The BookMac -- The 1984 Macintosh Laptop... that never got released

Not "MacBook"... "BookMac". Seriously.

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Throughout the 1980s and 1990s, there were a number of Macintosh models that simply never saw the light of day.

Some were design concepts that got shelved (in some cases before the original Macintosh even shipped). Others were prototypes that (for one reason or another) never made it all the way to production.

One of them, The BookMac, was quite cool looking. And, without a doubt, way ahead of its time.

The BookMac

The BookMac “slate” concept

Yes, that’s “BookMac”, not “MacBook”.

This 1984 beauty was designed by Frog Design (who created the original Macintosh designs).

The BookMac is exactly what it looks like. A flatscreen Mac… in the case of the concept above, in a slate form factor. With significant design inspiration from the Apple IIc (which was also designed by Hartmut Esslinger of Frog Design).

Even as far back as the early 1980’s, Apple was putting serious efforts into creating a portable Macintosh — the first of which would finally be released in 1989 as the “Macintosh Portable”.

Fun side note: The design code name for “BookMac” was “Bashful”. Frog Design was designing the Macintosh family under “Project Snow White”… with each item having a Snow White (or Disney) themed codename.

Image Source: The Verge (which has multiple images from the Frog Design office)

In fact, making a portable Macintosh was a top priority for Steve Jobs.

Many people have quoted Steve Jobs as saying “Real artists ship” and “It’s better to be a pirate than join the navy.” Those quotes were from a Macintosh team retreat held in January of 1983.

However… there were actually three parts of that statement by Steve Jobs. The third one gets forgotten all too often:

1. Real artists ship.

2. It's better to be a pirate than join the navy.

3. Mac in a book by 1986.

“Mac in a book by 1986.” That was a huge goal for the Macintosh team, even before the original Macintosh shipped.

Multiple designs were created for the BookMac. Including ones that are far more “traditional laptop” in style, such as this one which retains a bit of that Apple IIc design asthetic:

And this one which incorporates a trackball mouse (as would be found in the early Macintosh laptops):

Or this adorable little “BookMac”, which reminds me a fair bit of a Palm Top or Netbook style portable from later years:

Now, would some of these designs be feasible in 1984?

… No. Some of them simply do not have enough internal space to accommodate the size of components in the mid 1980s.

To give a good comparison, here is the “Macintosh Portable” (the very first Mac laptop) which was released in 1989:

Note the bulky design compared to the early 1980s designs of the “BookMac”. It’s almost as if the BookMac was being design for technology that would exist 10 to 15 years later.

Pretty amazing stuff. In fact… I wouldn’t mind having one of those BookMacs if they were made nowadays. Not bad looking gear!

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