Known by the name Stacker, it was first seen on a third-generation music player prototype.
A Tetris clone that was designed by Apple in the past has been discovered on a prototype version of the third-generation iPod. This discovery suggests that the business was experimenting with the possibility of publishing the game on the multimedia player. Stacker is the name of this application, and it is most plainly handled by the scroll wheel on the iPod. AppleDemoYT, a user on X who is known for discovering uncommon prototype devices, observed the software and brought it to our attention.
The prototype iPod is a “DVT” gadget, which indicates that it was a device that was in the middle of its development and was still receiving “Design Validation Testing.” It has a model number of A1023, which is not a model number that is known to exist for any known version of the iPod.
Stacker is originally derived from a prototype version of iPodOS 2.0, which is the operating system that the gadget runs. By using the scroll wheel, the pieces are moved from left to right, and when the middle button is clicked, they fall where they were previously placed. The objective of the game is to score points and clear lines. You are aware of the situation. Yes, it’s Tetris.
However, it is not the only game that can be found on the prototype iPod. There is something that is known as Block0, which is most likely an early version of Brick technology. Another game that may be played on this gadget is called Klondike, and it is most likely an early version of the card game Solitaire. In the end, the music player was able to acquire a few games, such as the previously mentioned Brick and Solitaire. Tony Fadell, a former vice president of Apple, was asked by AppleDemoYT why Stacker was never distributed from the company. Fadell responded that the reason was because games did not appear until a “later software release.”
Bejeweled, Mini Golf, Mahjong, Zuma, Cubis 2, and Pac-Man were among the games that were included in later versions of the iPod. Additionally, an official version of Tetris was included in these versions. Each and every one of these releases came before the App Store. As a result of the discontinuation of the iPod Classic in 2014 and the shipment of the iPod Touch to a farm in the state of Delaware in 2022, the age of the solitary music player came to an end.