30-pin dock connector

The 30-pin dock connector is a proprietary connection interface originally designed and developed by Apple Computer. It was common to older generation Apple mobile devices (original iPhone, iPod nano, iPod touch, etc.) and was discontinued on September 12, 2012 with the introduction of the Lightning connector in the iPhone 5.

History
The 30-pin dock connector was introduced with the 3rd-generation iPod in April 2003 and was adopted by most of Apple's mobile devices, with the exception of the iPod shuffle series. Originally, the 30-pin dock connector supported FireWire, then USB, some control signals and line-level audio outputs. As iPod devices evolved, so did the dock connector, such as the addition of video signals. As FireWire was phased out of the iPods in favor of USB, there was discontinuity in signals supported by subsequent dock connector cables.

The popularity of Apple's iPod and iPhone devices led to the creation of a cottage industry of 3rd-party devices that supported the 30-pin interface. However, it was phased out and replaced by the more compact Lightning (connector), which was introduced in September 2012 by Apple Inc.

Supported devices

 * iPad (1st to 3rd generation)
 * iPhone (original to 4 S )
 * iPod mini (1st and 2nd generation)
 * iPod nano (1st to 6th generation)
 * iPod touch (1st to 4th generation)