Apple Changes IPhone Connectors. World Freaks Out

When Steve Jobs launched the iTunes Store more than nine years ago, he also unveiled the third-generation iPod, the first device with a plug design that has become nearly as significant to independent manufacturers as iTunes has to the music industry. The bottom-mounted connector capable of transferring songs and charging the music player is now a standard Apple component. Makers of mobile accessories use the plug’s specifications when designing chargers, cases, speakers, and stands for iPods, iPhones, and iPads.

That $1.3 billion-a-year market will soon be upended by the connector’s first overhaul since April 2003, according to several people familiar with the design of the new iPhone expected this fall. These people, who were not authorized to discuss the change, say the new plug will have only 19 connector pins, down from 30 in the port used by more than 600 million iPods, iPhones, and iPads, as well as millions of third-party accessories. An Apple representative declined to comment.