Apple could cash in to the tune of $100 million soon after it unveils upcoming devices with the new 9-pin dock connector. The Cupertino, Calif. company intends to be initially the only game in town for Apple fans, exclusively selling the adapters at $10 a pop, reports say.
The company will also sell Apple-branded USB cables for $19 each. This is in line with the MagSafe to Magasafe 2 converter cable Apple sells for $9.99 and the iPhone Micro USB adapter for $11 and $13.
As you know, Apple is planning to deploy a much smaller dock connector with MagSafe-like functionality across all future iOS devices this fall. And contrary to Reuters calling for a 19-pin design, purported photos from two days ago show fewer pins and noticeably smaller design compared to your regular USB connector.
And now, a new report sheds more light on the features the new I/O will provide, including faster data transfer and orientation independence...
Both big media and bloggers agree that with the next iPhone release come this September, Apple is going to debut a brand new dock connector to replace the aging 30-pin thing present on existing devices. The company will allegedly deploy the new dock connector across all future iOS devices.
Built with space in mind, the new connector was originally said to have 19 pins or fewer. A new report surfaced today sporting a crisp shot of the new dock connector with a metal ring inside the casing cutout, suggesting an exciting possibility: that the cable could attach magnetically, just like the MagSafe connector for Apple's notebooks...
A new and interesting patent reveals a very interesting possibility for future iDevices. Apple's current proprietary connection technology has been in need of an update for a long time, and technologies like MagSafe have been considered as a replacement.
The current 30-pin connector is present on all of Apple's mobile devices. And, apparently, Apple is looking to upgrade the 30-pin architecture with multiple connection technologies...
According to a recent patent, it appears that Apple is interested in making its own external, rechargeable battery pack. There are plenty of portable batteries for the iPhone on the market already, but it looks like Apple might introduce a new charging cable with its own rechargeable battery.
A future charging cable from Apple could supply multiple charge cycles when disconnected from a power source...
Taiwanese website Apple.pro has allegedly leaked the dock connector and cable of Apple's next iPhone. If the images are true, not much has changed from the current dock setup.
There have been rumors that Apple will change the connection architecture of the next iPhone to something like MagSafe. But, according to Apple.pro (which is usually very reliable with Apple supply chain rumors), the same 30-pin connector that we all know and love will remain in the iPhone 5.
Apple recently introduced a new connection technology dubbed "Thunderbolt." In Apple's MacBook Pro refresh, the Thunderbolt port has been added as a new wired connection architecture that Apple hopes will unify its connection technologies.
The key feature for the Thunderbolt architecture is speed. Thunderbolt promises to be lighting fast (pardon the pun) and offer incredible speeds for data transfers. The need for Thunderbolt is evident for the desktop, but it's not a stretch to imagine that Thunderbolt could eventually make its way to iOS devices.
The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office published an interesting continuation patent application from Apple yesterday. Apple's patent says, "the connector 62 may be a power connector such as the MagSafe power connector manufactured by Apple Inc. of Cupertino, Calif. The MagSafe power connector utilizes a magnetic attraction to help retain a corresponding connector thereto."
Plenty of speculation could be made about what MagSafe charging means for iOS devices...