{"id":1621,"date":"2026-06-08T19:06:16","date_gmt":"2026-06-08T19:06:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/relocationobserver.com\/?p=1621"},"modified":"2026-06-08T19:06:16","modified_gmt":"2026-06-08T19:06:16","slug":"how-for-all-mankind-works-with-apple-to-revive-and-upgrade-the-forgotten-newton-as-its-alt-history-iphone","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/relocationobserver.com\/?p=1621","title":{"rendered":"How \u2018For All Mankind\u2019 Works With Apple to Revive and Upgrade the Forgotten Newton as Its Alt-History iPhone"},"content":{"rendered":"
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\n\tEvery season of Apple TV\u2019s \u201cFor All Mankind\u201d begins the same for prop master Jaime Mengual: A meeting with co-creators and showrunners Ben Nedivi and Matt Wolpert and producer Ben McGinnis to discuss one prop \u2014 the Apple Newton.<\/p>\n

Read more Mira Sorvino and Lisa Kudrow\u2019s \u2018Romy and Michele\u2019 Sequel Officially in Production, Will Stream on Hulu<\/a><\/p>\n

\n\tApple products and their use in film and TV have long been a source of conversation. Who can carry an iPhone on screen? Are bad guys forced to use nondescript phones and computers so as not to sow chaos with a device bearing Apple\u2019s famous logo? Well, \u201cFor All Mankind\u201d asks a different question altogether: Can its characters use a completely forgotten Apple product canceled two decades ago?<\/p>\n

\n\tFor those who didn\u2019t go through a handheld personal assistant phase in the 1990s, the Newton was an early Apple mobile device that used a stylus-controlled touchscreen for digital scheduling and organization. But in a world of PalmPilots and BlackBerrys, it was toppled by flashier competition and discontinued in 1998 \u2014 even though it is credited with paving the way for the iPhone. And yet, in the alternate-history timeline that \u201cFor All Mankind\u201d has been existing in for five seasons, where the American ambition to explore space never ran out of rocket fuel, the Newton is thriving as the iPhone of its time.<\/p>\n

\n\tBut it doesn\u2019t function exactly like our smartphones. It\u2019s a highly advanced communication tool that bridges those on Earth, Mars, and anywhere in between \u2014 but with less addictive qualities.<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cTechnology in our world is really dictated by the fact that when the internet started, it was not a public domain, and so the rise of social media doesn\u2019t really happen in the \u2018For All Mankind\u2019 world,\u201d Mengual tells Variety<\/em>. \u201cThat really changes the personal connection they have to their devices. In our world, it\u2019s really heavily used for communication and characters learning about things through their Newtons.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tThe first Newton to appear in the series in Season 3 came courtesy of some rummaging through eBay, where Mengual found a few real Newtons still in good condition. He gutted the artifacts, gave them a backlight and burned in some graphics. Soon, they also added a mounted camera, giving it video capabilities \u2014 something it never had in reality.<\/p>\n

Read more Apple Unveils Siri AI, Smarter Assistant With More Customizable Voices That Sound More Natural, Tech Company Claims<\/a><\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cI like to dig through the archives for prototype images of iPhones that never were or things that they tried,\u201d Mengual says. \u201cWe do follow the iPhone a little bit, even though our Newton does some things we wish the iPhone could do, but we\u2019re not quite there yet.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tAt least we weren\u2019t there in the \u201990s when \u201cFor All Mankind\u201d gave its Newtons FaceTime-like features and capacitive touch technology. Every choice made for their evolving Newton is discussed with the Apple team, which approves designs for how apps and sounds change season to season. For Mengual specifically, he\u2019s mostly focused on the hardware, and if and where buttons would be located.<\/p>\n

\n\tIn Season 4, the Newton\u2019s expanded design was heavily influenced by the iPad Mini. In Season 5, they scaled it back in size, just as the iPhone did. Mengual tried to build a model from scratch using AMOLED screens, but it didn\u2019t go well and he retreated to housing a real iPhone in an aluminum Newton casing. Their Newtons aren\u2019t sleek or sexy, though. They are practical for their circumstances.<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cJust because our technology is advanced doesn\u2019t mean the hardware doesn\u2019t end up being a little bit clunkier or more retro,\u201d he says. \u201cSome of that design motivation was that in the environment of Mars and on the moon, technology needs to be a little bit more rugged.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tMengual also has to consider the almost certain lack of a Genius Bar in space. \u201cThere may not be an Apple repair shop on Mars as close as you might like,\u201d he says, \u201cso things have to last a little bit longer.\u201d<\/p>\n

Read more \u2018Jem and the Holograms\u2019 Live-Action Series in the Works at Amazon<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The ‘For All Mankind’ team opens up about working with Apple to highlight the forgotton Newton as the iPhone of its time.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1620,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[54],"tags":[1470],"class_list":["post-1621","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-tv","tag-for-all-mankind"],"yoast_head":"\nHow \u2018For All Mankind\u2019 Works With Apple to Revive and Upgrade the Forgotten Newton as Its Alt-History iPhone - Relocation Observer<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/relocationobserver.com\/?p=1621\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"How \u2018For All Mankind\u2019 Works With Apple to Revive and Upgrade the Forgotten Newton as Its Alt-History iPhone - 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