What kind of speeds are we looking at?
Whatever Apple decide to implement... or nothing. Seems to cover iPad keyboard connections etc. which could be all there is to it. “Thunderbolt/USB4” or USB 3.1 would be obvious (might not be branded as such if it has a proprietary connector).
ISTR seeing a similar patent years ago for a MagSafe 2/Thunderbolt 2 hybrid, which never saw the light of day.
Then you’ve got the new iMac with 1Gb Ethernet over the power cable (looks like the Ethernet controller is in the Mac, so the cable is just a patch cable). If the rumour about the new MBP having “MagSafe” is true then the same Ethernet-over-power arrangement is a possibility, but they’ll need a new connector (the iMac one is too large for a laptop).
NB: there’s a difference between “MagSafe” and “Magnetic connector” - The “safe” bit means the connector will pull out if the cord is pulled and is only sensible for laptops that may be temporarily connected to power via a cable draped across a room
and which have a battery, so sudden power disconnection isn’t a problem. That’s not something you want happening on a data connection to a disc drive etc. where yanking the cable could crash software or corrupt data. The iMac connector doesn’t sound like it is meant to pull out - it is a desktop, will crash immediately if it loses power and you’re meant to route the cable safely. The purpose of magnets on an iMac is probably just to make a shallower connector to satisfy Apple’s thin-ness obsession.
www.patentlyapple.com