Upcoming iOS Devices Could Have MagSafe-Like Adapters

Imagine a world where your iDevice is tethered to a MagSafe-style connector.
Photo: Jon Snyder/Wired

My only wish for the next iPhone and iPad: that Apple's signature 30-pin dock connector be replaced with something like the Mac's masterful, magnetic MagSafe connector.

Although it may not show up in iOS devices this year, a just-published Apple patent shows that Apple is toying with ways to make the 30-pin connector and your headphone jack magnetic, just like MagSafe.

Making its first appearance in the MacBook Pro in 2006, the MagSafe adapter is a power connector that attaches to your Mac notebook magnetically. It's extraordinarily convenient since it simply snaps into place, and gently pops off without upsetting your notebook if, say, someone accidentally trips over your power cord in a coffee shop.

Using a MagSafe-style adapter would be slightly trickier in the case of an iOS device, as the current 30-pin dock connector is also used for data transfer — though this isn't so germane once you enable over-the-air updates and syncing with iOS 5. In the patent, unearthed by AppleInsider, Apple proposes that both a device and its connector would contain a series of "coded magnets" to share information.

A newly published Apple patent shows how current 30-pin dock connectors could be magnetic instead. Images: Free Patents Online

A MagSafe-like iOS connector made up of programmable magnets would also entail a connector assembly that, in and of itself, would be less susceptible to damage. The benefits of this should be immediately obvious to anyone who's ever accidentally tried to insert Apple's current 30-pin connector backwards.

(We know who we are: all of us.)

Another benefit explored by the patent: A headphone jack possibly impervious to soda damage.

Today's headphone jacks and connector ports leave mobile devices susceptible to liquid intrusion, as our tablets and phones aren't 100 percent water-tight — this is why both types of devices are equipped with water sensors. But using a magnetically attached connector for ports would not only be convenient for users, it would also let Apple properly seal its iOS devices. This would considerably reduce susceptibility to water damage.

If Apple implemented its new design for the headphone jack, you'd obviously need new earbuds for your iDevices, or at least new cords or adapters — some kind of system that replaces the common mini-jack prong with a magnet interface that would fit snugly inside the iDevice for a complete seal.

It would definitely be a pain to be limited by proprietary audio cables, but if it means soda spills becomes annoyances rather than catastrophes, the hardship may be worthwhile.

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Original Page: http://www.wired.com/gadgetlab/2012/01/ios-magsafe-dock-patent/

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