Apple's New Dock Connector Even Smaller Than Originally Thought

[Nomadski]

I really really don't like speaker and mic vents of the new iPhone. Seems cheap, seriously cheap.

I find it a bit pointless to have stereo speakers both on the same side of the phone. If your listening to music with no headphones, and your phone is upside down its ok, but for anything else (Youtube, movies, games) you have it in landscape so your "stereo" sound is just coming from the right side (or only left side if you hold it that way).

Also, when you do have it in landscape there's a good chance your hand will be blocking the audio, ala Nexus 7.

I suppose it gives kids on a bus a better audio experience, which the rest of us can "enjoy"...

 

[dshan]

Micro USB Compatible?

I've been wondering for a while if Apple might make the new dock connector physically and electrically compatible with micro USB plugs (for charging only, not data). That way they'd not need an adapter to meet the EC micro USB rules for charging devices and yet would still retain all the important stuff for their own cables and licensed gear.

If that photo's legit however, it doesn't look like a micro USB plug would fit. Pity...

 

[rtdunham]

phone looks wider by a bit also...

yeah, i'd seen "rumors" that it'd be taller, and thinner, but wider? if the screen's only bigger in one dimension, i don't see why the phone would be wider.

I know some have posited the 4S is just farther away, in the photo. But the full white bottom edge of the back of the 4S seems to show, and if it were slid "down the new iPhone" so that it was farther away, I don't think that surface would show.

 

[Gdgtguru]

I find it a bit pointless to have stereo speakers both on the same side of the phone. If your listening to music with no headphones, and your phone is upside down its ok, but for anything else (Youtube, movies, games) you have it in landscape so your "stereo" sound is just coming from the right side (or only left side if you hold it that way).

Also, when you do have it in landscape there's a good chance your hand will be blocking the audio, ala Nexus 7.

I suppose it gives kids on a bus a better audio experience, which the rest of us can "enjoy"...

Has there been data to suggest the new iPhone will have stereo speakers?

 

[visualanté]

sofar noone made a comparison...so i tried

 

[skidbubble]

The bottom of that iPhone now looks too "cluttered" and less clean with the speaker grills, headphone jack and dock connector all fighting for space on the bottom of the phone. Leave the headphone jack where it was, please.

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I find it a bit pointless to have stereo speakers both on the same side of the phone. If your listening to music with no headphones, and your phone is upside down its ok, but for anything else (Youtube, movies, games) you have it in landscape so your "stereo" sound is just coming from the right side (or only left side if you hold it that way).

Also, when you do have it in landscape there's a good chance your hand will be blocking the audio, ala Nexus 7.

I suppose it gives kids on a bus a better audio experience, which the rest of us can "enjoy"...

You are not looking at two speakers on the bottom of the iPhone. Those two grills you see - one is a microphone which you talk into when making a phone call.

 

[Irock619]

Correct me if I'm wrong though.

Oh they will

 

[LizKat]

So much for doubling down on leaks.

It would be hilarious if all of this was a major red herring.

This Cook comment gets quoted on this site about 50 times a day...

Quite frankly my dear, I don't give a damn
And nor does anyone who has anything resembling a life

Apple is doubling down on leaks. It's building buzz without giving tooo much away

I can't wait to see iFixit's tear down on this phone. I want to see the insides!

Let's start with the announcement

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)

No previous leaks showed a wider body. Interesting

Why is it always these nearly unknown sites that gets "leaked" photos?

lol - It would also be hilarious (but for different reasons) if all of this was true.

This is Samsung's next phone!

Still holding on, huh? Lol...I was hoping too...But I gave up over a month ago. What we've been seeing is what we are getting. There have been ZERO leaks to suggest something else might be in the works.

I don't think I like the stretched version we've been seeing lately. But, I do have faith in Apple that this next iphone is going to be a LOT nicer then we expect. It might not be wider, but I'm still betting that it's going to be a blockbuster. Apple has too much riding on this launch with all the competition lately. iPhone is apples most important product. They are NOT going to disappoint.

Bring on September.

Yeah, that. And Mr. Cook rests his case. By leaking all sorts of stuff he has more than doubled down on secrecy. Not to mention doubling up on pre-launch buzz. I can see his keynote intro now... "We're so happy that so many people have been looking forward to their theory of what our new iPhone would be like..." What I'm really curious about is how they reward or punish component suppliers for cooperation, or lack of it, during the pre-launch rumor phase, regardless of whether the instruction is to leak, or not leak, whatever they want leaked or not leaked (as a real spec or a false one). Talk about inside baseball, baby. Who the heck knows who's on first?

 

[pepe50]

Zoom in... looks fake

 

[APlotdevice]

Surely a magnet would be strong enough to just pull the entire device with the cable instead of just popping out? A magsafe cable on a Phone/iPod seems a bit pointless.

It might not help with an iPod or iPhone, but it could protect an iPad.

 

[Thex1138]

It only impacted on the side, it didn't go in...

The port is only for data.
The phone will charge via induction..

 

[garylapointe]

I hope it isn't magnetic.. lord knows how many times the cord has saved my phone's life...

Me too! I have a lanyard that I keep for my phone so I don't worry about dropping my phone!!!!

If I'm hiking, biking, leaning over the edge to take a photo or near anything wet, it's on the lanyard so I don't drop it (again!).

Search eBay for "iphone lanyard" they're as low as 99 cents

Gary

 

[BoxerGT2.5]

One could only hope they make an adapter to allow those of us with docking stations/alarm clocks from having to buy new $100 clocks?????

 

[garylapointe]

I find it a bit pointless to have stereo speakers both on the same side of the phone. If your listening to music with no headphones, and your phone is upside down its ok, but for anything else (Youtube, movies, games) you have it in landscape so your "stereo" sound is just coming from the right side (or only left side if you hold it that way)

For some reason this makes me cRaZy on my iPad 3 but doesn't bother me at all on my iPhone 4s. Maybe just because I watch more video on my iPad than my iPhone.

Gary

 

[SactoGuy18]

The reason why the new iPhone has such a small dock connector is simple: Apple is going to cram a lot of electronics inside the case.

Imagine not only a bigger battery, but a new CPU/GPU, 3GPP LTE support, and possible NFC support. All that requires a lot of circuitry, and by using a smaller dock connector, it frees up space to make adding additional circuitry possible.

 

[showtunes00]

Headphone port

What is the reasoning behind putting the headphone port on the bottom. Too much is happening down there. If the phone is docked, then the port wont be able to be used.

 

[nevesis]

What is the reasoning behind putting the headphone port on the bottom. Too much is happening down there. If the phone is docked, then the port wont be able to be used.

Not true, take a closer look at your dock. They are equipped with a line out. Plug your headphones into that while the Phone is docked and you are able to listen the same as if they were plugged directly into the headphone jack.

 

[harlequinn]

So does Apple, as long as the other end of the cable has USB A.

The USB 3.0 B Micro Port is even harder to attach to a device than the 2.0 one and significantly larger than the smaller Dock Connector.
http://www.coolgear.com/images/USB3-MAMB.jpg

What's wrong with a Micro Mag Safe Dock Connector that comes with USB 3.0? It's easy to attach and you only have to have the cable with you in order to charge it with any USB-charger or computer.

The standard says you need a Micro USB B port on one end and USB A on the other, or a power brick straight into a Micro USB B port. So as far as I can see an USB A port would not be in compliance.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Common_External_Power_Supply

It does say you can use an adaptor from a proprietary plug to a Micro USB B plug, which is what Apple currently uses for compliance.

The USB 3.0 port looks no harder to attach a device to than any other port. Maybe your idea of difficulty is different than mine.

Although there is nothing intrinsically wrong with Apple ports, they are a pain in the arse. I don't want to carry a cable with me. I want a universal charging solution. I want every device (including non-computing devices) to have the same charing port.

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Well in the first instance the dock connector is 2x USB 2.0 ports
One for charging and data connection to the host computer. Sure data syncing is mostly wireless but still needed for some sticky situations.
the second is a USB host port for the phone to talk to accessory devices.

If they want to retain the ability to connect an accessory and a host computer at the same time then they need at keep both ports. So at least 9 pins.

I did not know that. Although I can't think of a situation when an accessory and host computer are connected simultaneously. Example?

Still, they could use Bluetooth + Micro USB , 802.11x + Micro USB or two Micro USB ports to achieve this.

 

[Mr23]

Not from factory...

There are a couple of details that are not very convincing here:

1. the phone's left side, close to headphone jack, is dented, showing a kind of soft material.

2. the speakers "holes" are too big compared than those on the actual Ipad.

3. Looking closer at the holes, you can notice a lack of precision around their edge.

Conclusion: The picture may showing a nice "homemade" work, made with a not professional cutting machine and probability based on the iPhone 5 leaked design....if this it's real as well

I'm hoping for radical design change from Apple...we deserve it!!!

 

[Sir Ruben]

I think your quick mock makes a very good case for the new phone being wider. Backed up by the end-on shot that unless shot with an incredibly wide angle lens is clearly wider.

Maybe Sir Ruben's sudden withdrawal from all width-based discussion is a form of admission that his slightly patronising posturing was in fact, wrong

As it goes, I stopped posting after pointing out that the watermarked link on the pic leads to more pics (from different angles) showing the width is exactly the same. Once I saw further replies along the lines of "I still think it looks wider" I gave up lol

 

[showtunes00]

Not true, take a closer look at your dock. They are equipped with a line out. Plug your headphones into that while the Phone is docked and you are able to listen the same as if they were plugged directly into the headphone jack.

Yeah that is true thanks. On the apple dock. But not on all third party docks, which I have.

 

[Zunjine]

sofar noone made a comparison...so i tried

I think it looks good. People are being rather melodramatic about this whole 'tall' iPhone thing. It's, what. 1.5 cm taller or something? After a few moments with the phone you'd have stopped noticing the difference.

 

[donnaw]

MagSafe

I don't have an Apple computer is I've never actually seen a MagSafe in real life but from what I've seen in some pics I think it is like the charger I have on my HP Veer. In fact, my Veer uses the same type connector to attach the headphone jack (it's a little magnetic connector with the jack hole on the other end).. This isn't a good option though because it can be pulled lose with not too much of a pull. I never use it though since I don't listen to music on my phone.

The magnets are certainly strong enough. I can pick up my phone by the cable and it won't let lose so it certainly wouldn't 'save' my phone if I tripped over the cord. In fact it would send the phone flying. Of course my little Veer is probably a bit lighter than an iPhone but not much.

However, as a charging use I love it much more than any I have ever used. So easy to connect. No worries about 'junk' getting lodged on the opening, etc. I think that type of charger would be nice. I wasn't planning on an iPhone when I upgrade this fall but this might be enough to sway me in my selection.

 

[tekno]

MicroUSB is much more limited than Apple's Dock connector. It's great for charging and basic data transfer, but not for much more.

Could someone expain the extra features afforded by Apple's connector rather than USB?

 

[juannacho]

As it goes, I stopped posting after pointing out that the watermarked link on the pic leads to more pics (from different angles) showing the width is exactly the same. Once I saw further replies along the lines of "I still think it looks wider" I gave up lol

Hehe! To be honest I was being mildly antagonistic myself It looks pretty likely that the phone is physically the same width.

I guess the only question is whether they've squeezed a little more screen width in via a thinner edge bezel. Which looks equally unlikely seeing the pictures of the supposed new front glass.

Shame phones are proving so tardy with their edge-to edge tech! TV's have in the last year or so gone utterly mental in how thin their borders are...