Apple patents smaller headphone jack

Apple has filed a patent for a new proprietary audio jack that uses deflectable Pogo pins for conductive contacts. This new design saves space and will enable the company to create smaller and thinner devices, as a teardown of the latest iPod nano revealed that the current headphone jack was one of the limiting factors in the design.

The application has become public as Apple has introduced its latest and smallest line of iPod players ever. Design considerations for the size of the headphone jack can be seen in the latest iPod nano, which employs a tiny 1.54-inch display.

In its teardown of the new iPod nano, iFixit found that the front glass on the sixth-generation device sticks up about .3mm from the flat face of the outer case. The solutions provider said that decision was likely made because of the size of the headphone jack.

"Apple wanted to keep the device as thin as possible, and the curvature of the edges would have forced the case to be thicker for a completely flush glass panel," they said. "A thicker case was ditched in favor of the glass sticking out slightly."

More details at Apple Insider.