Would you buy an iPhone that looks like this?(Image credit: Caviar)
Got $10,000 to spare? Fancy owning one of the ugliest smartphones ever created? Well, you're in luck – "luxury" Russian iPhone modder Caviar has just announced a limited edition iPhone 12 Pro, and it's one of the most garish things we've seen this year.
The phone has been dolled up to (supposedly) resemble Apple's first ever desktop computer, the Apple 1, complete with a wooden case and glossy titanium screen. But the headline feature is the inclusion of an original piece of motherboard from 1976 computer. (If you're in the market for a slightly newer Mac, there are already some surprising M1 MacBook price cuts to be found.)
Considering that an original Apple 1 can fetch up to $1M these days, the fact that part of it can be found inside this custom iPhone 12 ought to make it one hell of a collector's item. Indeed, Caviar is only producing nine editions of the Apple 1 iPhone 12 Pro, with prices starting at a mere $9,990.
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The phone is based on the 1976 Apple 1 computer (Image credit: Apple 1)
Alas, it seems money can't buy class. The Apple 1 iPhone 12 looks, to be quite frank, a mess. It seems a genuine piece of tech history has been torn apart to create what looks like a phone with random objects super-glued onto its back. Does anyone actually want an iPhone made of wood? and what's with the scrabble tiles spelling out the word 'computer'? We have so many questions.
And it seems many internet users aren't loving the design either. "Imagine destroying a piece of history for an ugly custom iPhone," one YouTuber comments, while another adds, "terrible idea, horrid aesthetics". "This is beyond tacky," one user damningly concludes.
We've seen similar shenanigans from Caviar in the past. The company's outlandish creations completely contradict Apple's sleek, minimalist aesthetic with their cluttered, bastardised designs. Last year, it sold an iPhone 11 featuring – wait for it – a bit of Steve Jobs' turtleneck. We shudder to think what's coming next.
Thankfully, the iPhone 12 range itself leaves much less to be desired design-wise – we're big fans of the sleek, flat-edged shape, particularly that of the diminutive iPhone 12 mini. Check out today's best iPhone 12 deals below.
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Daniel John is Design Editor at Creative Bloq. He reports on the worlds of design, branding and lifestyle tech, and has covered several industry events including Milan Design Week, OFFF Barcelona and Adobe Max in Los Angeles.
