Apple is indeed planning to replace its current 30-pin dock connector on its iDevices with a new, 19-pin connector when it launches the next iPhone this fall. That's according to two unnamed sources speaking to Reuters, who claimed the reason for the change would be "to make room for the earphone moving to the bottom."
Rumors about plans Apple may have to replace the current dock connector—which has been part of Apple's products since 2003—have been around for a while, but they've been picking up steam recently as buyers anticipate the next major iPhone release. We wrote last month about why now might be the right time for Apple to move forward with a new connector on its devices—one of the main arguments is that it could allow Apple to make thinner devices, like it has chosen to do with the new MagSafe 2 in the Retina MacBook Pro.
But there's also the new European regulations that require mobile phones to standardize on a micro-USB connector, which Apple committed to in 2009—some believe that Apple might make the switch altogether to micro-USB in the next iPhone, but we think it's more likely that Apple will just release an updated version of its existing micro-USB adapter in order to comply with the EU standards.
Reuters didn't appear to have further details about the next-gen iPhone, though it's expected to come with a larger screen than the current iPhone as well as 4G/LTE support, and will most likely be released alongside iOS 6.
Update: iMore now claims to have information about Apple's plans when the new dock connector becomes public. The company will reportedly sell old-to-new dock connector adapters, similar to what it did when it released the MagSafe 2.
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