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Samsung's Next Flagship Smartphone May Not Feature a Headphone Jack (sammobile.com)

Posted by BeauHD on from the all-good-things-must-come-to-an-end dept.

Samsung's next flagship smartphone, which may be released sooner than later due to the Note 7 fiasco, may not feature a 3.5mm headphone jack. In fact, Samsung may be one of many manufacturers to make the jump from the 3.5mm headphone jack to USB-C for audio. The USB Implementers Forum published the Audio Device Class 3.0 specification that brings USB Audio over USB Type-C. What this means is that "mobile devices including smartphones, tablets and ultraportable laptops could ditch the headphone jack in the very near future without worrying about having to bake audio support into USB-C or a new, proprietary port," writes Chris Smith via BGR. SamMobile adds: "Removing the dedicated audio plug will also allow OEMs to create smartphones that are slimmer and have better water resistance capabilities."

14 of 446 comments (clear)

  1. Sigh not more of this bullshit by redmid17 · · Score: 5, Insightful

    I like being able to charge my phone AND listen to music. It's not a niche use. Millions of people do it every day. I don't want wireless headphones. At least nail down wireless charging before you jam every possible output/input through one port.

    1. Re:Sigh not more of this bullshit by squiggleslash · · Score: 4, Insightful

      Not going to comment on the wisdom of removing the headphone jack, but it'd be trivially easy to add multiple USB ports, solving that problem and a few others too. It wouldn't even affect the thinness of the device.

      Can't see Samsung doing that though, at least, not unless Apple also does it.

      --
      You are not alone. This is not normal. None of this is normal.
    2. Re:Sigh not more of this bullshit by thesupraman · · Score: 3, Insightful

      Yes, because watching a movie on a long flight while having your phone plugged in to keep it charged NEVER happens.
      Or are we ALL supposed to 'baaaa' when corps tell us to jump?

      Just another reason to pick up a Chinese phone for half the price, which delivers 90% of the functionality.

      but no, macs4all, I can see that your actual motivation is to defend the retarded choice YOUR religion has already forced on you.
      I suggest you get over it - some of the rest of the world prefers choice..

    3. Re:Sigh not more of this bullshit by jabuzz · · Score: 1, Insightful

      Your on a flight, you have to have flight mode enabled. At that point wireless headphones are not an option.

      It is one of the major use cases that shows the stupidity of removing the headphone jack.

  2. We don't need slimmer phones by caseih · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Phones are already so thin as to be barely usable with average hands. Why do they keep thinking they need to be thinner? Please help me understand.

    1. Re:We don't need slimmer phones by ninthbit · · Score: 5, Insightful

      Right? Thicken the phone back up with some more battery and leave my headphones alone. I don't give a flying fuck about water proof/resistance. Shit, doesn't a phone going in a pool help their sales?

    2. Re:We don't need slimmer phones by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Insightful

      You don't need a slimmer phone. Samsung and Apple do.

      They are purposefully kneecapping their hardware so that they can continue to "improve" the hardware in subsequent revisions, giving people a reason to upgrade (if they built a phone that people actually wanted to the quality you'd expect from a premium device, everyone would have the same phone for 5-10 years and that's bad for business). It's guaranteed Apple will release the 7S (or iPhone 8) and tout the new and improved battery life like it's some sort of miracle.

      Likewise, slim devices are subject to more mechanical stress than a fat phone. This too is great for hardware manufactures because it means the phone will more reliably fail once the warranty is expired. Good luck keeping an iPhone 7 around for 5 years (or longer).

      It's not about you. It's about planned and forced obsolescence, and nothing else.

  3. Are consumers REALLY asking for this? by DaveM753 · · Score: 5, Insightful

    It seems to me that this is an example of corporations quite clearly forcing consumers into something they don't want. They only way to stop them is to NOT buy these devices.

    I have 2 older iPods, a smartphone, a surround sound a/v receiver, CD players, MP3 players, ancient transistor radios, etc., and NONE of them work with USB headphones. All of them work with standard audio jacks. I'm not investing in new headphones, dongles, cables, etc.

  4. We don't want this.... by jef41305739 · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Dear Samsung. Please stop with the thin war and start the "real 24 hour battery" war. Phones have been plenty thin for years.... thicken them back up and put a fatter battery in there. What have people dealt with more than anything? A freaking dead battery. I want a phone that will run like a raped ape on a flight from Dallas to Sydney on a single charge and still be above 35% battery. We want our head phone jacks.. I charge my phone and use my headphones at the same time about every night. My wired headphones have lasted for +8 years now. Are there any 8 year old wireless headphones still rocking it or have they had battery issues? Which then brings up an environmental arrangement... this ramps up the number of old batteries that will get dumped in landfills over time. We all see the removal of the headphone jack for what it really is... a way to force people to purchase something they didn't need in the first place... a dick move like that is something like Apple would do. Just how waterproof are you wanting a phone to be? Are you hoping to corner the "action camera" market? Regards. Jef

  5. No choice by Dan+East · · Score: 4, Insightful

    Samsung has no choice here. As the only real competitor to Apple, they can't be left with 40 year old analog technology while the rest of the industry is tripping over themselves to make audio hardware that supports the Lightning connector, which Apple exclusively controls all the licensing for. If Samsung does not remove the analog audio jack, then there will not be a large enough market for a micro-USB digital audio competitor to Apple's Lightning. The only way to get manufacturers to produce enough USB audio devices is to create a large market (and thus a low enough price point to compete with Lightning audio devices), only Samsung moves enough Android handsets to do that, and it has to be done by removing the analog audio jack. Apple has already caught Samsung flat-footed here, and there is going to be a significant delay until companies start producing micro-USB audio hardware. The Lightening audio market will be flourishing (if it isn't already) before Samsung even gets the devices to market.

    Android devices will also face an issue with compatibility. Micro-USB does not by default support powering peripherals. That is what USB On-The-Go (OTG) is for. What this means is that micro-USB headphones will not work on all Android devices, because not all devices support OTG. Especially older ones and the cheap tablet market. That fragmentation will result in a negative impression of Android for some people (these new micro-USB headphones work with my wife's Android phone, but not my tablet - how come?).

    --
    Better known as 318230.
    1. Re:No choice by Dutch+Gun · · Score: 4, Insightful

      I've never figured out that "40 year old analog technology" angle. My Mark-1 ears are also 40 year old analogy technology, so I think they match up just fine.

      --
      Irony: Agile development has too much intertia to be abandoned now.
    2. Re:No choice by fluffernutter · · Score: 3, Insightful

      I can say personally I would never buy USB or lightning headphones. Why? Because I have 20 devices around my house that work with 3.5mm jacks. So until I can find a USB headphone that comes with 20 USB to 3.5mm converters, plus some extra for me to lose, they'll need to wait 15 years or more for me to replace all the devices I have already.

      --
      Laws are rules for the court, but merely a bottom bar to hit for life. Think beyond laws in your actions always.
  6. Toldja So by macs4all · · Score: 2, Insightful

    A few weeks ago, when all the Apple Haters were excoriating Apple for removing the 3.5 mm Jack in the iPhone 7, I predicted right here that this would happen within a year after the iPhone 7 came out.

    Guess Samsung is still all about copying Apple ( yet again) after all...

    Now watch as all the Fandroids rush to post that the iPhone wasn't first to eliminate the 3.5 mm Jack, which I also pointed out while those same people tripped over each other to say that the iPhone was completely ignoring their users, engaging in vendor lock-in and money grabbing (when Apple supplied a free adapter with the phone!) etc...

  7. Just Don't Buy It by BrendaEM · · Score: 3, Insightful

    That's all you have to do, and these stupid lame assholes will get fired, and their replacements will know enough not to take away useful features.

    If you buy one, you are part of the problem.
    If you don't buy one, you are part of the solution.

    --
    https://www.youtube.com/c/BrendaEM