Apple Headphone and Camera Patents
Apple’s beef is with the existing leaf-spring contact system, which is bulky due to the restrictions of the physical form of the connector itself. Basically, the complex plastic restraints and springy contacts themselves mean you can’t easily choose the size and shape of the socket. And that means you have limitations on the format of the audio device you’re building, including device thickness and placement of the socket on the motherboard.
The other patent application is for a flash with multiple directional light elements.