Apple could be considering abandoning its now ubiquitous 30-pin dock connector in its next generation of devices, according to a report by iMore. The Apple-centric blog is reporting that the company is looking to trim down more parts which take up excessive amounts of space in its devices, having already shrunk components like the SIM card and externalized the iPhone's antenna. However, for those of you who immediately thought that Apple might embrace Thunderbolt or the Micro USB standard, we've got bad news — iMore says that the company will probably introduce a micro dock connector in its place.

As Apple's network solutions — iCloud, Wi-Fi Sync and the like — have improved over the years, the dock has become less important to the Post-PC iOS ecosystem and its users. However, abandoning the current dock connector would render "Made for iPod / iPhone" accessories (including speaker docks, fitness aids, and even car head units) useless unless Apple were to provide an adapter. iMore tells us that its source for the information is solid, though timing for the introduction of the new connector is unclear.