Photos of prototype 5G Apple iPhone 12 Pro reveal a couple of major changes from the final version

A tweet recently disseminated from a Twitter subscriber by the name of Giulio Zompetti (@1nsave_dev) included a couple of images of an Apple iPhone 12 Pro prototype. The first thing we should address is the version of the well-received Pacific Blue color option used with the prototype. Unless it is due to the low-lighting, the Pacific Blue used on the prototype seems darker than the way this color looks on the final version of the hue on the iPhone 12 Pro.

Looking at the picture on the left side of the tweet, you'll notice that the icons look different. In fact, that is because the prototype pictured is not running iOS but is running SwitchBoard. The latter is a non-UI version of iOS 14. Apple uses SwitchBoard for internal development and it is not available for consumer use. That, of course, makes it very much in demand by hackers who use it searching for vulnerabilities that can be exploited. Both SwitchBoard and iOS can be installed simultaneously.

Pacific Blue #prototype iPhone 12Pro,
running a factory operative system called SwitchBoard, which is a nonUI variant of our well known iOS 14.1.#AppleCollection#AppleInternal#iPhone12Propic.twitter.com/yvEL30jZQl

— Giulio Zompetti (@1nsane_dev) January 13, 2021

The traditional default version of the iPhone's iOS home page is called SpringBoard. Switchboard is loaded with diagnostic apps and utilities that are generally not available to the public and are often named using pop culture references. As we pointed out, SwitchBoard is used for internal development by Apple but occasionally a consumer will end up with an iPhone running it. This occurs when a unit being used for internal development by Apple is accidentally not returned to factory settings before a consumer gets his or her hands on it.