A Mac mini prototype with a dock connector for iPod

Recently, a collector shared images of a rather unique Mac mini: it integrates a 30-pin dock connector for an iPod nano. If you’ve been around here for a while, you’ll know that this kind of model was already known.

It’s a Mac mini G4 (2005) with a 30-pin dock connector for an iPod nano (the iPhone didn’t exist yet). The shape of the slot prevents using another iPod model, even if the connector is the same, and it doesn’t seem tailored to accommodate a universal dock. Apparently, Apple had long planned this integration: the daughterboard that manages storage on the Mac mini contains traces of the port in the commercial version. At the time, it was only connected to FireWire, so the lifespan of this connector would have been quite short: Apple quickly abandoned FireWire synchronization.