As rumor has it, the iPhone's dock connector is about to get smaller. Multiple sites are reporting that Apple will indeed be replacing the 30 pin dock connector with a smaller port for the next model.

The site MobieFun first published renderings of what appear to be a redesigned iPhone, and the site says at least one manufacturer believes the images are accurate. They show a phone with a bigger screen that’s even thinner than the current iPhone 4S, and it sports a small connection port on the bottom.

TechCrunch said it had confirmed with sources that Apple was “working on adding” a 19-pin port for the new iPhone.

The change to the port makes sense, since the phone needs more real estate inside of it to fit more things, like a bigger better battery for example. The current dock connector on the iPhone is significantly larger than the micro USB ports on most phones today.

It's unlikely that Apple would give up their proprietary connector on its devices, and shrinking it in size would give engineers more room to add stuff inside the phone. Tech like NFC and improved cameras / batteries demand more space from phones.