Hap Plain’s Rare Prototype Collection
Henry “Hap” Plain is an Apple collector who wants the
pieces no one has ever seen. He and a handful of others
search the world for Apple prototypes. These prototypes
are usually unfinished test models that were built to identify
glitches and user experience hang-ups before sending the
final design to the factory for mass production. All of Apple’s
computers, iPods, iPhones, and other devices start out as
crude models that need polishing up.
There can be as many as hundreds of prototypes of a
device that eventually made it to market — or fewer than 10.
Prototypes are usually encased in a distinct clear plastic,
and collectors refer to such prototypes as clear shots.
“It’s interesting to think about what hasn’t been found
yet,” said Plain, who lives in the San Francisco Bay Area
and works as a service writer for a car dealership. “There’s
always a story that goes with the prototypes, and the stories
are even cooler than the machines themselves.
“There are a couple thousand people that I call
Pokémon collectors. They have to have them all. There’s a
guy in Germany with the most insane iPod collection. But
prototype collectors — there’s less than 20.”
Collectors usually find preproduction models from two
types of people who worked for Apple. The most exciting
finds usually come from an engineer or some other member
of an Apple project team. Apple employees sometimes bring
the devices home as a keepsake and have been known to
pass them on to a collector, like Plain, if they know their little
piece of history is going to a good home. Another source may
be a person who worked for Apple as a product tester. For
example, Plain acquired a prototype of the newest version of
Apple TV from a tester overseas, who said Apple never gave
instructions to return it.
For Plain, who always enjoyed customizing Power Mac
G4 Cubes, his trip down the rabbit hole began when he
answered a Craigslist ad placed by a former Apple employee.
The employee had been gifted a device in a black carrying
case that he had kept unopened for 15 years. Inside was a
clear plastic Mac SE.
“I knew it was rare, but I wasn’t even close on how
rare it really was,” said Plain. “That one, I cherish the most
because it’s what got me started.”
03.001.03
(LEFT TOP) The Harry Potter iPod includes
audio books and bears an engraved
Hogwarts crest. PHOTO: Ivan Chernov
03.001.04
(LEFT BOTTOM) The second-generation
iPod Nano in all of its colors. PHOTO:
Nick Wellings
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