Ipod Docks and the Iphone 5

[bballtom]

I’ve been thinking for a while about getting myself a speaker dock and / or a ipod dock (for my 160gb Classic) but as yet not pulled the trigger partly because I’ve just got a Samsung Galaxy S3 as a new phone.

Now my question is do people think the prices of speaker docks and Ipod docks currently on the market will drop once the Iphone 5 comes out with its new connector that could make all old accessories “obsolete”.

So will someone come up with a cleaver work round or could we all be able to pick up some bargains in the not too distant future?

 

[Lee H]

With over 300 million iThings sold to date - on the current port - I think the prices can hold firm for a long time to come. Cars replaced horses, it didn't mean that saddles got cheaper.

 

[Andrew Everard]

And I should think it's a pretty safe bet there are already some enterprising manufacturers churning out adapters by the thousand – or at the very least gearing up to do so.

 

[bballtom]

True but look at the sales figures of the S3, 10 million in a couple of months. Assuming Apple will try and match this there are going to be a lot of people looking for a new dock. A lot of them will probably just switch to the using the aux but we all know that isn’t ideal. An adapter will be key, I did read somewhere that Apple have released the connector spec to accessory manufactures to give them a head start

I’m just thinking after Christmas come sales time and the second hand market there could be some bargains to have.

 

[cheeseboy]

well seen asthough nobody really knows if apple are going to change the dock connector (there have been a lot of supposed pictures, but all proven to be fake mockups by various people) then I really wouldn't worry about it.

 

[bballtom]

I’m not really worried about it, just trying to save myself a few quid, I’ve hung on this long so I can hang on a bit longer, just wanted to know people opinions and it would appear people think the change of connector won’t affect the market. Well I suppose we will find out in a month or so.

It doesn’t bother me as I have an Android phone, it would bother me dropping £££ on a dock that becomes obsolete come up grade time!

 

[Paul.]

well seen asthough nobody really knows if apple are going to change the dock connector (there have been a lot of supposed pictures, but all proven to be fake mockups by various people) then I really wouldn't worry about it.

Except iOS 6 beta has lines of code referencing 9pin dock connectors in it, and some incredibly convincing parts have been leaked. Its possible they were rejected prototypes though.

Because Apple either CNC, laser cut or water jet cut everything from metal, they can change designs and be tooled up very quickly unlike the manufacturers working in plastics. Who knows if they have even finalised?

 

[Big Chris]

Take a look/listen at the Conran Audio dock if you can. It'll dock any current ipod, but also will do your Galaxy via Apt-X bluetooth.

I bought one for the Missus when Play.com were doing them for £60. They're currently on there for £70.

I was pleasantly surprised at just how good it sounds. Not sure I'd have bought one at the intial RRP of £250, but for a quarter of that it's a bargain. I'm thinking of getting another for our bedroom purely for the bluetooth capability (unlike The Wife, I don't have any i-device).

 

[bballtom]

Well now we know, it's going to cost you £25 (offically) for every device you want to use your Iphone 5 with. Not cheap if you ask me!

http://store.apple.com/uk/product/MD823ZM/A/lightning-to-30-pin-adapter

 

[bigboss]

Well now we know, it's going to cost you £25 (offically) for every device you want to use your Iphone 5 with. Not cheap if you ask me!

http://store.apple.com/uk/product/MD823ZM/A/lightning-to-30-pin-adapter

Just have to wait for 3rd party developers to sell these at far cheaper price.

 

[bballtom]

Well now we know, it's going to cost you £25 (offically) for every device you want to use your Iphone 5 with. Not cheap if you ask me!

http://store.apple.com/uk/product/MD823ZM/A/lightning-to-30-pin-adapter

Just have to wait for 3rd party developers to sell these at far cheaper price.

Yeah of course, still won’t be that aesthetically pleasing having a 1 inch piece of white plastic stuck on top of your dock, especially as the iphone / apple products are all about the looks!

I also wonder if it might put extra strain on the connectors having a greater turning moment on the connection (as a lot of docks seemed to be angled). Don’t know really, just thinking out loud.

 

[Andrew Everard]

I also wonder if it might put extra strain on the connectors having a greater turning moment on the connection (as a lot of docks seemed to be angled).

Not only that – it's going to be a bit wobbly, too.

 

[Clare Newsome]

Apple don't want it to be easy - they want you to use AirPlay, rather than dock.

Though it's interesting that both the new iPod nano and iPod Touch now support Bluetooth, as well as the iPhone 5 - that's a big boost to an already booming Bluetooth speaker market.

 

[stevebrock]

3rd party developers have probably had the specs for the new connector on the iPhone 5 for months!

Crikey a well known auction site is awash with cover, screen protectors already......incredible!

 

[rs6mra]

As Clare stated earlier Bluetooth connection seems to be the way forward. I firmly believe in being wired whenever I can but where docking stations are concerned Bluetooth prevails and even more so when the pesky kids can get their hands on it.

 

[Joe Cox]

It seems even with the £25 adapter, you won't get video out and you may not get audio out with existing kit... Messy.

http://www.whathifi.com/news/iphone-5-and-ipods-wont-work-with-some-existing-kit-%E2%80%93-even-with-the-adapter

 

[bigboss]

It seems even with the £25 adapter, you won't get video out and you may not get audio out with existing kit... Messy.

http://www.whathifi.com/news/iphone-5-and-ipods-wont-work-with-some-existing-kit-%E2%80%93-even-with-the-adapter

Oh dear. Apple has probably shot itself in the foot here. I see a market for adapters with built-in DAC.

 

[bballtom]

So going back to my original post, do people now think the speaker dock manufactures may start selling their kit cheap and the second hand market will be flooded with people selling off their now obsolete kit?

 

[Clare Newsome]

Well it's not technically obsolete with Apple still selling the iPhone 4/4S (and iPad 2/3) with the 30-pin connector....

 

[professorhat]

There will be some, but there will be an awful lot of people who either (a) don't upgrade their phone; or (b) have another family member who still has or "inherits" the older iPhone, in which case the device will still be useful to them.

Much like the selling off of iPhone 4S units, expect a swell at first as the early adopters look to flog their kit for as much as they can get for it, before things settle back down to normal. As to manufacturers selling them off cheap, I wouldn't have thought there would be a need for this - plenty of people will still have the older phones to ensure demand for the older docks. And probably quite a few people will be buying the iPhone 4S (either new or secondhand) to take advantage of the cheaper price, so they'll even be new customers for them to target.

 

[Andrew Everard]

... And of course the gazillions of existing pieces of iOS hardware out there for which users may still want to buy a dock – surely manufacturers are going to have to find a way of connecting both pre- and post-Lightning devices to docks without the need for a wobbly adapter?

And is there a matter of not just audio input format but also authentication between dock (or other accessories) and Lightning-equipped devices?

Some commentators close to the subject seem to be suggesting there is some serious handshaking between devices to be achieved before any data will be sent, presumably to prevent those companies making products with non-authorised 30-pin docks from just bunging in an adapter to make their products work with the new Apple models.

So far, we seem to be getting mixed – or at least evasive – messages from Apple on the whole audio business with this new connector, beyond the fact the connection itself is 'all-digital': the stories about the Lightning/30-pin adapter having a DAC built-in seem speculatory at best, with some commentators stating it as a fact to justify the price, but with no real back-up, and the cynical among us (who, me?) suggesting that if Apple had built a DAC into the adapter it would be charging rather more than $30 for it!

By the way, also worth noting that the new connection is officially a 'port', whereas the 'old' 30-pinner was officially a 'dock connector'. Read into that what you will, but could the move of the headphone socket to the base be a sop to manufacturers of lower-priced docks using analogue technology, who could perhaps engineer some kind of docking mechanism combining a Lightning 'prong' to charge the iOS device, with a 3.3mm jack standing next to it for analogue audio take-off?

Rather like the dock for the second-gen Shuffle, in fact...

/sites/whathifi.com/files/images/newsarchive4/MA694.jpg

 

[BenLaw]

Interesting, thanks Andrew.

 

[bballtom]

Well it's not technically obsolete with Apple still selling the iPhone 4/4S (and iPad 2/3) with the 30-pin connector....

And the ipod touch. I’ve wondered before how many of the previous models Apple sell once the new one comes out, in my (some what limited) experience I’ve never found the previous model quite cheap enough to be a serious contender, they seem to price them initially a little to close to the new model to be viable option, after all everyone want the new shiny model.

Oh well, only time will tell. May be I won’t hold on for a speaker system. There are a lot of iphones out there but it is the beginning of the end, I will watch this whole saga with interest.

 

[Andrew Everard]

UPDATE: The lovable gadgetscamps on our sister magazine Stuff are now saying Apple has confirmed to them that the Lightning-to-dock-connector adapter does have a DAC built-in. Story updated here

 

[carter]

Built in dac for £25 that's a fare price.