Apple's latest product is a $300 coffee table book

Apple's latest product isn't a new iPhone or laptop. It isn't even a computer.

It's a new hardbound book called "Designed by Apple in California." The glossy picture book looks back at some of Apple's iconic designs, like the original iPhone or the first Apple Watch.

"The idea of genuinely trying to make something great for humanity was Steve's motivation from the beginning, and it remains both our ideal and our goal as Apple looks to the future," said Jony Ive, Apple's chief design officer said in a press release.

"This archive is intended to be a gentle gathering of many of the products the team has designed over the years. We hope it brings some understanding to how and why they exist, while serving as a resource for students of all design disciplines," he said.

The foreword is written by Ive, too. Here's an excerpt:

"While this is a design book, it is not about the design team, the creative process, or product development. It is an objective representation of our work that, ironically, describes who we are. It describes how we work, our values, our preoccupations, and our goals. We have always hoped to be defined by what we do rather than by what we say.

We strive, with varying degrees of success, to define objects that appear effortless. Objects that appear so simple, coherent, and inevitable that there could be no rational alternative."

It looks like a handsome book. Its pages are gilded with silver, it's bound with linen, and is published by Apple. It comes in two sizes, small, with is about the size of an A4 piece of paper, and costs $199.

The large is 13-inches by 16.25-inches and it costs $299.

Apple says that it was developed over an eight-year period, and it is dedicated to former CEO Steve Jobs.

It goes on sale at some Apple Stores on Wednesday. The complete list of retail locations is on Apple's website.