Reuters: Apple’s New iPhone Will Get Smaller Dock Connector To Make Room For Headphone Jack

By

In today's forecast: Lightning!
Your new iPhone's headphone jack will be located on the bottom of the device — just like the iPod touch.

Sources familiar with Apple’s plans have revealed to Reuters that the company’s “iPhone 5” will launch with a smaller, 19-pin dock connector that will make room for a headphone jack on the bottom of the device. The move will mean that existing iPhone accessories — which use Apple’s existing 30-pin connector — won’t be compatible with the new handset.

The iPhone 5, Apple’s next generation iPhone expected to go on sale around October, will come with a 19-pin connector port at the bottom instead of the proprietary 30-pin port “to make room for the earphone moving to the bottom”, two sources familiar with the matter told Reuters.

Admittedly, this news doesn’t come as much of a surprise. Almost every rumor surrounding the new iPhone has corroborated the new connector, and we’ve even seen leaked components — including rear panels — that show just how small the port will be.

Although it isn’t a surprise, it will still be a disappointment to many. The change will mean that accessories built for Apple’s existing 30-pin connectors won’t work with the new iPhone. It’s likely, however, that the Cupertino company will build an adapter — like the MagSafe to MagSafe 2 connector — that will maintain backwards compatibility and allow the new iPhone to work with most of today’s accessories.

As we mentioned earlier this month when we took a look at the future of the dock connector, not only does this give Apple yet another source of revenue, but it also means that its relationship with accessory manufacturers isn’t tarnished as a result of a new dock connector that makes millions of products obsolete overnight.

While sources for The Wall Street Journal and Bloomberg have all thrown their iPhone 5 rumors into the hat in recent weeks, Reuters is the first mainstream publication to confirm the 19-pin dock connector specifically.

Source: Reuters

Newsletters

Daily round-ups or a weekly refresher, straight from Cult of Mac to your inbox.

  • The Weekender

    The week's best Apple news, reviews and how-tos from Cult of Mac, every Saturday morning. Our readers say: "Thank you guys for always posting cool stuff" -- Vaughn Nevins. "Very informative" -- Kenly Xavier.