Adding to the iPhone 5 dock connector debate, Reuters has now said that Apple will indeed shrink the current 30-pin connector to a 19-pin version to make room for a headphone jack on the bottom of the phone.

The iPhone 5, Apple’s next generation iPhone expected to go on sale around October, will come with a 19-pin connector port at the bottom instead of the proprietary 30-pin port “to make room for the earphone moving to the bottom”, two sources familiar with the matter told Reuters.

These predictions from Reuter’s sources comply with previous rumours, and add more credibility to what has previously been highly founded on speculation. Although this new connector see previously manufactured accessories become incompatible, it does open up new possibilities. As mentioned in the article, this change “represents an opportunity for accessory vendors.”

“The iPhone connector has been a standard for a long time now and I would expect the same to be true for a new connector, should Apple change it as expected.”

The 30-pin dock connector, which has been around for way too long, is 21mm wide, and takes up much space on the bottom of the iPhone. However with the 19-pin connector, this size will be much smaller, leaving a lot of extra room. Reuters has said that this extra room will be utilised through the placement of the 3.5mm headphone jack on the bottom of the device. The iPhone has previously had this jack at the top of the device, unlike the iPod touch, which without the chunky iPhone speakers to deal with, can have it on the bottom.

A primary concern regarding the new connector has been that of backwards compatibility, but Reuters were quick to establish that

“Apple will come up with some sort of adaptor so the new iPhone can be used with previous connectors.”

The adaptor for the new connector could operate like this

It will no doubt be a tough move for Apple, since so many of their devices use the 30-pin connector, but it is one that has to be made to save space on their devices. The transition will take years to complete, but there is no doubt that this new connector should be used for a few years to come, making the move definitely worth it.