Apple Eyes The Axe For Traditional Dock Connector

A rumor is floating around that Apple is seriously considering removing the now standard docking connector off all dockable iPhones, iPads, and iPods. The rumored replacement is the so-called micro dock that would take up less space inside the iPhone. If the docking connector takes up less space, that leaves more space for critical components.

Possibly, the most critical component inside a smart phone is the battery. The space that isn't taken up by other hardware can be absorbed for larger battery. A larger battery means more runtime and happier users. This is particularly important when you consider the iPhone 5 with all the rumored hardware improvements that will slurp more battery power. Rather than moving to a smaller docking connector, I wish Apple would move to inductive charging along the lines of some accessory cases on the market.

I would like to see Apple completely do away with that docking connector and move to wireless inductive charging and synchronization via Wi-Fi, granted Wi-Fi sync can be slow with large files. Those sound like better options to me, but I'm sure Apple has been looking into that and a lot more. Thunderbolt isn't an option for iOS devices since they aren't on the PCIe architecture, and I don't think anyone sees Apple moving to an open standard such as micro-USB. That leaves a new smaller docking connector presumably. What do you think?

[via iMore]