Have your wife switch to iPhone 4s. She gets the upgrades she needs but the same charger she has had. It also has Siri.
I have an iPod with the old charger and an iPhone 5 with the new. It I had to choose between chargers I would go with the new but I have no money invested in other devices.
Since you have already invested in other equipment I can understand your frustration, but the iPhone 4s is still available.
So are a large number of vastly superior Android smart phones, for much less total cost. This whole thread started out about Apple's inferiority to other products.