Q: Are there any docks that currently will fit an iPhone 5S with the new Apple leather case?
– Sean
A: The official iPhone 5s Dock (iLounge Rating: B-) released by Apple last week is, rather ironically, not compatible even with Apple’s own iPhone 5/5s leather case.
Third-party Lightning Dock solutions have been available for a few months, and any docking solution designed for the iPhone 5 will work just fine with the iPhone 5s, but unfortunately almost all third-party docks (and speakers) with integrated Lightning connectors do not provide case compatibility either due to the connector simply not being long enough to fit into the Lightning port through the bottom of a case.
In fact, the only options we’ve seen that provide for case compatibility use the Apple Lightning cable as the actual connector and provide a physical dock or base to hold the cable.
The Twelve South HiRise for iPhone (iLounge Rating: A-) is our favourite among these both in terms of design and versatility.
You’ll need to supply your own Lightning cable as the actual docking element, but this isn’t really any different in principle from Apple’s own iPhone 5s Dock, which incorporates an integrated Lightning connector but still requires you to provide your own cable to connect from the rear of the dock to your computer or charger.
Belkin’s Charge + Sync Dock with Audio Port for iPhone 5 (iLounge Rating: B-) is another option that takes a similar approach of simply providing a passthrough space for a Lightning cable and audio cable.
