iPhone 5 MagSafe-Style Dock Connector And TouchPad-Style Bluetooth 4 Tech Tipped

Apple's new Dock Connector, expected to debut on the iPhone 5, could use MagSafe-style design for increased flexibility, new sources claim, while iOS 6 is tipped to include better inter-device communication support. The new port for iOS devices will be an 8-pin design, so iLounge's insiders say, rather than 16- or 19-pins as rumored, and may well be accompanied by a change of name for the connection.

As for the MagSafe-style tweak, that could include the ability to plug in the connection in either orientation, reducing the number of "which way is up" confusion that can prove annoying with existing Dock Connector cables or, indeed, microUSB.

Bluetooth 4 Link is arguably more interesting – and in keeping with Apple's attempts to vanquish wires altogether – with suggestions that the company is planning to take advantage of the new, low-power wireless link to push messages, notifications and updates between iOS devices. Believed to be an as-yet unreported part of iOS 6, the system would allow, for instance, an iMessage to be flagged up on an iPod nano display, or calls on an iPhone to be triggered via an iPad.

That's reminiscent of the Bluetooth functionality between the HP TouchPad and the Pre3, but according to the source Apple's system goes further than what webOS could achieve.

iLounge's insiders say that the new Dock Connector has not, in fact, been seen in leaked photos or video so far. The most recent leak showed what was tipped to be the external housing of the iPhone 5, though didn't actually include the connector itself but merely the cut-out for it.