
It was much simpler to perform many of these tasks on a full-sized computer than on a Newton, portability be damned. The world simply wasn't ready for the Newton: the mobile processors weren't powerful enough, screens weren't good enough, and wireless connectivity wasn't as ubiquitous as it is today.

With no Jobs back at Apple, who knows what happens to products like the iPod or iPhone.Īnd, for you history buffs out there, back in early nineties, there were two CES shows each year, a summer one in Chicago, and a winter one in Vegas.Ī lot of the things that make the Newton bad from today's perspective aren't its own fault. Without those struggles, there's a good chance Steve Jobs doesn't return to Apple in 1997. The product marked the beginning of a dark era for Apple, one in which the company nearly went bankrupt. The Newton proved to be a flop, but its impact was huge. The tablet Sculley presented that year was the Newton, a device that had some potential, but essentially came out a decade and a half too early. And isn't CES typically held in Las Vegas? If you even remember Sculley as Apple CEO, you're probably thinking of the man who pushed Steve Jobs out of the company.

If that sentence sounds all wrong, that's because a lot has changed in the quarter decade since. Exactly 25 years ago, on May 29, 1992, Apple CEO John Sculley went on stage during the CES show in Chicago and launched a tablet.
