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Phones Without Headphone Jacks Are Here... and They're Extremely Annoying (mashable.com)
A few weeks ago, we had an intense discussion on what would happen if Apple's next iPhone doesn't have a headphone port -- and what that means for the rest of the industry, as well as the pros and cons of ditching the legacy port. Over the past few months, we have seen many smartphone manufacturers launch new handsets that don't have a headphone jack. Mashable has a report today in which it says that it is already causing frustration among users. From the article: In the Android camp, phones like Lenovo's Moto Z and Moto Z Force and China's LeEco have already scrapped the 3.5mm headphone jack; to listen to music on the company's three latest phones, users need to plug in USB Type-C headphones, go wireless, or use a dongle. I'm all for letting go of old technologies to push forward, but what is happening is actually going to make things worse. The headphone jack has worked for 50 years and it can work for another 50 more because it's universal. Headphones I plug into my iPhone work in an Android phone, in a BlackBerry, in my computer, in my PS4 controller, in my tablet, in any speaker with audio-out, and so on. I can walk into any electronics store and pick up a pair of headphones and not have to worry about compatibility with any of my devices. I know it'll work. [...] With a universal headphone jack, I never have to worry whether or not the crappy pack-in iPhone EarPods I have will work with the Android phone I'm reviewing or not. I also never have to worry if I'll be able to plug my headphones into a friend's phone to listen to some new song. Same applies for when I want to use my earbuds and headphones with another person's device. And there lies the real issue. I will need different dongles -- a Lightning-to-headphone-jack and a USB-Type-C-to-headphone-jack to be prepared because I do carry both iPhone and Android phone on me daily. Dongles also get lost.
It's simple, really. New is not necessarily better. Change for the sake of change is rarely beneficial to the end user.
But, unfortunately for the public, neither observation helps sell more widgets. Rather quite the opposite.
Put my fist through my alarm clock with its ding-dong death inside my ear. - The Blackjacks.
Yeah, but in 3.5 mm there is mono, stereo, passive microphone, active microphone, non-standard inline controls, impedance sensing, FM antenna. So 3.5 mm is far from standard.
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The media content industry has already done away with analogue video output jacks. Now they are focusing on audio.
It's been decades I got plagued with loose mini-jack connectors. My 4s and iPad 1 still work perfectly, as do newer devices I have.
It's been a complain by Apple for long that MiniJack is too thick for the design goals they were targeting. Reusing BT or USB/C or Lightning connectors saves port space, allows for a second speaker (eg., in Apple's forthcoming design if we're to believe the hype). I think manufacturers will come to realize we still want jacks (I do as I dont want to have to charge my headphones) and provide combined-plug allowing charging while still having MiniJack headphones connected. If not, their loss.
Micro USB jacks wear out even more quickly. I wonder what the new connectors will be like. Everything is getting shittier.
what you describe is most of the china crap that you buy today.
that does not mean that in-spec jacks and plugs are a problem. in fact, they are not!
so, complain about buying dollar buds. but don't say all jacks and plugs are bad, since that's just plain out WRONG.
its not my fault that you buy crap and complain about the format.
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"It is now safe to switch off your computer."
For what value of "ridiculously"? I don't have a single 3.5 mm jack in the house with bad connection poltergeists.
But then, I'm still running an NAD 7140 from the 1980s as my stereo amplifier. Had to go in there last week with electrical contact cleaner to take the crackle out of the volume and balance pots, but I'm sure the audio jack still works perfectly. I'd have replaced some of the electrolytics, too, if my ears could hear any defects.
Obviously, though, I'm not a desirable Apple customer on several counts (ability to fix things myself, willingness to keep using unfashionable equipment that still works fine, ability to tell whether unfashionable equipment still works fine), so there is that.
While I'm not thrilled at seeing the headphone jack disapear the author's reasons for keeping it apply to maybe .001 of the population. How many people really have a reason to carry both an iphone and a droid on them? Using my headphones on some one else's phone? How often does THAT come up for a normal person?
I ignore Anonymous Coward posts. If you want to discuss something, that's awesome. Log in.
Sure will it help Apple sell more propriety and versioned widgets that become obsolete within a couple years like the chargers did. Yes it is another avenue stream which they previously didn't lock down hard enough and sure there will be many third party options that may or may not (as the case often is) be compatible. But further into the future when we are gunning for more mods and tools would we expect a universal standard or a propriety one with a limited lifespan... Thank you Apple for pushing the case for the second option so so hard. It's so nice to have expensive equipment only to have to shell out $50 for the charger cables time and time again. Think of it like the John Deere line when repairs and replacement parts were choked. You don't own this equipment, you are licensing it from the company. At the cost of replacing connecting accessories and expensive repairs for standard parts that expire every year or two.
Bluetooth works fine, for my over-the-ear headphones AND vehicle.
Now I'm just hoping Apple gives me decent wireless charging and consistent connectivity to iTunes without having to plug in (this functionality seems spotty, at best)
I haven't had to fiddle with poor jacks in nearly 20 years. Stop buying cheap garbage and you'll be okay.
It wears out ridiculously fast. I've had to find the "sweet spot" on an untold number of 3.5mm jacks. You either have to twist the plug to the perfect angle or apply pressure on the correct side, or else you get no sound or severely diminished sound.
This has been my experience as well. Not every jack fails - but it still happens more often than for any other jack type that I commonly use. However, I'm still not happy about the move to USB (or Lightning) for everything.
Why? Because manufacturers are cheaping out by actually removing the headphone jack, rather than replacing it. If everything plugs in by USB, good - but I still need to be able to plug in more than one thing at a time, and no I don't want to add a bulky hub to do it.
Phones are the size of mini-tablets these days and you're telling me there is no more room for a headphone jack?
It wears out ridiculously fast. I've had to find the "sweet spot" on an untold number of 3.5mm jacks. You either have to twist the plug to the perfect angle or apply pressure on the correct side, or else you get no sound or severely diminished sound.
This has been my experience as well. Not every jack fails - but it still happens more often than for any other jack type that I commonly use.
This is cray. I've used tons of audio jacks over the years (being both an audio person and a mobile DJ). I've worn our FAR more micro-USB ports (and more expensively to replace) than I've ever had problems with headphone jacks. And the two times I've had problems with headphones, a tiny amount of solder fixed it.
More to the point -- simpler is better.
Hire a Linux system administrator, systems engineer,
So instead you want to break your power charging plug hole, the one you now generally use once per day and that with a fixed battery. So instead a potential proprietary socket, that will wear out, destroying the phone because no it connects to nothing and you can not pull out a flat battery and replace it with a charged battery. Yep, gullibly being sold another B$ marketing line. So with an existing ear socket phone you can listen through the usb socket with the right hardware and software but not fucking while you are charging the phone but that's OK you can swap out the battery and charge it separately, oh wait no you fucking can't.
When I am sitting back at home listening to my phone with a headset, as I am not moving, I charge up the phone at the same time, it's common sense and I have decades old cd/radio players that still plug fine their headsets work fine, so worn socket, likely crappy off spec plugs.
Chaos - everything, everywhere, everywhen
expect to buy one in the next couple months (OK, I'm not all that serious about it yet). The 2 things I demand are a regular headphone jack, and an SDCC card slot. If a phone has both of those I go on to look at other features.
Using the headphone jack I can plug my phone into my stereo system and listen to MP3s. Granted, it's not top quality. But it's better than earbud, and definitely better than nothing. My stereo has neither USB nor bluetooth, and damned if I'm gonna buy a new stereo with my new phone.
I've never had that problem in 40+ years of using headphone jacks and plugs.
Actually, I have had this problem before - but not for the past 20-30 years. Back in the days when cheap transistor radios were a thing, I semi-regularly had earphone/headphone jacks break on me. Usually you could easily re-solder them, unless the manufacturer did something evil like encase it in rubber.
But with computers, iPods, and smartphones? Never had an issue.
#DeleteChrome
Indeed, I've never had a modern 3,5mm headphone port wear out. I've had a lot of micro-USB ports wear out. : And it's only logical that would be the case, the electrodes on the headphone port are far more robust than those on a micro-USB port.
I know that the standard response to "3,5mm port removal is the feature that nobody requested" is "it'll be painless and we'll be able to use the extra space to more useful internal hardware without having to make the phone bigger". But just ignoring the "painless" thing... how much more "capability" can you add in such a little space? That's enough for what, maybe 5% more battery time?
Maybe I'm wierd, but I couldn't give a rat's arse how thick a phone is... I just want it to be robost and not a big headache.
Hourglass says she knows a kid in Iowa who grows up to be president.
If that is true, then it is true because it is the jack that you use far more often than any other type of jack. I treat headphones like crap, and headphone jacks even more horribly. The last time I had one actually break was on a PowerBook 145 (where I broke at least two or three headphone jacks). Even with massive abuse, I haven't broken one in any hardware built in the past twenty years.
On my first iPhone, I did have one instance where the jack thought headphones were plugged in when they weren't. That took a little bit of jiggling with a pair of headphones to resolve. But at no point have I ever seen a modern jack break. Not in my gear, not in gear belonging to anyone I know.
I have, however, seen Lightning plugs break off in the jacks. Not only will you lose your headphones when that happens, but also the ability to charge your phone. On the plus side, Apple is going to sell a LOT more AppleCare plans after people break their third or fourth Lightning jack. So my stock loves the idea....
Check out my sci-fi/humor trilogy at PatriotsBooks.
You are apparently unaware that, to date, the only phones which have shipped without headphone jacks are Android phones...
No, I'm very aware of that -- it's kinda the point of TFA. There are already devices with this design decision, and there seems to be no positive in it (for the consumer), it just saves the manufacturer a few cents a unit and makes locking music playback down easier. All the ways people could listen to music on their phone without using the 3.5mm headphone jack were available before the change, so removing the port only stands to remove that other option for the user. It adds zilch to the customer experience.
The issue here is, unlike the Android platform, the customer can't just say "Well, if Apple is going to get rid of the headphone jack on the next iPhone, I'll just get another manufacturer's iOS smartphone". That's why this is a bigger deal.
The headphone jack interface is ancient. So is the Edison screw light bulb, but that fitting is still commonplace. Simply being old is not a good reason to abandon technology. The floppy drive was killed off not because it was old, but because superior alternatives were available. What is the superior alternative to the headphone jack? What else can offer the same convenience, low cost, universal compatibility, and reliability?
And also - If Apple has any claims that they are environmental-friendly, they can stuff that by now.
Adding a battery-pack to every headphone is frankly insane. Not only it's not environment friendly if you look at the materials used, but it also adds a extra energy usage that is completely unnecessary. So - It's more costly to the consumer, environment-unfriendly and user-unfriendly, adds nothing to the quality of the music, and is incompatible with the standards used in (sane) equipment.
Yeah - great move Apple.
I don't think there are many people out there saying that removing a choice is actually good for consumers, no matter what the justification is for all the phones that have already been released, and the ones that are coming.
Problem is, people have to speak with their money, and I'm not sure they will.
I mean, if Apple released an iPhone 7 that demanded an obligatory rectal exam for usage, there would still be lines to buy it. That's the problem that has been plaguing the smartphone business lately. I'm not an Apple hater, but at some point, fandom turns against the capability of a company to really innovate and really design products with consumers in mind. It's financially great for companies to have a horde of mindless fans that will buy whatever you churn out while not understanding the changes that were done, but it's also very easy to see why they wouldn't bother to spend money in creating something unique anymore after a certain point.
I personally don't even use wired headphones anymore, but I still think this is problematic. At best, an awful decision to allow for something people don't really need (even thinner smartphones with paltry battery capacities to follow), and at worse, a move to force consumers to spend more on stuff they never asked for, like clunky adapters, headphones with proprietary cables or clunky bluetooth gear that needs pairing, inherently more unsecure and becoming just one more thing to charge and worry about.
Say what you will, but replacing microUSB to USB Type-C has advantages and is a move vouching for better standardization and more capabilities to come. Eliminating a regular audio port, even if lightning ports and USB Type-C ports did give a hugely improved audio quality (which they don't, not for the average consumer) is just bullshit. It's anti-consumer, no matter what shit justifications these companies are giving for the move. This is removing choice. Anyone who wanted either Bluetooth phones or "better quality" audio via USB Type-C or Lightining ports could still have it with the audio port still there. There's nothing to be gained. Removing audio ports also won't change devices price... there's probably nothing cheaper among components than an audio port. There's probably also nothing more universal than it.
Seems also to be a calculated move... I'll point fingers here, sue me. Why the heck wouldn't Moto Z phones include a goddamn headphone jack in any of their Moto Z Mods for instance? It just sounds like this is the new way these phone companies found out to screw us over to force us to spend more money. I wouldn't be surprised if at a later date we found out that several companies colluded to make this move to sell more overpriced headphones out there.
Added to all that, it's yet another port disappearing from devices. I understand that it's pretty great to have a standard that does it all, but if you keep taking ports out of devices, you end up with crap like the recent MacBook with it's obviously insufficient single USB Type-C port.
Now, you can push someone to buy and carry around a dongle just because you couldn't put a couple more ports on your laptop (still think it's stupid and a design flaw), but to force smartphone owners to carry extra dongles, some bulky case, or anything extra like that just so that people can do what they already could do with previous versions - like charging a smartphone while still listening to stuff with a regular headphone. That's just backwards.
It's like releasing an entire new TV line that is 3D only. No, you can't watch things in regular 2D anymore because 3D is the new thing. We have the 3D glasses for you at "discount" prices, but if you are really cool we have expensive ones to match your coolness. If you are a poor lameass though, you can buy a 2D dongle and keep living in the past.
It's not like smartphones are already plateauing with less and less people buying new models because the ones they already have are "good enough", amirite? They also needed to make them less attractive
Micro USB jacks wear out even more quickly. I wonder what the new connectors will be like. Everything is getting shittier.
And increasing their usage will decrease their lifetime.
I like my headphone jack near the top of the phone, not at the bottom where the usb port typically is. I also may want to listen while I am charging. I also don't like the extra bulk of BT headphones, nor the cost for what is often crappy audio quality.