USB-IF Publishes Audio Over USB Type-C Specifications

The USB Implementers Forum has introduced a new standard for delivering audio over USB Type-C. This is part of the initiative to kill the 3.5mm analog audio jack, allowing OEMs to shave up to a millimeter off product designs and reduce the number of connectors on a device.

The industry, led by Intel and some other companies, has been mulling about replacing the traditional 3.5mm mini-jack connector for some time now. The main motives for replacement were necessity to simplify internal architecture of devices by removing analog and some audio processing components from the inside (which leads to further miniaturization), minimize the number of external connectors, improve power management as well as to add smart features to headsets and other audio equipment.

It's good to have options, as long as one of those is a 3.5mm jack. I don't want to lug an adapter around everywhere I want to listen to audio.

I wouldn't mind losing the 3.5mm jack. Just give us more USB-C ports instead of just one. Some of us like to charge AND listen to music at the same time. Qi charging isn't near as fast as wired charging yet. However, I don't mind Bluetooth audio. It's great and convenient. I have a Bluetooth portable rechargeable DAC AMP that doubles as a portable battery pack. Creative E5 portable DAC AMP. The few affordable ones that has optical support. The times are a changin'.

I'll keep the 1mm, AND my headphone jack thank you every frickin' much.

Another cure for something that isn't a problem, that will cost consumers billions.

midnightfrolic said:

I wouldn't mind losing the 3.5mm jack. Just give us more USB-C ports instead of just one. Some of us like to charge AND listen to music at the same time. Qi charging isn't near as fast as wired charging yet. However, I don't mind Bluetooth audio. It's great and convenient. I have a Bluetooth portable rechargeable DAC AMP that doubles as a portable battery pack. Creative E5 portable DAC AMP. The few affordable ones that has optical support. The times are a changin'.

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You just know that someone is eventually going to try to plug 2 chargers into it, and burn their house down.

BloodyIron said:

It's good to have options, as long as one of those is a 3.5mm jack. I don't want to lug an adapter around everywhere I want to listen to audio.

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It would be cool if they built the adapter into the charger cable, so whenever you have it charging there is a 3.5mm slot in the cable.

Zarathustra[H] said:

It would be cool if they built the adapter into the charger cable, so whenever you have it charging there is a 3.5mm slot in the cable.

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You could do a pass through design since they would be completely seperate pins.

But even so, best case scenario there is now going to be a competing standard in the marketplace and we know "the industry" won't side with Apple. Apple could go with USB-C, I doubt it, but it's more likely then the other way around.

westrock2000 said:

You could do a pass through design since they would be completely seperate pins.

But even so, best case scenario there is now going to be a competing standard in the marketplace and we know "the industry" won't side with Apple. Apple could go with USB-C, I doubt it, but it's more likely then the other way around.

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Whatever happened to that European law requiring devices to use open standards for cabling?

Zarathustra[H] said:

Whatever happened to that European law requiring devices to use open standards for cabling?

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That's Europe. America functions differently. London has a very open immigration policy if you'd like live a better cell phone society.

westrock2000 said:

That's Europe. America functions differently. London has a very open immigration policy if you'd like live a better cell phone society.

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Understood, but some of it could rub off. It is sometimes more costly to maintain multiple designs than it is to just use one.

I wonder what Apple is doing in Europe. Have those rules even taken effect yet.

Zarathustra[H] said:

Understood, but some of it could rub off. It is sometimes more costly to maintain multiple designs than it is to just use one.

I wonder what Apple is doing in Europe. Have those rules even taken effect yet.

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I believe they have to provide an adaptor for free. An EU iPhone still has a lightning port.

They took effect several years ago, like micro USB days.

If the government is at the point they are dictating what ports are allowed on a cell phone, they are already way past the point many of us would be comfortable with. Which is why posting on Twitter can get you arrested over there (and not for threats, that can happen here as well).

westrock2000 said:

I believe they have to provide an adaptor for free. An EU iPhone still has a lightning port.

They took effect several years ago, like micro USB days.

If the government is at the point they are dictating what ports are allowed on a cell phone, they are already way past the point many of us would be comfortable with. Which is why posting on Twitter can get you arrested over there (and not for threats, that can happen here as well).

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They didn't dictate which ports could be on a phone, they just forced the industry to agree on a single charging standard. They were trying to avoid having so many proprietary cell phone chargers in landfills.

sir-gold said:

They didn't dictate which ports could be on a phone, they just forced the industry to agree on a single charging standard. They were trying to avoid having so many proprietary cell phone chargers in landfills.

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Sorry for the confusion, that was regarding the initial conversation of there now being a consumer issue of there being two different interfaces in the market if we abandon the 3.5mm or 1/8" standard and move towards USB-C versus Lightning for headphones. The other poster suggested a regulation forcing a single approved port.

But I wanted to go on the record that you are right and I was wrong. The EU "law" was a suggestion and not an actual law. Which is why Apple was able to put a lightning port on the iPhones. The initiative however did call for chargers to be universal, by using a standard USB A female port, which allowed Apple to mostly follow the suggestion because the lighting cable is compatible with USB. This issue with moving audio to the port is only going to further exacerbate the issue.

It's a non-issue because the same people who are upset about lightning audio will also be upset about USB-C audio for the same reasons. Everyone else will use wireless audio. The people who are upset about lightning audio, refuse to upgrade to wireless, and be ok with upgrading to USB-C audio devices are going to be so few in numbers they'll be irrelevant in the market.

mope54 said:

It's a non-issue because the same people who are upset about lightning audio will also be upset about USB-C audio for the same reasons. Everyone else will use wireless audio. The people who are upset about lightning audio, refuse to upgrade to wireless, and be ok with upgrading to USB-C audio devices are going to be so few in numbers they'll be irrelevant in the market.

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Lol. Upgrade. Wireless is a downgrade in every possible way.

mope54 said:

It's a non-issue because the same people who are upset about lightning audio will also be upset about USB-C audio for the same reasons. Everyone else will use wireless audio. The people who are upset about lightning audio, refuse to upgrade to wireless, and be ok with upgrading to USB-C audio devices are going to be so few in numbers they'll be irrelevant in the market.

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USB-C audio is going to be on a lot more phones than lightning, and the USB-C adapters won't have an "Apple tax" like the lightning adapters do.

A USB-C adapter will be cheap enough that headphone and cell-phone companies will just include one in the box (hopefully with a pass-through for charging), the same way that early USB mice came with a ps/2 adapter.

sir-gold said:

USB-C audio is going to be on a lot more phones than lightning, and the USB-C adapters won't have an "Apple tax" like the lightning adapters do.

A USB-C adapter will be cheap enough that headphone and cell-phone companies will just include one in the box (hopefully with a pass-through for charging), the same way that early USB mice came with a ps/2 adapter.

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The same way Apple is currently doing with the lightning adapters...apparently forgetting this so-called "Apple Tax."

Called it.

If you don't care about audio, this is fine for most users, however if you like quality audio, you have zero real options in wireless, and everything else needs a 3.5mm jack. Assuming you don't want to carry a DAC with you everywhere or some type of converter and then losing ability to charge the phone, and there goes the point of shaving 1mm off the phone.

If this happens, I can see this helping standalone audio players a bit that still have 3.5mm ports until we see more usb-c quality headphones, you are also then stuck waiting for a time to upgrade, when most people who are buying $500+ a pair of cans use them for a long, long time. Really depends on power output and audio quality over this and if it can drive a good set of cans without an amp.

Why do they insist on removing things people want? I can't remember ever hearing someone saying "man, I wish they would remove the 3.5mm jack so I can have a 1mm thinner phone", when we go thinner then, we can also reduce battery size!! Yay!! Phones are well beyond pocketable, which is really all that matters to me. I would love to have a little bit thicker phone with a bigger battery, rather than giving that space to a bigger screen. Maybe I am in the minority, but I always hear people crying about battery life, never about wishing they had a bigger screen.

Me, I have no interest in needing a cable just to plug my headphones into my phone. If I misplace it, so much for listening to music or whatever.

Zarathustra[H] said:

It would be cool if they built the adapter into the charger cable, so whenever you have it charging there is a 3.5mm slot in the cable.

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BloodyIron said:

Me, I have no interest in needing a cable just to plug my headphones into my phone. If I misplace it, so much for listening to music or whatever.

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Well, yeah, don't get me wrong. I would greatly prefer having the 3.5mm port on the phone itself. I'm just trying to think of ways to make this less bad.