The ‘golden path,’ hidden Wi-Fi & cellular tricks behind the iPhone presentation ten years ago.

This isn’t some weird exception. This is how most corporate demos are, almost without exception. The reason is that generally products are demoed 12-24 months before they are anywhere near ready. Often, they aren’t even in alpha status yet. Good, bad, whatever — that’s just the way it is.

Apple’s iPhone demo actually had more working than a lot of product demos do. Many are little more than a simulation of what might work one day, while the iPhone demo had actual working hardware and software — it just wasn’t that stable.