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Apple's New Dock Connector Even Smaller Than Originally Thought
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Why on earth are people presuming that this connection has Magsafe? Just because it has a 'ring' on the out edge?
If it was Magsafe then the 'ring' would be recessed to actually allow the plug to sit inside and attract.
The 'ring' is just a standard housing to actually hold the component within the phone, because the new plug won't use latches like the old 30-pin connector. Think of the old Cinema Display ports.
My, what a load of fuss over nothing. I sometimes wonder if these people actually have any logic at all... Why would Apple even consider a Magsafe connection when the device being protected, a small phone, would get knocked off easily anyway? Why pass data through a connection that snaps off easier than a plug (thus increasing the likelihood of connection loss and errors)?
If it was Magsafe then the 'ring' would be recessed to actually allow the plug to sit inside and attract.
The 'ring' is just a standard housing to actually hold the component within the phone, because the new plug won't use latches like the old 30-pin connector. Think of the old Cinema Display ports.
My, what a load of fuss over nothing. I sometimes wonder if these people actually have any logic at all... Why would Apple even consider a Magsafe connection when the device being protected, a small phone, would get knocked off easily anyway? Why pass data through a connection that snaps off easier than a plug (thus increasing the likelihood of connection loss and errors)?
Good point, but it's slanted, meaning the metal band is still wider than the panels. We haven't really seen detailed measurements of the rumored metal band.
Ok, here's some crazy talk...
How about in order to comply with European mandates, this new hole is compatabile with micro-USB for charging only. And also compatible with Apple's new proprietary cord for full charge/sync/input/output functioning?
Just making stuff up ...
How about in order to comply with European mandates, this new hole is compatabile with micro-USB for charging only. And also compatible with Apple's new proprietary cord for full charge/sync/input/output functioning?
Just making stuff up ...
A hybrid connector would be pretty clever, and since all we can see is a dark opening, we have no idea how the pin design looks. I've got a microUSB cable sitting right here ... hmmm, the Apple cable would need to have all the non-USB pins located around the outside with the USB portion in the center:
AAA
USB
AAA
Er, or something like that
Not totally crazy from a design standpoint, but I think Apple's compliance is more like "here's a ********** adapter ... enjoy" 
Yeah, I just saw that. So this looks different than the previous sized shells. I hope this bigger one is it. I felt the 4" phone display was going to be too narrow.
The old dock connector has been used since, what, 2003? I understand your sentiments, but do you really want to be using 2003 tech indefinitely?
Yeah, based on that design, compared to the 4, it's _much_ wider (you know, in the context of a smartphone).
I can't imagine them increasing the width without some other major component needing the width as well, i.e., the display.
I suppose they might do it just for design sake, but that would wind up increasing the bezel size (which they seem to be moving towards decreasing).
It's very possible that Apple's been experimenting with multiple sizes, and that one of them was axed in favor of the other. Perhaps they saw all the negative feedback and decided to make it wider? It would also allow them to fit a bigger battery.
They're capable of it. They did after all change the original iPhone from plastic to glass just 6 weeks before launch.
Or they might be selling multiple sizes this time around (I doubt it)
I hope that picture is real, it looks wider... COME ON BABY. not this just taller business.
The laptops charge faster because Apple uses a bigger power supply on them. An 85W charger will charge something a hell of a lot quicker than a 10W charger. It doesn't need to be a magsafe connector for them to make it carry more power. But 10W is already pushing it for USB.
I really hope they don't have magsafe. Because then that'll mean no aftermarket cables, period. And with how easily Apple cables tend to destroy themselves, that'd be a major cost increase for a lot of us.
From this same set of pics, here is one of the front of the phone, looks to me like the bezel is nearly the same proportional width as it is on the current models.
For me, these pics today showing the wider iPhone (complete with FCC markings and a delightfully proportionally larger Apple icon) look the most legit out of anything published so far.
I'm sensing some denial around here that these photos do indeed depict a wider new iPhone than the other leaked pics-- it's like everyone convinced themselves to live with that awkward, long-ish design and now this breath of fresh air is being lost on them, no offense intended!
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Laptops charge at a higher rate because they are able to. The iPad will not draw more than 10W, the iPhone, 5W. Doesn't matter if you supply 85W it will not be used. Presumably this is partly due to the rather tiny connectors and wires used in the dock connector.
The power connector on a laptop can presumably handle more current than the dock connector.
Moreover while USB standard might be limited in current there is nothing to prevent Apple from including, say, a 20W charger for iOS devices. That is similar to how the iPad charger can deliver more current than many available USB ports can/could deliver.
So I think applesith's point was that if current limitation was the dock connector, that limitation might be raised with the new connector (Magsafe or not).
Michael
Exactly, people are acting as though all magnets are the same strength.
If you used a magnet weak enough to not take the phone with it if pulled, it would be so weak that the cord would fall out inf you used your phone while charging.
Charging rate will depend on the voltage and the size of the battery itself. The iPad's battery is larger than early MacBook airs - when it's depleted, it would likely be able to draw more current if it were available. Similarly, the iPhone does charge (slightly) faster when connected to an iPad charger.
The connections themselves probably are not built to handle much more than 2A though. That's not to say they wouldn't "try" - but it wouldn't be reliable for very long.
The connector is not the limiting factor though. The fact that the charger is USB-based is the problem. Remember the connector used to allow for firewire charging - which allows for more voltage and current than USB. Had they kept firewire charging, we'd proabbly be able to push 35Wh into the iPad no problem.
Oh, it's thinner. Even from the awkward angle which would give the iPhone5 a more than thicker representation, I'm still getting about an 11% reduction in thickness. If the photo was shot level, we'd see a closer representation of the 18% reduction in thickness.
As for wider, looking at the other photos on the website, it does look to be wider.
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Umm... Magsafe?
A magsafe power cord would be strong enough to pull the whole phone off a counter. Then no doubt the force of the phone falling would break the connection and SMASH your phone colides with the ground.
You don't know the number of times my phone was actually saved by its power cord. My phone likes to bungee jump...
A magsafe power cord would be strong enough to pull the whole phone off a counter. Then no doubt the force of the phone falling would break the connection and SMASH your phone colides with the ground.
You don't know the number of times my phone was actually saved by its power cord. My phone likes to bungee jump...
oh well, I am so disappointed because we could already throw away the whole connector and have one less hole
why not charging by induction and transferring data wirelessly?
I expect Apple to be the first ones releasing a phone without connector. I just wonder why they have not yet done so
Probably because induction chargers are *horrifically* inefficient. For example, your typical wall-wart is about 50-70% efficient. (Apple's are near the upper end of that, and in some cases better.) An induction charger is more often in the area of 25-40% efficient.
Yes, because using a magnet to temporarily attach something has never been done before Apple did it.
Not for a charging cable as far as I'm aware.
Apple has pretty solid patents on MagSafe. I don't think Samsung would attempt to copy it - no one else has so far, which probably means their lawyers have advised them there's no way to copy it w/o using ideas from the patent.
