Mike Wuerthele
A new rumor, possibly recycled from 2016, claims that the Apple Smart Connector, or a variant thereof, will appear on the iPhone 8 and will be utilized for charging the device, plus potential AR and VR applications.
The connector's inclusion is predicted in a new report from Israeli site The Verifier, with claims that it somehow will be utilized to facilitate wireless charging somehow as well. It is not clear what peripherals will be connected to the Smart Connector, or derivation thereof, to facilitate Apple's augmented reality or virtual reality ambitions.
The magnetic Smart Connector debuted on the 12.9-inch iPad Pro in 2015. It has been used for keyboards, and little else — but is able to charge the device. How much data can pass through it per second is not known.
Apple's Smart Connector magnet strength by itself isn't particularly great. In all likelihood, peripherals intended for peripherals surrounding activity, like those for AR and VR, will need to attach to the iPhone in some other fashion — which begs the question to why not just use the relatively speedy Lightning port.
In April 2016, the then forthcoming iPhone 7 was said to have the connector. It appeared on many "leaked" schematics, but never materialized.
The Verifier is a new publication, and in 2017 has predicted changes in the forthcoming "iOS 11" including FaceTime group calling, and Siri iMessage integration.
Apple's "iPhone 8" is expected to be revealed alongside the "iPhone 7s" family in the fall of 2017, and use a 5.8-inch edge-to-edge OLED panel with a 5.1-inch practical area, the rest being dedicated to virtual buttons. Other features rumored to be included in the device are a 3D facial scanner, and other sensors embedded in the front glass of the device.
Friday's report is the first to suggest that the Smart Connector will appear on the "iPhone 8."
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25 Comments
I use a charging dock at bedside and prefer a vertical, portrait orientation because that is the way the time is displayed on the lock screen. The implication that the Smart connector is on the side so the time would display sideways unless they change the lock screen behavior to detect orientation.
Wish Apple kept female part of lightening on cable side and male connector inside iphone's port like iphone 4/4S and USB(Type-C, MicroUSB,etc). Instead, when Apple introduced lightening in iphone 5, Apple reversed the placement(male connector on cable side adapter and female inside lightening port). Overtime, lint/dust get collected inside iphone's port blocking female connector pins creating charging issues. By moving to smart connector, Apple can solve this. Other scenarios is reverse lightening male/female orientation or move to USB Type-C.
The Lightning connector is eventually going away, as are all open ports. Wireless charging, high speed wifi, and wireless audio will all eliminate the need to plug anything into the iPhone. However, there will still be a need for a hard-wired connection in some applications, like higher quality wired headphones, or manual restore using USB. I'm not sure the smart connector is the best option for this, but it's the right idea.
On-screen fingerprint scanner is worth a mention when talking about potentials for the device. It'll be the best thing about the device and will, if added, be the reason for the full front display.