Apple are never going to make everyone happy when they launch the iPhone 5, and that might be even more so this year thanks to a lot more changes. The 4S model received complaints that it didn’t change enough, and now that we’re hearing the iPhone 5 will release with a new connector it’s meeting more complaints, which are partly due to mainstream media scaremongering. The connector has been the same for a long time and had to change one day, so if this change brings many improvements then it’s worth it for a better iPhone 5.
One thing we’ve loved about speakers that dock with the iPhone is an ability to charge the phone, or iPod touch, while listening to music. We personally stopped using docking stations a while ago in favor of Bluetooth speakers, and while most don’t include docking and Bluetooth, so you can’t charge, the ability to play music while your iPhone is a fair distance away is much better in our opinion.
We have reviewed a number of Bluetooth speakers over the years, and one of our current favorites is the Bose SoundLink, which can be seen in the photo above. This speaker features a front cover that also acts as a stand, and the speaker will turn on and off by flipping this open and closed. Just like most Bose speakers, the sound is phenomenal.
The new 19-pin connector port that’s expected to feature on the upcoming iPhone 5 won’t cause problems for the Bose speaker, which is thanks to Bluetooth. Accessory makers are likely to enjoy a boost in sales once this port is changed, although we agree with the needed change as long as we see benefits like a bigger battery for more juice.
This change should encourage buyers of new speakers to go for a Bluetooth option rather than a traditional docking station, and it’s worth pointing out that the port hasn’t changed on the iPhone since the original launch, so it had to happen at some point. This news won’t be good for those users that have accessories using the 30-pin port, although there are hopes for an adapter to help the new iPhone work with older accessories.
We’re also hearing that Apple has been encouraging speaker makes to drop docking stations in favor of Bluetooth, which is being claimed in this article. They apparently have sources within the speaker industry that explained the push by Apple to wireless streaming, although these gentle pushes might have been a hint towards the new 19-pin port many months ago.
Are you happy to jump to music streaming rather than using a dock connector? One major problem with this is the amount of people that use a docking station to charge their iPhones, and find it helps with never losing power, so having another cable might not be desired by these people.
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