Alleged Photos of Apple's New Dock Connector

French site Nowherelse.fr is continuing its string of parts leaks surrounding the next iPhone, sharing photos [Google translation] of what it has been told is the dock connector for the cable to be paired with the next-generation iPhone. The connector portion of the cable is shown next to the USB end of the cable, giving an idea of the size of the new connector.

nowhereelse mini dock connector 1
The site notes that it can not confirm the validity of the images, but they do appear to show some features that could be consistent with what has been claimed about the new smaller dock connector. The connector shown in the images is considerably smaller that the existing dock connector, and the metal insertion piece appears to have 8 gold pins for making contact inside the corresponding port on the device. The insertion piece also appears as if it could be inserted into the iPhone in either orientation, as has been rumored.

nowhereelse mini dock connector 2
Nowhereelse.fr had a poor track record of leaks leading up to the launch of the original iPad, but has been relatively quiet until earlier this month when it began sharing photos of next-generation iPhone parts. Those leaks are believed to be legitimate, as they are originating from Asian websites and are consistent with other leaks seen to date.

Update: Kyle Wiens of iFixit tells us the metal frame counts as a grounding pin, which means it's effectively a 9-pin connector. There has been some debate about it being an 8-pin vs 9-pin port, and this could reconcile those different claims.

Related Forum: iPhone

Top Rated Comments

pgiguere1 Avatar
152 months ago
Reminds me of the MacBook Air USB thumb drive:

Score: 37 Votes (Like | Disagree)
arian19 Avatar
152 months ago
doubling down on secrecy, lol pathetic
Score: 27 Votes (Like | Disagree)
striker33 Avatar
152 months ago
Mmmm, exposed metal strips, nice and damageable...

The only realistic scenarios where damaging the ends of that connector become possible are usually a result of the user's error anyway.

People with common sense will be fine as always.
Score: 21 Votes (Like | Disagree)
kk1ro Avatar
152 months ago
So, can we expect a USB 3.0 connection or a Thunderbolt one?
I'd love to connect my iPhone 5 via Thunderbolt and have almost instant backups and syncs.
Score: 18 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Allenbf Avatar
152 months ago
That. is. AWESOME!!! Looks like you'll be able to insert it either way too!

That's what she said.
Score: 15 Votes (Like | Disagree)
striker33 Avatar
152 months ago
But will it blend?
Score: 14 Votes (Like | Disagree)

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