economics Journalism from Boston University.