Apple to Provide Adapter for Smaller iPhone Dock Connector

[benji888]

Again, don't freak out people!

"While the Apple Dock Connector has lasted almost a decade without a significant design change, it’s one of the bulkiest components of an iPhone or iPad. That makes the Dock Connector a big bottleneck when it comes to slimming down future iPhones and iPads and giving them better battery life. After nine years, it’s in Apple’s vested interest to make a smaller, better Dock Connector."

"A full eight pins on the 30 Pin Dock Connector are dedicated to maintaining Firewire compatibility. The only problem is that Apple has abandoned Firewire in favor of USB 2, Thunderbolt and now USB 3. It’s pretty much a dead technology. All of those pins can be reclaimed without impacting consumers or accessory makers (except in extremely marginal cases)."

"That’s not all. We’ve also highlighted pins 8, 9 and 10, which seem to exist only to provide pretty marginal video-out functionality to a handful of iPods. Between both the Firewire pins and the legacy video-out pins, we can easily shave 11 pins off of a 30-Pin Apple Dock Connector, leaving just 19 pins total."

from: http://www.cultofmac.com/178093/the-future-of-apples-dock-connector-feature/

Also check these:
http://www.imore.com/apple-ready-ditch-traditional-dock-connector
http://www.zdnet.com/blog/apple/seven-reasons-im-glad-apples-killing-the-dock-connector/13150

 

[RobertMartens]

Honestly, how on Earth is this front-page news?

I agree, I wish they would just not publish anything at all.

 

[someguy9]

I just hope it isn't as flimsy as micro-usb, that's why I like the big connector, it doesn't seem like it's about to snap off in your phone

 

[CFreymarc]

IMO this is one of the biggest blunders Apple has done since the cubical Mac.

There are literally thousands of accessories that are molded to fit with the nine year old 30-pin dock. Mechanically and ascetically, there is no reason for this. Steve wouldn't have allowed this.

One of the death nails that Palm did was changing their connector every two to three years. Many accessory companies (I owned one of them) simply gave up on supporting the new connectors when they came out and moved to other platforms.

I see nothing that changing this connector will do to help them nor the developers.

 

[aristotle]

Obviously it's a rough finish.... That is the new iPhone. Get over it.

Says who? You? Did you forget about the tear drop design that so many people were "sure" would be the iPhone after the iPhone 4? Did you forget about all of the case makers who made the wrong case? Did you forget about all of the case makers who made the wrong case for the iPad 1?

It looks like a chinese clone to me. There were similar "clones" on the chinese market prior to the iPhone 4 release. It's called industrial espionage. They get some details of the new model right but obviously not all of the details simply because Apple is now clamping down on secrecy. It is also possible that it is a false flag operation decoy to root out the leakers in the Apple organization similar to the breakout box that never came out as a real product.

I'm not questioning whether there will be a longer display but I am questioning whether this is a legitimate part or the part of a knock off/decoy.

Maybe you need to get over it and stop believing rumours as if they were fact.

@benji888: The only people freaking out are those who believe this to be a genuine part.

 

[newyorksole]

Says who? You? Did you forget about the tear drop design that so many people were "sure" would be the iPhone after the iPhone 4? Did you forget about all of the case makers who made the wrong case? Did you forget about all of the case makers who made the wrong case for the iPad 1?

It looks like a chinese clone to me. There were similar "clones" on the chinese market prior to the iPhone 4 release. It's called industrial espionage. They get some details of the new model right but obviously not all of the details simply because Apple is now clamping down on secrecy. It is also possible that it is a false flag operation decoy to root out the leakers in the Apple organization similar to the breakout box that never came out as a real product.

I'm not questioning whether there will be a longer display but I am questioning whether this is a legitimate part or the part of a knock off/decoy.

Maybe you need to get over it and stop believing rumours as if they were fact.

@benji888: The only people freaking out are those who believe this to be a genuine part.

This isn't about case makers. This about leaked hardware from Apple's assembly line.

We didn't see Chinese clone iPhone 4s until after the phone got lost at the bar.

Several websites got a hold of the actual physical casing of the new iPhone and before that it was said that it would adopt a smaller dock connector, metal back middle plate etc

I just don't want people being disappointed. How often does Apple COMPLETELY surprise us? It's been a WHILE. They're not gonna pull a tear-drop aluminum back iPhone out of their ass. They don't need to. A taller iPhone with 4G/LTE, 4" screen, bigger speaker/microphone, repositioned headphone jack etc will be released. Guaranteed.

 

[aristotle]

This isn't about case makers. This about leaked hardware from Apple's assembly line.
.

There is no leaked hardware. We have not seen a part of the alleged small dock connector. It is simply a backplate that could be a decoy given to an apple employee as a trap or even just simply a part from an iPhone clone. You seem to have a short memory but I don't have the energy to "google" that for you so you will have to do it yourself. Any adult should be capable of doing a few simple google searches if they are actually looking for answers.

There were alleged parts in the past that turned out to be parts from a knock off instead of the genuine article.

You speak with such certainty and yet we have not seen any actual parts.

 

[D-Dave]

So if they are going to go to all the trouble to change the old 30-pin connector, why not just use a micro-USB connector in its place? I don't get it...

Well, that one is simple to answer...revenue!
USB-Standard is basicaly a free for all Connection (not sure if there is any licensing fee at all) whereas the current 30-pin (and most likely the next connection) is proprietary and anyone using it has to pay apple for doing so.

In other words, apple makes money of every cable, speaker, dock that uses the 30-pin connector (1$ for charging only (and most likely cables) and 4$ for "extended use" like data and music) i guess that adds up pretty nicely

So NOT using USB = $$$ for Apple

 

[Rafterman]

And whatever you do Apple, make sure you DON'T use the even smaller and more capable mini USB, like every other phone maker on the planet does and a cable that everybody already has 15 of. Make sure you DO use a proprietary, expensive cable and expensive adapters for the also expensive, proprietary cables we were forced to buy the first time around if we dared to want any spares.

 

[newyorksole]

There is no leaked hardware. We have not seen a part of the alleged small dock connector. It is simply a backplate that could be a decoy given to an apple employee as a trap or even just simply a part from an iPhone clone. You seem to have a short memory but I don't have the energy to "google" that for you so you will have to do it yourself. Any adult should be capable of doing a few simple google searches if they are actually looking for answers.

There were alleged parts in the past that turned out to be parts from a knock off instead of the genuine article.

You speak with such certainty and yet we have not seen any actual parts.

normally people would provide links. I did a search for "part leaks turn out for iPhone clone" ... "iPhone clone parts" etc and nothing

9 times out of 10 the part leaks are for the actual device.. Not only did we get the backplate, but we got some of the internal wiring

 

[AuburnApple]

And whatever you do Apple, make sure you DON'T use the even smaller and more capable mini USB, like every other phone maker on the planet does and a cable that everybody already has 15 of. Make sure you DO use a proprietary, expensive cable and expensive adapters for the also expensive, proprietary cables we were forced to buy the first time around if we dared to want any spares.

Rather than rehash what has been said about miniUSB vs Apple's proprietary solution for the millionth time, I suggest you go back and read some of the thread. miniUSB may be smaller, but it's in no way more capable than Apple's proprietary solution. miniUSB gives you cheap phone chargers and a smaller connector, but Apple's connector is way more useful and functional. Also, I'm not sure where you get that people are forced to buy expensive Apple cables and adapters, but last time I checked there are tons of dirt cheap Apple cables and chargers out there. Not to mention the multitude of inexpensive docks, speakers, and accesories out there for that "horrible" Apple connector.

 

[John.B]

And whatever you do Apple, make sure you DON'T use the even smaller and more capable mini USB, like every other phone maker on the planet does and a cable that everybody already has 15 of. Make sure you DO use a proprietary, expensive cable and expensive adapters for the also expensive, proprietary cables we were forced to buy the first time around if we dared to want any spares.

$3.25 plus shipping:

 

[MagnusVonMagnum]

If they can afford a $300 + speaker they can afford a $20 adaptor.

Then I guess you won't mind paying for mine since money grows on trees and you just give it away???

You do know that Apple makes MILLIONS off those $20 adapters, right? But that's OKAY. People can "afford" them, so they should just hand they're money over to ANYONE that wants to make them buy adapters and dongles all day long.

 

[JAT]

Because low voltage is harder to transfer than high voltage?

No because many pins of miscellaneous usage (some data) are missing if you move from 19 to 30 pins.

See other posts since yours. USB data would still be there. Frankly, that's all we really need these days. It isn't 2003 anymore.

What if you had $5000 and used it on stuff, including speakers, but now those speakers don't work with the new iPhone?

Well, that would be bad. But other than the physical dock shape, it shouldn't be a problem.

Spending .25% of your system price to allow it to function with the latest technology at a later date isn't out of line. It's a drop in the bucket.

But not sure what $5000 system consists of a set of speakers that directly connects to the iPhone and costs $300.

I don't think he said "$5000 speakers".

And whatever you do Apple, make sure you DON'T use the even smaller and more capable mini USB, like every other phone maker on the planet does and a cable that everybody already has 15 of. Make sure you DO use a proprietary, expensive cable and expensive adapters for the also expensive, proprietary cables we were forced to buy the first time around if we dared to want any spares.

I have "15" of both. Paid for probably...1? Now, the Samsung proprietary 30-pin connector, that I only have 1 of. The kid better not lose/break it.

I just don't see the point of the new dock connector at all unless they add something useful to it like digital audio.

One, I doubt it will be taken away, the HDMI compatibility will likely stay in the rumored 19-pin connector.
Two, if Apple does switch to microUSB, USB is also digital, and plenty cheap to put in a $300 speaker system for compatibility with far more phones than just iPhone.

For God's sake, people, get a grip.

Amen!

 

[coolspot18]

Apple should switch to a USB connector.

 

[Mad-B-One]

That's why I said the bit about upgrading the I/O capabilities too.

I know. +1 for your post. I wasn't clear on that but I actually meant to support your fact. It seems that for a couple of more years, USB3.0 will be still faster than the internal memory and therefore absolutely sufficient. The bottleneck will be other components. Just gave it some numbers. Cheers!

----------

I was replying about an image showing the adapter. Look at it, and you'll see what I'm talking about. The audio jack is connected with the small dock connector to the big one, suggesting that audio does not go through the small one at all.

That is a mock-up. No telling how it will look like. Apple could leave the audio out of the 19-pin connector though if they standardize the distance between audio jack and connector jack. That is all speculation. I doubt it though. Apple is pushing higher quality sound and the jack only gives you stereo out (speakers) plus mono in (microphone). I'm somewhat confident that the 19 pins will include digital out for surround sound etc. - but we will only be able to speculate until they officially present it or some details from 3rd parties emerge. Even if they have digital audio I/O on the dock connector, they might make that backwards compatible as analog I/O. That is specualtion as well. In my eyes, the headphone jack on the mockup is thought to be a stabilizer since the port itself is rather small. It might not have any I/O function at all if it comes this way. It just makes sure that the phone and connector do not break. Again, we can only speculate on how Apple will do it.

 

[Mad-B-One]

$3.25 plus shipping:

Image

Yes they are cheap, and I can burry you with them. We have 2 iPhones, 2 iPads, 1 iPod Touch, and 2 car chargers. Btw: The car chargers were about $10 and $20 each including the cable and do 10A for the iPads. So, how many cables do you have to buy extra? I have 7 cables - one in both cars, one at work, leaving 4 at the house. In 2 years, it will be the same with the new standard, I'm sure. Extra costs: Probably not even $10 - man, they will get me bankrupt!

 

[Bezetos]

Great, so I will be able to use a dock connector adapter to connect my HDMI adapter to connect a HDMI cable to my TV screen...

 

[MagnusVonMagnum]

Apple should switch to a USB connector.

Of course they should. Micro-USB3 would be perfect for the job, but Apple wants to sell you zillions of propriety cables for $$$$ so they have ZERO interest in supporting the USB standard for iOS devices. Frankly, it would have been better if they had kept the Firewire connector. At least then you could get a cheap cable instead of $20 for a stinking cheap-o cable that breaks at end all the time. Apple make a killing on these cables and licensing adapters and docks and YOU pay for them.

But hey, if you can afford an Apple product, you can afford to get ripped off by them on dongles, adapters, cables and docks! -So sayeth the fanboy

 

[east85]

Image

Doesn't look bad.

Nah, it doesn't look that bad.

 

[iBreatheApple]

Called it.

 

[unplugme71]

No it isn't. At least not in the US Apple store. $9.99 is what I paid, and $9.99 is what they show online.

I wasn't referring to the mag safe adapter for $9.99

 

[jmggs]

Changing the connector is not a good thing and the standard is ok. No reason to change it and is not evolution!

This will break with a industry standard of many hardware.
Apple have this kind of costume to remove and remove connections. and we have to cary a bunch of adapters to use in real word. (display port to DVI, Display port HDMI, USB to ethernet and so on....)

Simplifiy all! if they want to change change to a good and standard connections like to a mini-usb and a hdmi port!

Some day they change the power plug lol

 

[b3ats]

New peripheral?

I wonder if Apple will create a low cost peripheral that connects to a regular dock connector that provides said connector with Airplay functionality through it's use of external power?

I think that would be pretty awesome and would make every audio dock Airplay compatible. No need to worry about balancing your new phone (or even more worryingly a large 10" redesigned iPad if they introduce one with the new connector) on an adaptor that doesn't secure the product very well and could potentially lead to broken devices due to them falling.