Is this the beginning of the end of Apple's dock connector? Rumor has it, that the company is looking to replace the dock connector. Its been synonymous with iPads, iPhones, iPods for almost a decade already. The rumors comes from a smartphone enthusiast site, who also says that the company will be ditching the connector for a smaller "micro dock".

The site, iMore, claims Apple is looking to ditch the connector in its upcoming iPhone 5. The reason: to make room for more stuff on the inside.

The report is high speculative at best right now, and doesn't mention anything about sources, but it also speaks a bit of truth. Apple is considering a lot of extra tech in future mobile devices, and they will be need more space inside if they're going to make it the same size. Other phonemakers like Samsung, and HTC have already made their phones larger, so they've got no issues just yet. Its highly unlike Apple will be one to cave at the sound of the phablet.

The dock connector is bigger than the micro USB jack common on competing phones, but it'll be necessary to replace them in the future as technologies like 4G LTE, NFC, and better camera components are competing for some real estate inside the phone and tablets. Most phones have already adopted the micro USB standard.

If the rumor pans out right, this could mean that the upcoming iPad 3 could be the first product from Apple to sport a new connector. What do you think? Will they be switching out?

Image via iFixit