Apple stuns fans with plan to make add-ons obsolete

Published on 23/06/2012 14:49

APPLE has confirmed it is working on a new 19-pin port connector for its iPhone 5, replacing the current 30-pin port.

The design change will mean speakers, docks, connecting sound systems and in-car systems would all become obsolete and would no longer work with the latest iPhone.

The news angered some Apple enthusiasts who were afraid thousands of pounds worth of phone accessories would suddenly become out of date.

Sirio Brozzi of the website Awesome Robo said: “People are stunned by this possibility, myself included. I mean, why fix something that’s not broken?

“Have you guys ever heard of “planned obsolescence?”

“It’s a practice which encourages planning and designing a product so it’s only useful for a limited time, before becoming obsolete.”

The new iPhone is also expected to have a larger 4-inch screen using Apple’s retina display, which uses individual pixels so small the human eye cannot see them, making on-screen text appear like a printed page, and allowing graphics and video to be shown at resolutions higher than a high definition TV.

It is also expected to include Apple’s own maps software, which the company revealed a few weeks ago.

In a bid to compete with Google maps, Apple even revealed it has a fleet of planes and helicopters photographing the world to build up a 3D map.