Apple overhauling its 30 pin connector
 

:facepalm:

Only Apple.....



http://techcrunch.com/2012/08/14/app...8TechCrunch%29


What happens when you change one port? Quite a lot, actually. Apple introduced the 30-pin iPod port on April 28, 2003. That makes the technology – a fairly streamlined solution for 2003 – nine years old and, thanks to the iPhone’s popularity, essentially ubiquitous. Now, however, as news leaks about either a 19- or 9-pin overhaul of the technology, there’s something important to consider: the install base of 30-pin devices is wild and deep and a simple change could create an e-waste problem if not properly handled.

To be clear: this new pin layout is coming and it’s coming soon. Whether it arrives in this generation or the next still remains to be seen, the sources I reached out to agreed that the switch was imminent.

Apple has sold over approximately 610 million devices with a 30-pin dock connector. There are no hard numbers on iPod dock sales available, but analysts estimate $2 to $3 billion in sales on iPod accessories per year. These are back of the envelope calculations, but assume a fourth of those are $100 docks – some are less, some are much more. That gives us about 5 million docks a year over nine years. That’s 45 million devices in essentially perfect working order that will be partially obsoleted by this move.

“Just imagine how many hotel rooms are fitted with alarm clocks that have a 30-pin dock connector,” said Arman Sadeghi, CEO of AllGreenRecycling, an e-waste handler. “Doing away with the 30-pin dock connector without developing any kind of backwards compatibility option would cause millions of pieces of accessories to become obsolete prematurely. Currently, there are tens of thousands of different devices such as chargers, alarm clocks, docking stations and other devices that work with the 30-pin connector. If this connector was replaced, it would cause a slow but very steady flow of those items coming out of use and into the ewaste stream.”

In short, Apple would relegate a great number of iPod docks to the scrap heap. Arguably, the vast majority of users, especially users using more expensive docks that connect to home entertainment systems and speakers, would invest in a small adapter that will convert a 30-pin jack to the smaller model, but a fraction of those will relegate those old docks to the junk pile. Once the 30-pin is phased out, however, there’s the secondary problem of obsolete iPods.

“The obvious problem will be with people throwing out old accessories but there is another issue as well,” said Sadeghi. “The value of Apple devices with the old connector will drop as well which will cause a large wave of those items entering the eWaste steam as well. iPods and other small devices that people have had for many years will start becoming less desirable in favor of newer versions that will have the same connector as their new iPhone. This effect may, in fact, prove to be a bigger generator of eWaste than the obsolete accessories.”

This sort of move isn’t new, but I suspect that this might be the first major mass exodus from one port architecture to another since serial connections gave way to USB and even that move took years to complete. Apple is notorious for railroading users into technologies although they usually pick the tech that eventually proves to be the winner (there’s a reason there weren’t Compact Flash card readers on earlier MacBooks before the addition of the SD card slot.) Where Apple is at fault is in the speed with which they’re going to push this through. They will sell millions of iPhones and millions of adapters, and the new port will also revitalize the stagnant accessories market. But it will also encourage long-time users to “upgrade” their docks to support the new standard (or at least spend $10 on a compatible adapter).

It’s also not Apple’s fault that accessory makers hitched their wagon to the Apple star. There was and is a lot of money to be made. But this change will change things considerably and the trash and recycling it will generate is has the potential to be more than impressive.

The real impact can be seen as negligible. Docks are made of plastic and a few magnets. In a perfect world those docks would end up at an ewaste location where they will be recycled into new products or they will end up in the garage sale and secondary market, used by millions who just don’t want to or can’t upgrade.

But in a world of increasingly scarce resources, it’s an interesting thought exercise to see what a minor change in on port on a popular phone can do to an entire ecosystem of accessories. Apple is lucky that an industry made hardware solely for their devices. Now we’re about to see what happens when that industry – and the consumers who bought into that constellation of accessories – suddenly has to shift direction.

Are you seriously trying to criticize them for updating 10 year old technology? LOL... yeah. That's never happened before. Only Apple....

What are the benefits to this overhaul Fish?

It was necessary to reduce the overall thickness of the phone. The 30 pin connector wouldn't fit the new chasis. Expect something much smaller.

And that's a good thing. The 30 pin connector never was a great fit. It's too wide and bulky, which creates a lot of pressure on the horizontal axis.

Thanks Fish.
They get that phone any thinner people will be able to chop lines with it.
Sounds like some accessories may no longer work?

"But it will also encourage long-time users to “upgrade” their docks"

"Encourage". Heh.

I've used macs since '88 for my business.

"D" connectors are approximately 40 years old by design, yet they are still very popular because they are a good shake.

This is a money grab.

No.

I'm not a Apple fan by any means but they've had the same thing for TEN YEARS. Get over it.

It would be nice if they sold an adapter to convert existing accessories to the new design.

usb?

Nice "heads I win, tails you lose" in the OP.

If Apple updates their 10 year old connector, people say they just want to make you buy a new one (which is silly because you'd get one with any new device that requires it). If they stick with the old one, people say they won't abandon their proprietary technology.

The Apple connector is much more fully featured than other connectors are. It has stereo audio output, as well as dual channel line in and out. It has video out for three different standards. It communicates in USB and FireWire.

The size of the connector is antiquated today and they can eliminate 6-8 just by removing FireWire and s- video.

My guess is that they will use a shuffle-like connector in the future where the headphone jack doubles as the connector, but may e data transfer rates still need to be faster and video is still valuable through the current connector.

But, if you're a kneejerker who knows nothing about the subject, it's good message board fodder.

Another ****ing reason I'll never buy Apple.

Why not just make a simple micro USB like EVERY OTHER ****ING ELECTRONIC DEVICE?

That will happen for sure.

micro usb doesnt have video or audio i dont think

Read the reply above yours before capslocking like a whiny child. Micro USB can't transmit the required amount of data protocols for these devices. It's insufficient for what Apple does.

Is USB 3 still too slow to xfer HQ data with the developments of compression tech, or are they just wedded to old protocols.

I can send 720p DD 5.1 MKV, as well as uncompressed OTA HD, over wifi to my bluray player.

This is a pic of the connector panel on a Mac Mini which I have used to xfer plenty of video, audio and large PS data files. http://www.shoutpedia.com/wp-content...0/10/image.jpg.

usb + hdmi?

Look how long they fought the unwinnable fight with G series (IBM/Motorola) chips...

Bullshit.

Dude never question the Big Apple.

This reminds me, anyone know the cheapest place to get a decent [or at least reliable] AC to USB adapter?

The single worst complaint I have about my Touch is that charging it requires a powered USB port.

They had an adapter at MicroCenter, but it was $30

did you check monoprice?

That's a nice picture. But it's completely irrelevant.

The new iPhone has a single connection port. Not 5 different ports like what you're showing in your pic. Combine all those functions of those 5 different ports into one connector, and then it would be comparable.

The new iPhone has to have a single connector, one port, that must transfer power, multiple audio channels both in and out, video in and out in multiple formats, data transfer in and out, etc. All that has to fit into one connector while keeping all those different functions separated from each other. For the 30 pin connector, each of those 30 pins would be considered a separate "channel" so to speak. Lots of those are bunched together for a single function, but that should give you the idea.

Just micro USB doesn't provide enough separate "channels" to transfer all the stuff in and out of the iPhone. Something new had to be created.

LMAO... OK......

Yes it can.

It does require an MHL adaptor, though.

Which of those functions can't you do with a micro USB?

yeah, lots of things can do other things with an adaptor.

Just struck me, my uncompressed OTA HD is stored on my MyBook. Which, although my PC's USB ports are 3.0, the Drive itself is 2.0.

1080i and DD 5.1, UNCOMPRESSED playing in real time, @ USB 2.0.

Its not a complicated device.

Its a pass-thru. Video still passes thru the micro USB.

Look:

http://image.pinout.net/pinout_USB_f...t-microUSB.png

http://www.getusb.info/wp-content/up...04/040611a.jpg

Now you tell me...... can you see the discrepancy?

A lot of what you think is happening on that micro USB cable is actually done by the board of the device, and not the port. For what Apple is doing, there's no way in hell to make it work using micro USB.

like i said, im not an apple fanboi but the connector they use is an all-in-one. it needs NO adaptor to do ANYTHING. Is there any other port on a phone that can do that?

What does it need to do, other than transfer data?

Micro USB will charge my phone while I transfer files from a PC.

LMAO.... well... a lot actually.... but judging from your previous responses, I don't think you'd understand the explanation. Let's just say that the separate piping method that they use has many advantages in power consumption, adaptability, and reliability.

I am a recording engineer. I work with audio and video projects and use USB or FW when I stream to/from external drives all the time.

When I record a drummer, I often use 12 channels & mics to do so, sometimes 16 channels and it is all streamed using USB A/B. It is all handled using USB shake.

It used to be FW was a more robust shake, but USB has become proficient too.

don't forget proprietary connector sellability

The connector comes with the device. As a convenient bonus, all their devices for a decade have been using the same connector, so many people have a few lying around.

I don't think connectors are going to matter so much in the future, because data will move via wireless, and charging can be accomplished without a separate port, such as is done by the new iPod shuffle.

Of course. But the purpose of the proprietary connector is not solely for monetary reasons. It gives them a lot more engineering control over backward/forward compatibility and future implementations. It's actually quite an amazing feat that the 30 pin connector lasted this long, while the devices that use it have gone through such dramatic hardware changes.

And don't forget that you can always find a 3rd party knockoff 30 pin adapter for <$5.

Typical Apple Fanboi condescending reply.

Eat shit.

The first few iPods had FireWire as an option (as you know I am sure, but for the benefit of others...). At the time, FireWire was much faster than USB. Today as USB standards have progressed, there is no demand for FireWire.

The 30 pin connector was not some effort at fragmentation by Apple, it was an effort to allow several devices to consolidate to a single port.

People aren't connecting printers with parallel or serial cables anymore, either. Once a decade, moving to a new standard that is modern is acceptable for a hardware manufacturer, IMO. Hardly a cash grab.

We now return you to the guys who probably complain that you can't connect devices to your TV anymore with those y-plugs you needed a Phillips screwdriver to attach...

Snake oil.

I don't even like Apple (I'm a Microsoft fanboy) and what he is saying makes sense to me.

Per usual, you are too stupid to get it.

Transferring audio from an external drive to a computer is very different.

Think of it like comparing COAX cable to HDMI cable when connected to a flatscreen TV. COAX has a single wire that transmits all data(video/audio) at once, that is separated by the TV receiver when it gets there. HDMI has separate pins corresponding to different data, that is sent separately. Both cables do the same thing, transmit video and audio. But COAX sends the data in one single chunk, while HDMI splits it up into different manageable channels.

COAX, by sending all data at once, requires a lot more work to be done by the TV receiver. That translates into more energy consumption and reliance on the receiver to do all the work.

THIS!

I ****ing hate Apple.

They changed their pin configuration on their iPods a few years back, so my non-Apple docking stations no longer charge iPods of any generation and last I checked, there is no adapter.

I got sucked into the iPhone 4s bullshit last year and absolutely hate that piece of battery hogging shit.

**** Apple.

Why do you think D/A conversion and A/V separation consumes more energy on one device rather than another?

I like their mobile products.

I despise their desktop/laptops.

Is there an official reason why Apple refuses to adopt standards in their technologies? Seems like that would avoid a ton of headaches with stuff like this.

Micro HDMI can, can't it?

That's cool. We have an iPad 2 and 3, two iPhones, two iTouches and several iPod of different vintage.

I feel like the iPads are just toys, the iTouches mini versions of the iPad, and the iPhones virtually worthless. I greatly preferred my Blackberry 9750 (or whatever it was) over the iPhone 4s due to the size, ease of keyboard use and service (although that's slightly unfair because T-Mobile is a million times better than Sprint in SoCal).

And their desktops and laptops are way overpriced garbage. Upgrades are virtually impossible and I think their OS is a clunky and crappy.

Yes, there is: Steve Jobs is a dick, even in death.

What kind of times are you seeing on your battery?

Mine easily lasts 2 days, and that's with a lot of web surfing. The only time it gets really bad is when I'm streaming data over "4G." I can go from 100% - 80% with an hour and a half of streaming 610 sports. That may have more to do with the app than anything else, though.

A half a day battery life, at most. My wife experiences the same thing. And this is with double tapping and shutting down open programs and with Suri off.

I'm surprised you're is so much better. When did you purchase it?

The final rulings are in.

Thread - 1
Dave - 0

Good job. Good effort.

It's difficult to differentiate your product from the competition (and charge a premium) when it's the same.

I'm fine with my current iPhone 4. And I simply find it impossible to believe that this Suri thing works the way the commercials show. I can have an actual meaningful conversation with my phone? Yeah, right.

In any event, I'll hold off until an adapter is created or I can buy the cords on monoprice. Either that or I'll switch to another device. **** these greedy scumbags.

I get about a day of battery life.

Thankfully i'm near a charger at my job, my car, and at home, so that's never been an issue.

Siri, at this point in time, is worthless to me. Anytime I :hmmm: and try to use it for something useful, it says it can't do it.

Siri is actually much slower than it is in the commercials.

I think monoprice will sell the cables on the cheap so i'm not too worried about that.

I assume it would be too traumatized to talk to me after getting cussed out 50 times a day.

There's something wrong with your situation. What is your charging method?

This page probably explains everything much better than I'm able...

Read more at http://www.cultofmac.com/178093/the-...zUsVPiGmKZT.99

Kill yourself.

Hateful ****ing douche.

So basically the connector is teh rxxors because

it can be plugged into cheapo dummy hardware

it can be plugged into hardware that runs old tech like composite, S-video and analog audio [the latter, btw, could be done by the headphone jack]

it proprietary so Apple can collect fees from vendors

it loads all the power consumption jobs onto the portable device with a non-removable battery

it'll be phased out someday when Apple catches up with the rest of the world.

When latched to an external device, Apple's portable tech is basically a data storage medium.

With WiFi and/or Ethernet, there's no reason not to dock your device to a PC and send the signal to point of use hardware.

And its not true that a PC is demanded, my cheapo blu-ray player accepts both memory sticks and my portable HD plugged directly into the USB onboard, besides accepting WiFi from the PC.

This has been about the only thing I've been jealous of as an android user, i'd be shocked if they didn't have an adapter for it. If they start a trend of changing it and not having an adapter it will bite them in the butt a bit, the question is, how much. Automobiles, home stereo's, etc are not things people are wanting to trade out because Apple decided to change their plug.

It's not my fault that you are on the wrong side of nearly every single argument as of late.

That's completely false. Look at Samsung and HTC which have implemented MHL over a microUSB connector.

Samsung, htc, etc it's built in.

I can plug my current phone or even my OLD phone directly into my monitor for video and sound.
(and it charges at the same time)

You ready for a tech beat down? :D I'll give you a chance to back off this line of thinking before I put the hammer down....

:popcorn:

From a pure technical aspect... there are some slight advantages to having a proprietary solution like Apple has. That is FAR FAR FAR outweighed by the inconvenience of it. The ONLY reason they can get away with it at all is because #1 they were the only major successful player int he iPod space so their proprietary bullshit became the de facto standard. and #2 most Apple users (even the ones that THINK they are tech savvy) are NOT tech savvy enough to reject Apple's bullshit excuses for why they don't use STANDARDS like the rest of the world.

*rant*
Seriously, **** Apple.. and Sony too.. they try to pull this shit as well. USE THE ****ING STANDARDS ASSHOLES. Steve Jobs can go to hell... ooops too late.
*/rant*

LOL... yeah OK. If you think so. Read the entire article in my last post, and tell me if your opinion changes.

The design of the 30 pin connecter is about efficiency.

Apple basically gave accessory makers a defined pinout board. Driver free.

If you're an accessory creator, the following makes it incredibly efficient to create devices and support that have direct access to only the data you care about, and zero overhead of data that is irrelevant to its function. In no way can you understate the importance of that. And the future version will be just as future-proof, because the concept is so solid.

http://img842.imageshack.us/img842/3382/originalfb.jpg

I read your posts... and they make excellent points... back in 2003. Hell maybe even 2004. There is ZERO reason to stay proprietary now.

The cost (in dollars and power) of USB controller chips is negligible. You don't need a "power hungry CPU." That is just ridiculous.

If you want to argue that "back in the day" it was necessary... I will let that slide... but if you argue that it is necessary NOW.. you are dead wrong(from a technical standpoint).

Just because you don't agree, it doesn't mean I'm wrong.

The points are just as relevant today. Because they planned so well, this form factor was able to last 9 years. Only physical size is preventing it from continuing its usefulness.

USB controller chips are irrelevant. Because they transfer bulk data through one pipe(Data+), and leave it up to the CPU of the receiving device to decode everything and extract only the relevant information pertaining to its function. Splitting the data into only the applicable pieces you need has been the standard for evolution of just about all forms of data transfer. All technology has developed more pipes and multiple processors to reduce overall load. Multi core processors are a perfect example. Divide and conquer algorithm.

And one of the reasons that they're reducing the size is indeed because it's no longer necessary to port so many protocols independently. That's not a surprise. In regards to the 30 pin connector, firewire support is no longer necessary. That's how they easily cut down to 19 pins.

Nerd fight!

http://img209.imageshack.us/img209/3...glasses463.jpg

My bow tie hides multiple blades bitch......

Wow, that really sucks. Maybe it has something to do with Sprint and searching for cell towers? I dunno.

I bought my first one on pre-order, so it was in the first batch of shipments that came in. It also had great battery life, but I accidentally dropped it in a glass of Kool-Aid and killed it. Thank god I purchased AppleCare plus and got a new one. But the battery life on it is the same as the old one. My wife's doesn't have any battery issues, either, and she's on it all day long for work.

Have you tried calibrating the battery with the Battery Doctor app?

It's not as good as the commercials portray, but it's not as bad as you'd think, either.

I only use Siri when I'm driving, so that I don't have to look down at the screen to type and take my eyes off the road. It works very well for that.

Also interesting relating Apple...

Per their patent activity... Kinda cool...

Why Apple Will Turn to Holograms

Look around your office hallway or college campus and you’ll see people holding interactive panes of glass. Smartphones and tablets, so revolutionary a few years ago, are quickly becoming commodities. Apple (AAPL) is now locked in a fierce patent battle with Samsung over tablet designs—a sure sign that, whoever is right, touchscreens are converging into gadgets that look like everything else.

So as Apple prepares to launch its next iPhone in September, with a slightly bigger screen, here is a prediction—Apple devices will soon project holograms like you’ve never seen. This is not mere speculation, but insight based on Apple’s patents, recent acquisitions, and the business imperative to do something to break free of the tablet clutter.

In November 2010, Apple patented a three-dimensional display system that would “mimic a hologram” without requiring special glasses. The patent narrative is fascinating, noting that one current market gap in screen technology is the ability of a device to project stereoscopic 3D images to multiple viewers at the same time.

Apple proposed an elegant solution: match a forward-facing camera/sensor that tracks the location of different viewers’ eyes, similar to how Microsoft’s (MSFT) Kinect monitors body movements or new digital cameras recognize human faces, with a screen that can send out beams of light at different angles. Voilà! Each eye of each viewer receives a different angle of the image, and suddenly Princess Leia would appear to beam out of R2-D2 and float in the air.

I know what you’re thinking—3D screens have been around for a while, but consumers have not flocked to them. Overall, television sales are in a slump (LCD sales were down 3 percent worldwide in the first quarter after years of 20 percent growth), and consumers who recently upgraded to flat panels did not rush out to buy the 3D versions manufacturers dreamed would goose the market. Even 3D tech that doesn’t require glasses has not sold well; Nintendo (NTDOY) sales of its 3DS gaming device, which floats images without glasses, were so anemic in 2011 that it dropped the price from $250 to $170 just five months after launch.

If 3D has been such a yawn, why would Apple get involved? There are three main reasons.

Apple is the second-mover that makes failed first-mover ideas work. Apple lifted the idea for the mouse from Xerox, streamlined it, coated the rotating ball in rubber so it would be quiet on a desktop, and dropped the price. Apple launched its touchscreen iPhone and iPad years after Microsoft tried to go to market in 2002 with a pen-based Tablet PC. Apple redesigns technology to remove the rough edges, and consumerså respond in droves. Toshiba is now selling a 55-inch 3D television in Asia that doesn’t require glasses for viewing the effect. Do you think Apple will let such advances in screen technology pass it by?

Second, Apple’s hologram technology will be different—and completely realistic. The Apple patent states, “Each viewer could be presented … with complete freedom of movement … without the need for special viewing goggles or headgear.”

Read that as the hologram will remain realistic even if you and your friends move around the room, and you won’t look like a doofus watching it. The Apple patent also explains how the monitoring sensor would pick up and replicate ambient lighting in the room—creating, say, a projection of a business colleague floating at your conference table with light from the window gleaming in her hair.

Finally, in perhaps its most unique trick, the Apple hologram system would detect who is watching, and be able to display different images to different people. The patent says “individual observers … can be uniquely identified based upon distinctive personal characteristics (e.g., height, shoulder width, distinctive outline, etc.),” allowing outbound beamed projections to be changed for each observer. This would enable everything from private holograms to personalized advertising. In business video calls, you could project yourself in a suit for the upper executives in the room and a more relaxed view of yourself in jeans for the younger tech hipsters.

Apple must forge a new direction, because not only will its patent lawyers have difficulty claiming rights to all tablet designs, the touchscreen may soon be obsolete. Walt Disney (DIS), not known for being a gadget leader, recently announced its R&D division has developed “swept frequency capacitive sensing” that turns virtually any material into a touchscreen. Called Touché, the system would allow couches, doorknobs, clothing, and even water to sense your movement or finger swipes, making touchscreens irrelevant. If you can type on a tabletop, the need for a tablet may disappear.

Beyond its 3D patent, Apple has acquired 3D modeling businesses such as C3 Technologies and Poly9, both known for building photorealistic images of the world. C3 Technologies, for instance, used declassified military technology and aerial photography to model any potential mountain, building, or home in three dimensions—reportedly accurate to within 6 inches. Apple’s upcoming map apps could be more interesting than you expect.

Apple also has a monetary incentive to chase 3D: True screen differentiation would boost sales of all Apple products. Apple could finally break into the television market and own the living room; holography could unlock revenue streams from business communications, with Apple “reality projection” videoconferencing making Skype look like a telegraph. Apple has been rumored for years to be developing real TV sets, but needs a way to break into the saturated big-screen market. If its holography were to top Toshiba’s design, there surely would be interest.

As tablets become commodities, it’s not hard to predict the design battle will move from hardware to the virtual visual realm. Even Sir Jonathan Ive can take glass panes only so far. I don’t know if an iPhone 5 will hold holograms, but eventually Apple will serve us 3D images—because while anyone can copy a glass tablet, not everyone can make the world float in your hand.

Your knowledge of this subject is not so good... based on what you seem to be trying to grasp at... you'd think this
http://www.cutedigi.com/images/parallel_cable.jpg
should never have been replaced!

btw.. no one is talking about USB as the actual BUS just using the USB connector (like MHL does) so your argument which was ridiculously wrong technically also fails on the fact that it simply doesn't apply.

Oh and your USB info is woefully out of date.. the CURRENT standard is the 11-pin USB 3 micro.. as used by the Samsung Galaxy sIII and any newer phones. http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Fi...cro_B_plug.svg