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Apple's New Dock Connector with 8 Pins? Cross-Device Integration via Bluetooth 4.0?

drummingcraig said:
Really interesting idea and it would make a lot of sense. The reason why so many folks (myself included) had issues with their home buttons on the current iPhones is because of debris getting into the bottom of the phone via the dock connector. The type of connector you described above would certainly help to alleviate that issue.
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Hah. I was given a second-hand iPhone 4 (to replace my old 3G whose dock socket had become blocked by some kind of debris in there), only to find the 4 had a dodgy Home button. I didn't realise that could be caused by the same socket issue.

I guess that's now 2 reasons to prefer a magnetic connector! ;) I wonder if they did so, and had a magnetic connector for the headphones, would that make it easier to make a water-proof iPhone?
 
pgiguere1 said:
That's not the same. iMessage only works with iOS devices and Macs and they're technically not text messages, they're data just like an email.

What he's talking about is the phone still being the host and receiving texts/phone calls but redirecting them to your Mac via Bluetooth.

That would actually be awesome and much more useful than iMessage, as long as your phone is in range of your computer, which mine is not always when I'd want such a feature.
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I suggested something similar months ago, but Apple will have to better figure out headset issues unless you're only going to talk to people on speakerphone or be willing to move a wired headset around from phone to laptop or iPad.

I integrated as much as I could between iphone and mba, using imessage and Skype, but it would be really great to simply answer my cell phone on my computer and talk using my bt headset, with said headset being able to swap connections between phone and computer or phone and ipad.

Or maybe the better solution would be to integrate cell radios into laptops/desktops (iMac) and iPad with some sort of swapping feature.

Maybe I should patent the idea...
 
MacRumors said:
[...] "potentially" including the ability to mate devices with docks and cables in either orientation, eliminating the need to determine which side of the cable is the front before connecting. [...]
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Don't you mean "which side of the cable is up"?

Most (if not all) 30-pin iOS device cables I've seen have a USB connector at one end and the proprietary 30-pin iPod dock connector at the other end. What advantage would there be to docking two iOS devices directly? None I'd guess.

On the other hand, I think it would be a nice improvement if we weren't forced to look at the connector to determine which side is "up" before plugging it in. If you use an iPod / iPhone / iPad dock, it's not so critical. But if you plug your docking cable right into your device, there's no tactile indication of up / down on either end of the cable. You have to look first, and looking could be hard if it's dark.

And how would Apple make an orientation-independent dock connector work?
With magnetic coding to indicate which way it was plugged in:

http://www.patentlyapple.com/patent...es-us-to-the-wild-world-of-coded-magnets.html

Briefly, the patent covers all manner of magnet arrangements at all distances. But I think the real benefit would be to detect which way, up or down, a MagSafe connector is attached. The magnets would hold the connector and the device together, and the arrangement of the magnets (whether by polarity or magnetic field strength) would indicate which way the plug was attached. Then the device could configure itself to use the appropriate data / power pins to match the connector's orientation.

Easy and natural for the end-user. Tricky for Apple (and any potential copycat.)
 
Virtualball said:
This could possibly lead to answering text messages/phone calls on your laptop instead of having to look around the room for your phone or pull it out in public. Epic.
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I am already liking the iMessage app, but can't wait until all my mobile contacts, not just iOS users, can be answered while on my Mac.
 
Zunjine said:
I find this "same old design" thing a bit confusing.
The new iPhone will be thinner, have a larger screen, a different placement for the headphone jack and new grills, a new doc connector and be made from different materials. How much more "different" do people want?!
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It's simple really. Even though the upcoming phone does have the differences you noted, it's still the same basic form factor. A rectangular shape with rounded corners, flat on the front and back. A rather featureless design.

A three year old design, I know Apple is capable of a far more attractive shape than this one. After all, that's what all the bragging is about when they talk of J. Ive, Apple's world class designer.

For example, the iPhone 3GS of the past had a very nice convex back with compound curves that fit ones hand very nicely. Surely if Apple were willing to part with some of their money for R&D, they could deliver a very stunning, ergonomically superior phone.
 
garylapointe said:
BlueTooth 4 is how Apple is going to implement the NFC communication for shopping.Gary
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Complete and utter nonsense, Apple will use NFC to implement NFC. :rolleyes:

NFC is an existing standard of it's own and has nothing whatsoever to do with Bluetooth. It's not even technically similar.
 
NT1440 said:
Come on man, do some research. I've been following both of these for over a year now: iWatch, Pebble, inPulse, etc...

These are shipping products.
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iWatch - still a proof of concept.
Pebble - website says 'Pre-order' for early 2013. Doesn't seem available to me.
inPulse and WIMM - developer models only

I still don't see how these are products I can go into a Target and buy.
 
bbeagle said:
iWatch - still a proof of concept.
Pebble - website says 'Pre-order' for early 2013. Doesn't seem available to me.
inPulse and WIMM - developer models only

I still don't see how these are products I can go into a Target and buy.
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Ah, I stand corrected. I've been looking at these for so long now that I've forgotten that while available, most are still developer only.

:eek:

Thanks for keeping me honest.
 
bbeagle said:
This is not available yet.

There is no over-the-counter wristwatch that can pair with a phone available today.

Just because you can dream up something does not mean that you can make a working version. These are two different things.

I guess that when cell phones become small enough for wrist watches, and they're actually produced, the cartoonist who invented Dick Tracy should get all the royalties? :rolleyes:
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I seem to recall a PalmOS wrist watch from years ago: http://www.palminfocenter.com/view_story.asp?ID=7462

So, yeah, working years ago. 7 years lets you add a hi-res colour screen and better connectivity.
 
boshii said:
There is none IMO. It works on the MBP because no data gets transferred through the cable.

Imagine the damage that could be done by accidentally pulling the magsafe cable out of your iPhone in the middle of a sync.
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Well.... I can't tell you the last time I plugged my phone into my Mac to sync it. With iTunes Match, iCloud, and wireless syncing I just do not see the need. Everything is on my phone when I need it. I can't tell you the last time that I had to plug my phone in to grab anything.

The only use my 30 pin connector gets is for charging or am I the only one who embraced the "PC FREE" era ?
 
Bluetooth 4 could solve a lot of headaches caused by the rapid changes in design that Apple is notorious for. My new iO dock and stereo dock will be rendered useless by new dock connectors. But if those docks simply held my iOS devices (like a stand) without a physical connector and transmitted data via Bluetooth, the docks could work with nearly any Bluetooth device. That would potentially give accessories a longer useful life.
 
NT1440 said:
Ah, I stand corrected. I've been looking at these for so long now that I've forgotten that while available, most are still developer only.

:eek:

Thanks for keeping me honest.
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If I'm wrong, let me know too.

I want one badly - but it's got to interface with iOS somehow.
 
commander.data said:
Now that USB3.0 is finally built into Macs, has their been any rumours that the new Dock Connector will support USB3.0 transfers? Smaller size, fewer pins, and dual orientation are all good features, but USB3.0 support is the most important for me.
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Given this move for a "next generation" dock connector, I wouldn't be surprised if they offered both a USB3.0 and a Thunderbolt option.
 
I am not that happy with the new connector. Ofcourse they will do this for many reasons although one of the most advantages of the iPhone and iPad is that I can use the connector for my iPad, iPhone and iPod. It is so easy because those adapters are laying around the house so I don't have to carry the adapters al the time..
 
bbeagle said:
If I'm wrong, let me know too.

I want one badly - but it's got to interface with iOS somehow.
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Check out some of the patents regarding the nano that have come out in the last few years. ;)
 
Magnets in the dock connector? Not sure how I feel about that since I tend to keep other metal objects (read: keys) in my pockets along with my phone.

"Magnets, how do they work?"
 
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