Steven Sande in the same article:
My take on this is that Apple will most likely ship new European iPhones with a USB Standard-A cable that ends in a Micro-B plug, along with a Micro-B to Dock connector adapter.”
Yup. It won’t be very pretty, but it’ll give Apple time to figure out the best way to implement a new wireless charging and I/O tech in all of its mobile devices.
I’m not sure about this thought though:
For the EU, it’s a win as there is one standard charger design for all phones made by the ten signatories. For Apple, it’s also a win since the company only needs to design an adaptor to go from the Micro-B end of the charging cable to the dock connector. And for the accessory manufacturers, it’s time to breathe a big sigh of relief, knowing that every product they’ve made over the past few years will still work properly.
Like I wrote, accessory manufacturers wouldn’t be relieved if Apple continued to use the same port they’ve been using for years; they would absolutely love it if the port was dropped: people would buy new accessories!
The consumer might breathe a sigh of relief, but not the accessory-makers. Their time will probably come next year or so.
Although, it is possible that the iPhone’s announcement was pushed back a bit this year in order to align a simultaneous iPhone, iPod, and MacBook Pro refresh with the new cord-cutting tech I’m hoping for. The new tech would have to be implemented across the iPod/iPhone product lines at the exact same time, and a built-in charging station inside the new MacBook would be a nice touch. It’s not totally nuts, but I’m probably just being optimistic. It’s also a little too close to the holidays for accessories to be made and launched in time; we probably would’ve seen some leaked accessories by now. Although, with no dock connector plug as a giveaway, maybe they’re harder to spot?
Alright, enough speculation for now, the iPhone 5 won’t have a MicroUSB port, that’s for certain.