iPhone 5: Five things for motorists to expect

The Apple iPhone 5 is expected to be unveiled on 12 September. But with iPod integration fitted as standard in many cars (and as an option in many more), what does it mean for motorists? We’ve rounded up five rumours, and discussed the impacts each will have on drivers:

New connector

This is where the iPhone 5 poses the biggest problem for motorists and carmakers. Apple is ditching its 30-pin dock connector in favour of a smaller 9-pin design, which will make any existing cables incompatible, and cause havoc for motorists wanting to charge their phone in the car, or listen to music through a factory-fitted system. You’ll no doubt be able to buy a £10 lead to convert the old connection to a new one, but this’ll be messy.

New size

To bring Apple’s smartphone into line with larger Android devices, the iPhone 5 will include a four-inch screen instead of the 3.5-inch display of the current 4S. This is good news for motorists – it’ll make it easier to see the screen when you’re driving, so your phone can rival a sat-nav. Not only is the screen bigger, but the device is slightly taller than the iPhone 4S, and it’s thinner as well. This will be a concern if you bought an iPhone specific case or phone holder for your car, but shouldn’t prove too much of a problem.

New headphone socket

The 3.5mm socket where you plug in wired hands-free kits and auxiliary cables will be on the bottom of the iPhone 5, not on the top as it has been in previous Apple smartphones. This isn’t a big deal, but will mean that if you use a dash or screen-mounted phone holder, your cabin should look a bit less cluttered, as the cables won’t have to plug into the top.

New software

iOS 6 will add a few features to the new iPhone which should benefit motorists. For a start, Apple has switched from supplying the phone with Google Maps as standard to its own maps. The advantage of this is that it now comes with turn-by-turn navigation out of the box, whereas previously you needed to download a sat-nav app. There’s also likely to be the next generation of Siri – Apple’s voice-control. This will make hands-free calling very easy to do, and you can have text messages read aloud in the car too.

New hardware

Nothing has been confirmed yet, but we’re expecting to see a pretty awesome camera, as well as the inclusion of Near Field Communications (NFC) to bring the iPhone 5 into line with rival smartphones. The camera will benefit drivers who use apps to record their journey, while NFC will make it easier to pair with devices such as hands-free earpieces.