In 1994, ten years after introducing a computer that would define the state of the art for decades to come, Apple introduced a state-of-the-art digital camera. It wouldn’t be quite as successful as the Macintosh.
The Apple QuickTake had a resolution of 640×480 pixels (about 1/3 of a megapixel). It could be used to take “high resolution” digital photos for another newly evolving technology: the worldwide web. Both were truly state of the art at the time.
Fast forward to today. In yet another example of Moore’s law, the iPhone’s 48 megapixel camera can not only take digital photos at over 8000×6000 pixels, it can also take 60 fps (frames per second) videos in nearly that resolution as well.
And there’s more. The iPhone can take three-dimensional spatial photos and videos, which, when viewed on Apple Vision Pro, re-create not just the look, but the feel of the original scene.
And one more thing. With the appropriate app, the iPhone can take three-dimensional photos (scans) of just about any object.
To come full circle (literally), here’s a time-bending iPhone 3-D photo of, what else, Alan’s 1996 QuickTake camera!
1996 meets 2025. A 3-D image of a 1996 QuickTake camera, created using a 2025 iPhone.The state of the art of the “worldwide web” 30 years later being what it is (it did sort of catch on), the Future of viewing 3-D objects on websites isn’t quite evenly distributed yet. Whether you can actually view the above image in 3-D depends on what device and web browser you’re using.
If your present Future is an Apple Vision Pro, not only can you view the QuickTake camera by rotating it, but you actually can take it off the website and put it anywhere in your space! At any size. Now that’s the Future!
If your present Future is an iPhone (yes, the very device that captured the image) or iPad, you should be able to rotate the image to get a full view. And you can even use your camera’s “augmented reality” feature to view the image in a representation of your space, just like the above screenshot from the Vision Pro. Yes, you can view 1996 through 2025!
If your present Future is a Macintosh, you can download the QuickTake image and view it, including rotation, through Quick Look (select the file and tap the space bar). Finally, for “the rest of us,” for now, here’s a quick video.
As for the QuickTake camera itself, it didn’t stand the test of time, and Apple discontinued it in 1997. But just as so many other Apple products helped Apple and other companies further distribute Apple’s vision of the Future, the QuickTake was instrumental in distributing the Future of digital photography. And remains so, apparently.