More alleged iPhone 5 parts leak

If Apple can't plug the leaks in Cupertino, there may be nothing new for chief executive Tim Cook to show us when the next iPhone (which, for convenience, I'm calling the iPhone 5 until we know different) is unveiled.

The latest part of interest to leak is the much-anticipated revamped dock connector. It has been long rumored that Apple was getting ready to abandon the 30-pin dock connector that has adorned every iPhone and iPad every made with something a bit more svelte and compact. A video posted by repair firm SmartPhone Medic gives us a first look at the new connector.

There's no way of telling if this is a genuine part, but the screw holes on the dock connector board seem to line up with holes drilled in the alleged iPhone 5 chassis leaked by parts reseller ETradeSupply back in June.

This dock connector seems compatible with a leaked dock connector plug that made an appearance last week.

The full SmartPhone Medic video is shown below.

A purported logic board leaked earlier this week on Sina.com also matches up with the alleged chassis.

The catalyst for all these rumors seems to be the a video showing a metal chassis purporting to belong to the upcoming iPhone 5 that was posted to YouTube by ETradeSupply. This showed a much smaller slot for the dock connector and a headphone jack hole that was moved to the bottom of the iPhone. This metal chassis has since been detailed in a number of photos and videos. Alleged blueprints for the chassis have also been leaked.

Initial rumor suggested that 11 pins were going to be dropped from the 30-pin dock connector, making the new connector a 19-pin far more svelte and slender than the current offering. Cult of Mac found that there are indeed 11 pins that could safely be dropped from the current 30-pin connector. These include eight pins that supported FireWire and a further three that handled video-out functionality for the now defunct iPod Color and iPod Photo devices.

However, in recent days rumors changed to suggest that Apple could shave even more pins from the connector. 16-pin and 8-pin connectors are the most popular suggestions. These two rumors appear to be linked in that it has been suggested that the male connector -- such as that found on the connector cable -- will have 8-pins on each side, while the female connector -- found on the device -- has only 8 pins on one side.

This would allow the iPhone to be connected in either orientation to a male connector or docking port.

Gallery: iPhone 5: Rumor roundup

Image source: SmartPhone Medic/YouTube, ETradeSupply/YouTube, Sina.