While there is nothing definite yet about the upcoming iPhone 5, there is strong evidence for one particular rumor to be true. Reuters has reported that Apple will be releasing the iPhone 5 and other upcoming iDevices from the 30-pin connector we all know and love down to just 19 pins. Citing sources who are familiar with the matter, Reuters reports that the decision to axe the beloved 30-pin connector was made so the earphone socket could be moved to the bottom. This is bad news for a lot of people who just plonked down a chunk of cash on an expensive iPhone dock and were hoping to continue to use it when future iterations of the iPhone came along.
While this might annoy current iPhone owners, not to mention owners of other iDevices, the move wasn’t completely unexpected. Analysts and tech bloggers have long speculated this transition to a smaller connector, especially since doing so would open the doors to a number of benefits. For one thing, the old 30-pin connector is huge! At 21mm, it occupies a lot of space, not just on the outside, but on the inside as well. Not only will a smaller 19-pin connector allow an earphone socket to be accommodated along the bottom of the new iPhone, but it would also free up more space on the inside for more tech to be crammed in. It’s also possible that Apple might engineer the new connector to allow faster data transfer speeds or shorter charging times.
The possibilities are endless, and it’s about time too, as the decade-old 30-pin connector was simply holding our iDevices back from even more awesomeness. Hopefully, Apple will come out with an adapter so the iPhone 5 can still utilize existing accessories that make use of the old connector. Of course, seeing as it would be an Apple accessory, you can expect it to be super expensive too. For now, all we can do is just sit and wait until October when the new iPhone is expected to come out.
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