Car companies have no qualms about showing their to prototypes. They even present them at fairs. They are models that are never manufactured, but they attract a lot of attention.
In the electronics market, for example, the opposite happens. The prototypes are secretly kept, and once the final model is released, they are destroyed. But not always. Some published photos of a prototype of the first iPad show how Apple intended to have two connectors. One on the horizontal side, and one on the vertical. Finally, he dismissed the idea. Curious.
Images posted on Twitter this week claim to show a first prototype of the first-generation iPad. So far, nothing new. But observing in detail say photographs, it is clearly appreciated that Apple had considered placing two connectors on two sides of the device.
The images have been shared on Twitter by the user Giulio Zompetti, a collector of rare Apple devices. He publishes three images that show a prototype of the first version of the iPad, where a mysterious port located in the left side Of the device. This port appears to be just a second 30-pin connection.
Auctioned on eBay
Side port on the iPad. An idea that was finally dismissed.
One of these prototypes was auctioned at eBay in 2012, and reports over the years have indicated that Steve Jobs scrapped the double connector idea in the final phase of the iPad project.
The idea of this double connector would be to be able to attach a keyboard on either side, and thus be able to use the iPad connected to the keyboard in portrait format, or landscape format.
For some unknown reason, Apple finally dismissed this possibility, leaving the iPad only with a connector, under the start button, thus forcing the user to work with the keyboard connected in vertical format.
Currently, Apple has adopted the solution of Smart Connector, which is used to power and connect to the Smart Keyboard and Magic Keyboard in landscape mode.