Why Phone Makers Are Trying to Kill the Headphone Jack

The only reason Apple killed the headphone jack is to make a profit on licensing things that will connect to their proprietary port.

No other reason. Sugarcoat it any way you like, Apple is a corporation that wants more money like any other corporation. They know the people who are intent on buying their products will buy it, no matter what they do to make them less convenient. As long as they remain trendy, simple to use, and "not a PC/Android", they know their brand loyalists will put up with virtually any amount of abuse.
 
westrock2000 said:
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SIT yo five dolla ass down before I make change!

That may be my favorite line from any movie ever.
 
westrock2000 said:
Both Lightning and USB-C support re-assignable pinouts, which allow them to switch some of the channels for analogue output. I believe Motorola is the first company to sell a USB-C phone in the US without a headphone jack. I see it as the future, BUT, it adds obvious compatibility issues that the 3.5mm does not.

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I love rendering my phone useless by bending the only fucking charging/data interface it has, aka a very flimsy and complicated jack which doesn't easily unplug if accidental stress is applied.
They can fuck off with that dongle shit.

I'm not buying a phone without a headphone jack.
I'm not buying a dongle, to use what the phone should come with and risk the one port that runs the whole damn thing.
Phones are no thinner than a V3i was in 2005, thinness is a meh factor for me, not ot mention they get so hard to hold.
Bluetooth headphones suck
More batteries to charge/change suck.
Bluetooth interference sucks

So whichever phone manufacturer continues to hold out with the jack, gets my $ and that of many others I bet.
 
N4CR said:
Phones are no thinner than a V3i was in 2005, thinness is a meh factor for me, not ot mention they get so hard to hold.
Bluetooth headphones suck
More batteries to charge/change suck.
Bluetooth interference sucks
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Phones are certainly thinner than they were in 05. Of those that are relatively the same, they are exponentially more powerful and all of that hardware required greater miniaturization to accomplish. Essentially if manufacturers werent constantly trying to make phones thinner they'd actually be fatter today due to enhancements. Bluetooth headphones dont suck any less than cheap analog headphones. Bluetooth interference? What are you talking about
 
I'd rather have a 1 or 2mm thicker phone and a bigass battery than no jacks and the current battery situation.
I totally agree the reason that Apple removed the jack was to sell more licensed stuff - that's like free money.
 
nysmo said:
Phones are certainly thinner than they were in 05. Of those that are relatively the same, they are exponentially more powerful and all of that hardware required greater miniaturization to accomplish. Essentially if manufacturers weren't constantly trying to make phones thinner they'd actually be fatter today due to enhancements. Bluetooth headphones dont suck any less than cheap analog headphones. Bluetooth interference? What are you talking about
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You realize that BT operates on a 2.4Ghz frequency correct? The most crowded frequency band in use today. All those 2.4Ghz home phones, everyone running a wireless N router or older, and let's not forget microwave ovens.

Try using BT headphones on a crowded subway and you will understand.
 
percydaman said:
Phones are already so thin I have to put on a case if for no other reason that it makes them easier to hold. I'm not one of those this Mani speaks of.
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I was just at UCLA to see a neurosurgeon last week. During the meeting, he noticed my iphone 6 sitting on the desk and commented that it is extremely rare for him to see a person whose phone has no case on it. Once I told him that it's much more comfortable to use and that I have never dropped my phone, he was even more impressed. Unfortunately that was about the extent of the lighthearted moment for me and my family.

I'm all for ridding the headphone jack but that is just because I have no use for it. It's all BT devices for all my external connection needs.
 
snowcrash said:
I was just at UCLA to see a neurosurgeon last week. During the meeting, he noticed my iphone 6 sitting on the desk and commented that it is extremely rare for him to see a person whose phone has no case on it. Once I told him that it's much more comfortable to use and that I have never dropped my phone, he was even more impressed. Unfortunately that was about the extent of the lighthearted moment for me and my family.

I'm all for ridding the headphone jack but that is just because I have no use for it. It's all BT devices for all my external connection needs.
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Your expectations are rather modest if you can survive on BT. Some of us are rather anal (myself included) and simply will not tolerate BT connected audio peripherals.
 
If they include an adapter that lets you listen and charge at the same time then I could probably live with it. Having to carry a dongle and trying not to lose it would really suck though.
 
percydaman said:
Phones are already so thin I have to put on a case if for no other reason that it makes them easier to hold. I'm not one of those this Mani speaks of.
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Fifliffl said:
I can barely text with my S8+ without a case cause I can't hold it well enough due to thinness. Stop this madness
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DukenukemX said:
That's a load of bull. People do desire headphone jacks, and it seems that's something phone makers aren't even aware of.
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They seem to be doing the complete opposite of what people want. People don't want a razor thin phone, the fact that the 3rd party case market is so massive is proof of this. People also want more battery life, which seems to be in direct contradiction to designing thinner phones. People would easily sacrifice several millimeters of phone thickness to keep a headphone jack and add several more amps to the battery.
 
nysmo said:
Phones are certainly thinner than they were in 05. Of those that are relatively the same, they are exponentially more powerful and all of that hardware required greater miniaturization to accomplish. Essentially if manufacturers werent constantly trying to make phones thinner they'd actually be fatter today due to enhancements. Bluetooth headphones dont suck any less than cheap analog headphones. Bluetooth interference? What are you talking about
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Flip open a V3i. They are about 4-5mm thick on the keypad and ~4mm on the screen. Sure it's a flip phone but it's still thinner than anything out today when flipped open..
But yes today they are far faster and slightly more useful, with more complexity and BS and spying that comes with it.

BT is a POS if you're in a busy area. Quality used to be shit but has improved these days, that said, I'd love to A/B and test it out on newer models, but I don't give a fuck because I don't want to deal with another shitty little battery to charge constantly.

If they kept the phones as thick as e.g. a SGS2 around 10mm, gave us all the fast spy tech and gave us 4-5k mAH, I'd actually have a reason to upgrade from a 2011 phone. Because right now, practically nothing is compelling at all. I'd rather get a flip phone ffs.
 
They logic this guy uses is hilarious. People loudly protest in favor of one design element, the jack, and are mum on thickness, so obviously they want thinner and no jack. WTF?
 
I would prefer a lighter phone, don't care if it's super thin. I have some nice 300$ bt headphones, but it is also able to use a standard 3.5" plug. They sound good but I wouldn't bring them for a subway ride so no matter what it's bs to not have the audio jack
 
I want: a phone that survives drops, lasts all day with battery to spare, a microsd slot, water/dust resistant, and a headphone jack. I don't give a crap if it's .8mm thinner than last year if the battery life is crap and the features are fewer.
 
Grimham said:
I've never met anyone that was asking for a thinner phone - No one. They're lying and giving the typical spin.
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Now that you mention it, I think you've hit it spot-on. People care about speed. They care about screen size. They care about camera quality and battery life. I've heard people rant and/or rave about each of these things. I don't think I've ever heard anyone complain that their phone was too thick.

Keep in mind that as phones have gotten thinner, they've also gotten wider and taller. So the whole thinner-is-better argument is, IMO, a bunch of baloney. The iPhone 7 has a larger volume (65,700 mm3) than an iphone 4 (52,600 mm3), despite being 2.5mm slimmer.
 
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KenRico said:
IMO Apple eliminated the 3.5mm jack because they do not own the standard and could not make it proprietary .

Some suit probably said 'Why are we giving away this headphone jack for free ? '

Kenny
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You are probably on to something there.
 
ccityinstaller said:
You realize that BT operates on a 2.4Ghz frequency correct? The most crowded frequency band in use today. All those 2.4Ghz home phones, everyone running a wireless N router or older, and let's not forget microwave ovens.

Try using BT headphones on a crowded subway and you will understand.
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yeah but its' digital, and most audio streams fall well below the bandwidth required for bluetooth and the streaming apps themselves probably buffer the data some. Bluetooth uses something like 100 channels to hop between across that entire 2.4ghz spectrum. If youre using bluetooth on a subway how likely is it that there are a bunch of other people also using bluetooth saturating the spectrum so much as to potentially cause issues? I doubt anybody is streaming audio at all.
 
Nope. All wrong. Its about $$$.

Its about the very very localized BT signal from your phone being used to monetize you.

Remember a long time ago, Apple started randomizing Wi-Fi mac address because dirt bag devs were using it to track/monetize you. Android didnt try to half implement a poor version of that until maybe Android 6. It was optin, cant even find it in 7, maybe became default, but who knows with Google.

Having everyone have the even more precise BT signal on every device is a massive massive gold mine.

It's literally the stuff of bad movies, except based on real science. Not the zoom into 10x10 pixel and get pristine 4k image.
 
Who cares, how about we get a unique experience in phones again instead of this grid of icons stuff. The head phone jack was good for one thing though, ripping the headsets off your head when the cable gets caught on something.
 
The phone industry seems to be the only one I know of where removing things is considered a feature.

My perfect phone would be 1-2 days of normal usage battery life, slide out qwerty keyboard, sd card, usb charging/data port, micro hdmi, headphone jack and removable battery.

Damned the thickness.

For these things costing $700-1k without contract I'd like similar or better connectivity than a laptop.
 
percydaman said:
Phones are already so thin I have to put on a case if for no other reason that it makes them easier to hold. I'm not one of those this Mani speaks of.
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This. I have a Nexus 5x, and it is borderline unusable without a case to make it thicker
 
If people were so worried about phone size and wanted small phones then why aren't there dozens of high end ~4" screen phones instead of all these 6"+ screen monstrosities?

Yeah, I call BS.
 
I just generally don't get it. Alright, so if you were to design a phone that was extremely small, I would understand how you would be starved for space. But if you're talking about a 6" phone like the next gen Pixel XLs, which are rumored to be doing away with the jack, what's taking up all that space? AND, how can Samsung fit an entire stylus in their Note series phones, RETAIN the headphone jack, and have comparable if not superior performance to other phones which exclude it? WHAT IS GOING ON HERE?!
 
westrock2000 said:
Both Lightning and USB-C support re-assignable pinouts, which allow them to switch some of the channels for analogue output. I believe Motorola is the first company to sell a USB-C phone in the US without a headphone jack. I see it as the future, BUT, it adds obvious compatibility issues that the 3.5mm does not.
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My problem with this particular design is that, if the phone somehow took a knock to the plug and damaged the USB port, the phone is as good as dead.

3.5mm jack does not have that issue. Damaged 3.5mm jack will not prevent the phone from functioning.

And then there is that bit of hard plastic sticking out
 
dr_drift said:
I just generally don't get it. Alright, so if you were to design a phone that was extremely small, I would understand how you would be starved for space. But if you're talking about a 6" phone like the next gen Pixel XLs, which are rumored to be doing away with the jack, what's taking up all that space? AND, how can Samsung fit an entire stylus in their Note series phones, RETAIN the headphone jack, and have comparable if not superior performance to other phones which exclude it? WHAT IS GOING ON HERE?!
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It goes like this: The manufacturer wants to make the phone thinner, from 7.6 to 7.1mm, but retain battery life. So the internal volume drops significantly, but you still need to fit a 2000mAh (or whatever) battery in there. So something else has to go away to make room.

Of course, when I see the size of the Taptic Engine, I think "gee, no wonder you ran out of room for a headphone jack!"
 
If a corporation does X, usually it is a safe bet to assume it's to make them more money, or at least attempt to.
 
MacLeod said:
I think it sucks that they're phasing them out. I listen to a lot of music on my phone and it is so much easier and nicer to just be able to grab any old set of ear buds and off I go. My piece of shit Motorola Z has the USB-C jack and while they give you a USB-C to 3.5mm adapter, it's just one more thing to keep up with.

I also disagree that we want thinner phones. This POS is incredibly thin and I can barely hold onto it. I'm sure it's just me tho as I always seem to be out of touch on the latest trends. The Samsung Note 4 is essentially the perfect phone. Perfect size, 3.5mm jack, SD card, removable battery and the S Pen. I just wish they'd keep making it.
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Plus ir blaster. I got upgraded to a note 5 when my 4 died. Really sucked to lose the ir.
 
So.....take a piece of plastic less than 4mm (0.15") thick and the width and length of your phone.....now try to mimic talking on the phone....SURPRISE....no matter how rounded the edge is, it feels like it cuts your hand. Thinner is good (I have a 9mm Z5c which could be thinner), but like everything, excess is bad. They all look for excuses, but I will never buy a phone without headphone jack (although I listen to it maybe 1-2hours/month). I think the AvP quote defines best my feelings on this: "It's like condoms: better have it and not need it, then need it and not have it".
 
Phone makers aren't doing their damnedest to remove the headphone jack because people want it gone. They also aren't making phones thinner because people want thinner phones. It has gotten to the point where phones are so damn thin that you can't even get a grip on them and need a damn case for it just to make it comfortable to use.

What I want in a phone is thickness. That's plenty of room for all the stuff it needs including a headphone jack and a big ass, high capacity battery which I can remove and replace as needed. I want bezels. I want bezels all the way around. I'm tired of having the screen indicate something was done just because I moved my fingers just a tiny little bit while trying to hold the damn thing. A nice bezel on the side with a small lip would stop this in a heartbeat. Hell, it would even help keep the screen somewhat from being destroyed if dropped.

I definitely want the headphone jack. I don't use bluetooth anything and don't care to use it. Bluetooth headphones are yet another drain on the phone's battery I don't want and another thing I have to keep charging. Screw that. I'm perfectly happy using wired headphones with a 3.5mm jack like I've already been using for decades. That wire wasn't a problem for me to use for the decades before and still isn't a problem now.

Also, fuck dongles. Phone manufacturers already went this route years ago. It sucked complete and total ass then and it's still going to suck complete and total ass now. That's the very reason why they ended up going to or back to the venerable 3.5mm jack. It works and you can use it when you have the phone plugged in to charge, or to transfer whatever on it to a computer for backup or you have the phone tethered for an internet connection.

I want a relatively tough phone that's thick so it's comfortable to use and handle. A 3.5mm jack so I can use the same headphones I've been using for years instead of having to replace some wireless ones which cost too damn much every two or three years as the batteries in them die. I don't want glass anywhere but the damn screen. I want removable batteries and an SD card slot. A thicker phone allows for all of this and you can even use the bluetooth stuff if you want. It's a damn win/win situation for everyone.

Removing the 3.5mm jack and making phones thinner only benefits the manufacturers. It doesn't benefit the consumer at all. It just allows them to make what they want with the features they want and charge what they want. They want you to buy more accessories such as the stupid ass dongles you're going to have to buy and rebuy over and over because they fall apart and get lost. They want you to spend shittons of money on upgraded storage because you won't have an SD card slot. They want you to buy a new phone every year or two because the battery went to shit since you had to charge it twice a day due to low capacity and no decent way to replace the battery. They want to cover the phone in glass and other stupid materials so it's so slick that you keep dropping it and the damn thing breaks and you have to buy a new one.

It doesn't matter if you don't use the headphone jack or not. It doesn't matter if you're ambivalent about the phone being a little thinner. You'll end up paying for it in the long run if you continue to allow manufacturers to dictate what can be in a phone.
 
Mohonri said:
Now that you mention it, I think you've hit it spot-on. People care about speed. They care about screen size. They care about camera quality and battery life. I've heard people rant and/or rave about each of these things. I don't think I've ever heard anyone complain that their phone was too thick.

Keep in mind that as phones have gotten thinner, they've also gotten wider and taller. So the whole thinner-is-better argument is, IMO, a bunch of baloney. The iPhone 7 has a larger volume (65,700 mm3) than an iphone 4 (52,600 mm3), despite being 2.5mm slimmer.
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you must be a youngin'

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I do not care if they get rid of the headphone jack so long as they replace it with a good standard. Not make their own proprietary one so if the entire audio industry wants to settle on something good then great. If not then it's a big problem and will probably just push us into the he'll we had before chargers standardized around usb
 
Coming soon headphone jack cases... I mean we already have battery cases.
I guess anything to make cellphones less practical and more disposable the better.
 
SmokeRngs said:
Also, fuck dongles. Phone manufacturers already went this route years ago. It sucked complete and total ass then and it's still going to suck complete and total ass now. That's the very reason why they ended up going to or back to the venerable 3.5mm jack. It works and you can use it when you have the phone plugged in to charge, or to transfer whatever on it to a computer for backup or you have the phone tethered for an internet connection.
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Yeah, exactly this. Years ago I had a Sony Ericsson phone and because it was Sony, it didn't have either a headphone jack or a micro-USB port for charging (and of course it didn't take standard microSD cards, either, but Sony M2 cards which were several times more expensive). This meant that in order to charge it, you had to connect a special charging cable to the single proprietary connector, which meant that you couldn't use headphones simultaneously, because they too attached to the proprietary connector via a special Sony dongle that provided a 3.5mm jack.

That was absolute fucking bullshit back in 2004, and it's absolute fucking bullshit in 2017 too.
 
I honest to God can't remember a single person I know who has ever asked for a thinner phone, hell, I can't even remember the last time someone talked about the thickness of a phone outside of phone reviews. The common topics? Bigger battery, better camera, bigger battery, higher brightness screen, bigger battery, expandable storage (SD slots), bigger battery, replaceable battery and bigger batteries.

Myself, I find it hard to hold some of the newer phones, as they are so thin WITH rounded edges, so even less to hold onto, I like others here need a case to give some "beef" to it so I can hold it without slipping. I would much rather that extra size go to a bigger battery/storage and keeping the jack.
 
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