Rumors that Apple has been looking to trim the size of the dock connector in future iOS products started back in February of this year. It’s believed that the company is making the change in an effort to save space inside of its devices.
We’ve since seen the smaller dock connector on a number of “leaked” next-gen iPhone components, cases and more. And if that wasn’t enough to convince you that the change is coming, check out this newly-granted patent…
Macworld points to a new patent, granted to Apple today, that describes potential changes to the data and power port on Apple’s hardware. The filing is titled, “Power Adaptors for Powering And/Or Charging Peripheral Devices”
And here’s the really interesting part, found in the patent’s description:
“It would be desirable to remove the total number of connections made to a peripheral device so as to reduce the number of connectors and cables needed to operate the peripheral device. By reducing the number of connectors and cables, the peripheral size and the cost of the product may be decreased as well as the ease of use of the peripheral device may be improved (less cables to tote around).
This sounds an awful lot like the reasoning we keep hearing behind why Apple is expected to switch to a new charging port in its new smartphone this fall. Recent reports point to a smaller 19-pin dock connector, instead of the traditional 30-pin one.
Obviously, none of this can be confirmed until we actually see the handset. But as the evidence continues to pile up, it’s starting to seem more and more likely. If nothing else, you may want to avoid expensive iPhone accessory purchases for a while.