Original Macintosh inspires 3D-printed Mac Studio & iPad mini dock

Inspired by the 1984 Macintosh, designer and YouTuber Scott Yu-Jan decided to see if he could find a way to make use of his underutilized iPad mini while at his desk. He settled on creating a dock for his Mac Studio that would use the iPad mini as a secondary screen.

The video shows his design process as he quickly comes up with ideas for what the dock can do. After scrapping a few he deems unrealistic — including a pair of cupholders in the back — he finally chooses his design.

The final design slides over the top of the Mac studio and features a slot that holds the iPad where the screen on the 1984 Macintosh would go. It has a pop-out hook to keep his headphones and an eject button to easily retrieve the iPad.

The back of the enclosure features a storage drawer he uses to store external SSDs, with an alternative one to hold hard drives.

He notes that using the iPad mini for a secondary monitor has some big benefits. He shows it being used to watch YouTube, control Spotify, and quickly jot down ideas with the Apple Pencil.

If you're interested in printing your own, Yu-Jan offers the design to his YouTube channel members.

This isn't the first time we've seen something from Yu-Jan, either. Previously he designed a portable iMac Mini. In that build, the YouTuber utilizes an iPad mini and a custom 3D-printed enclosure to house a Mac mini.