When the new iPhone is released with an all-new, totally redesigned 9-pin dock connector, even with an adapter, it’s going to throw the entire third-party iPhone accessory market into chaos. And unfortunately, it looks like Apple’s giving accessory makers no time to prepare with an early peek at the 9-pin connector. When the next iPhone debuts, it will take months for compatible accessories to be released. Sink or swim time.
iLounge reports:
After nine years of steady third-party accessory growth for its devices, Apple faces a potentially serious ecosystem disruption this year, reliable sources have confirmed to iLounge. With only two weeks remaining before the expected debut of the next-generation iPhone, Apple has not offered third-party developers the components or engineering details necessary to build docking accessories for the new device—the first iOS product expected to ship without Apple’s now-ubiquitous 30-pin Dock Connector, which will soon be replaced across all future Apple pocket and tablet devices.
iLounge seems to believe that this strategy is being employed to better allow Apple to dominate holiday sales with its own first-party iPhone accessories. I’m not so sure about that, but it does seem to imply that getting a compatible accessory for your new iPhone could be a real bitch this Christmas.
Source: iLounge
John Brownlee is a writer for Fast Company, and a contributing writer here at CoM. He has also written for Wired, Playboy, Boing Boing, Popular Mechanics, VentureBeat, and Gizmodo. He lives in Boston with his wife and two parakeets. You can follow him here on Twitter.
