iPhone owners sure love their docks. That’s the impression I get at least whenever I walk into a Radio Shack. Speaker and clock docks are all over the place with every manufacturer hoping to cash in on the iPhone craze. Apple themselves made a few docks during the iPhone 4 and 4S days, but that may no longer be the case.
An inquisitive Apple fan shot an email to Apple’s Philip Schiller about the chances of a new dock from Apple. He was disappointed that Apple didn’t show off a new dock during their iPhone 5 presentation last week and was hoping for some good news. Unfortunately, Schiller had anything but good news.
His response, according to a leak from 9to5Mac, said:
We do not plan on making a dock for the iPhone 5. Most people who use docks use them with speaker or clock systems.
The logic behind Apple’s decision is sound, but it still stings nonetheless. The new Lightning connector from Apple is making every old accessory obsolete. Third-party manufacturers are going to most likely fill in the void with their own Lightning connector docks, but Apple is not going to be involved in that market.
For now, your best best is to buy the Lightning to 30-pin adapter. Sure, it costs $30, but Apple wants to make sure that all of your accessories work with the iPhone 5. You might even have to buy two or three adapters. You already spent at least $199 on the iPhone 5. What’s another $30 to $90 going to do? Besides, you’re encouraging an era of expensive proprietary connectors at the expense of accepted standards. That’s a good thing, right?