iPhone and iPad could be getting Thunderbolt, hints patent

Apple could be plotting to squeeze Thunderbolt ports into upcoming mobile gadgets such as the iPhone 5 or iPad 3.

Patently Apple spied an Apple patent that hints at that very eventuality. The patent, which is one of three new Thunderbolt patent applications from the Cupertino tech giant, details how a connection could be established with mobile devices.

"A connection may be provided between a portable media player and a display, a computer and a portable media player, or between other types of devices."

It should be taken with a pinch of salt, but that could suggest Apple has Thunderbolt connections in mind for new mobile devices.

That could significantly speed up moving data to and from those gadgets, as this weird new connection allows for 10Gbps data transfer.

Apple unveiled the Thunderbolt port last year, having smuggled it inside 2011's MacBook Pro. Since then it's popped up on the MacBook Air and iMac.

Thunderbolt is like a combination of a PCI Express port and DisplayPort, and while the company has been notoriously shy when it comes to slapping extra ports on its mobile devices, the fact that Thunderbolt is already on loads of Apple's own tech indicates it might be ready to make a design sacrifice and stick a port on the side of the next iPhone.

How Apple would use that port is anyone's guess. It could be used for speedier data transfer of photos and suchlike, while Patently Apple notes that faster battery charging could be a possibility.

Thunderbolt was born of a collaboration between Intel and Apple, with the tech known by its code name 'Light Peak'. Intel is planning on bringing Thunderbolt to PCs this year.

Would you like a port on your iDevice? Or would it prove ugly and useless? Tell us in the comments or on our Facebook wall.