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

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."

41 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 ProzacPatient · · Score: 5, Interesting

      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.

      It is as if Samsung wants everyone to abandon them. All of my portable electronics are Samsung but because of non-sense like this along with non-removable batteries and a lack of SD card slots I'll probably be making the jump to LG next time I'm in the market for a new device, but for right now I'm sticking with a Note 4 because, in my opinion, it's the last decent phone in the Galaxy lineup.

    2. Re:Sigh not more of this bullshit by Archfeld · · Score: 4, Interesting

      I agree. Hopefully they will ADD a USB port and not just leave us hanging. I would like to see an additional port on the opposite edge of my current charging port. Almost every USB implementation includes 2 available ports and they could utilize the existing boards without having to expand the size. I am also not really actively seeking a phone that is thinner overall, make it smaller to better fit in a pocket and flexible to better withstand the squashing effect.

      --
      errr....umm...*whooosh* *whoosh* Is this thing on ?
    3. Re:Sigh not more of this bullshit by mark-t · · Score: 2

      Did it mention anywhere that they were just removing the audio jack and not replacing it with anything, or are they adding an additional usb-c port that you can plug usb-c headphones into? While I'm not a fan of change for its own sake, at least the latter option doesn't carry all of the same accessibility concerns as the inability to use headphones while charging might.

    4. Re:Sigh not more of this bullshit by MouseR · · Score: 5, Funny

      Not being tied to your phone by the short headphone cable could protect you from your exploding phone.

      Smart thinking.

    5. Re:Sigh not more of this bullshit by macs4all · · Score: 2, Funny

      I agree. Hopefully they will ADD a USB port and not just leave us hanging. I would like to see an additional port on the opposite edge of my current charging port. Almost every USB implementation includes 2 available ports and they could utilize the existing boards without having to expand the size. I am also not really actively seeking a phone that is thinner overall, make it smaller to better fit in a pocket and flexible to better withstand the squashing effect.

      It's a PHONE. Want multipke ports? Get a hub.

    6. 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.
    7. 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..

    8. Re:Sigh not more of this bullshit by fahrbot-bot · · Score: 2

      In addition, I wish companies would stop with the "better water resistance" BS. My Kyocera Hydro VIBE, released in 2014, has a headphone jack (and user-replacable battery) and is certified waterproof to 1m for 30min. If Kyocera could do it 2 years ago, Samsung and Apple should be able to do now with these features - unless people want to go SCUBA diving with their phones.

      --
      It must have been something you assimilated. . . .
    9. Re: Sigh not more of this bullshit by dunkelfalke · · Score: 2

      I have tried both. Will go for antidepressants any day.

      --
      "It's such a fine line between stupid and clever" -- David St. Hubbins, Spinal Tap
    10. Re:Sigh not more of this bullshit by stealth_finger · · Score: 2

      Because it went so well when they removed the sd card slot. No 3,5mm=No buy. No SD slot=No buy.

      --
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      https://www.redbubble.com/people/stealthfinger/shop?asc=u
    11. Re:Sigh not more of this bullshit by MachineShedFred · · Score: 2

      I have a second vehicle that is a piece of crap SUV that I use during inclement weather or when I need to haul things around - it still has a tape deck in it. I use one of those crappy tape-to-phono adapters with a cheap bluetooth audio receiver USB stick thing to play music.

      Why? The speakers are garbage, the amplifier is garbage, so the audio stream can be garbage and nobody will notice. The convenience of not having to plug things in / unplug things whenever getting in and out of that piece of crap is more important to me than the fidelity of audio that is being delivered to shitty speakers through a garbage stock 1990s Toyota in-dash amplifier.

      Short version: even people with tape decks can use Bluetooth audio with a $15 investment.

      --
      Slashdot still doesnâ(TM)t support Unicode after it was added to the HTML standard in 1997.
    12. Re:Sigh not more of this bullshit by msauve · · Score: 4, Informative
      "Your on a flight, you have to have flight mode enabled. At that point wireless headphones are not an option."

      That's not correct. While "flight mode" on some phones may also turn off Bluetooth, there is no issue with using Bluetooth (or WiFi) on a plane. My phone disables cellular/BT/WiFi when I switch to airplane mode, but I can then turn Bluetooth back on.

      If your air carrier provides Wi-Fi service during flight, you may use those services. You can also continue to use short-range Bluetooth accessories, like wireless keyboards.

      Source: FAA

      --
      "National Security is the chief cause of national insecurity." - Celine's First Law
    13. Re:Sigh not more of this bullshit by macs4all · · Score: 2

      It will.

      Maybe the next one; but certainly not the one after that. In fact, when the iPhone 8 comes out with ZERO intrusions through the case, except for a sealed speaker and microphone, and a requisite 50 m water-resistance rating (which the Apple Watch already has), soon all smartphones will be sealed, too.

    14. Re:Sigh not more of this bullshit by Bert64 · · Score: 2

      Upgrading the stereo in a lot of cars is painful, the stock systems often integrate with various other features of the car and you'll lose this integration if you replace the system.
      A lot of older car audio systems, especially the higher end ones have very good sound quality but just lack modern playback sources. Connecting a phone, or other audio source to the stock system is generally the easiest, most effective and most future proof thing to do.

      --
      http://spamdecoy.net - free throwaway anonymous email - avoid spam!
    15. Re:Sigh not more of this bullshit by squiggleslash · · Score: 2

      If the device is going to have a USB port anyway, then adding an additional USB port (by the side, obviously, not on top) will affect neither space nor water resistance.

      --
      You are not alone. This is not normal. None of this is normal.
  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 Anonymous Coward · · Score: 3, Funny

      For tiny Trump hotdog fingers.

    2. 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?

    3. 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.

    4. Re:We don't need slimmer phones by msauve · · Score: 2

      "Why do they keep thinking they need to be thinner?"

      They don't (necessarily think that). It's a bullshit marketing excuse for removing a 25 cent part, then selling you something to replace it to make another $5 in profit. Same with the water resistant BS - it's no harder to make a waterproof 3.5 jack than it is to make a waterproof USB one. The concept is identical.

      --
      "National Security is the chief cause of national insecurity." - Celine's First Law
  3. Re:Well duh by frnic · · Score: 4, Funny

    I bet that not long after Samsung does this Apple will release a iPhone without the 3.5 mm jack.

  4. 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.

  5. 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

    1. Re:We don't want this.... by 4im · · Score: 2

      Why only 24h? Back in the ol' days, our "feature phones" (think Nokia N95) easily held out several days, if not an entire week. Simpler phones remained usable for a couple of weeks, on a single charge.

      Having to charge every other day, when you have multiple such devices (think phone, tablet, fitness band/watch, etc.) that you have to do it for a whole batch of stuff, every night! No thanks! I can't even stand cordless keyboard/mouse as they'll crap out at the worst possible times...

  6. Asus by phorm · · Score: 2

    I have an S5. Good phone. Removable battery. Wateproof/resistant. SD card. Headphone jack.
    My wife has an Asus Zenfone2. Also good with all up the above except the waterproofing. Also cheaper.

    Samsung kills the headphone jack, guess which brand *my* next phone will be.

  7. 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.
  8. Cut to the chase: phone without speakers or mic by RightwingNutjob · · Score: 4, Funny

    After all, what kind of rube would put a phone up to their ear to talk on? Amiright? Wireless headset'll cover the niche case of using your phone to make phone calls.

  9. 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...

    1. Re:Toldja So by Gussington · · Score: 2

      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.

      You predicted that someone on the internet would speculate that maybe Samsung might do something similar possibly but is only guessing?
      Awesome skills bro...

  10. Re:In other news... by macs4all · · Score: 2

    Samsung's Next Flagship Smartphone May Not Be Purchased by Me

    I won't buy one either, and I have only ever had Samsung phones. I'm not worried though, there are lots of Android phone model available, and one of them will suit me just fine.

    And every stinkin' one that you'll want to buy will be jackless by the next model rev.

  11. Re:In other news... by ShanghaiBill · · Score: 2

    And every stinkin' one that you'll want to buy will be jackless by the next model rev.

    That is not how capitalism works. If the demand is there, there will be jacked cellphones for a long time.

  12. Re:Well duh by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Informative

    "With the data rates they can get with their W1 chip"

    You've fallen for some marketing BS there I'm afraid. Their W1 chip is just bluetooth with custom pairing on top (like other manufacturers have done with NFC for years). They get no better data rate than any other bluetooth 4.2 chipsets on the market.

  13. 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
  14. IT'S A DATA PORT by globaljustin · · Score: 3, Informative

    It's not *just* a "headphone jack"

    Here's what we're removing: a universally compatible **data port** that is also a backwards compatible audio only port that will connect to devices over 100 years old in some cases.

    It works really well and allows device manufacturers like Square to make one smartphone add-on that works with all smartphones.

    --
    Thank you Dave Raggett
  15. SubjectsInCommentsAreStupidCauseTheSubjectIsTFA by lesincompetent · · Score: 2

    Corporations needed another way to overcharge customers and push DRM to please media moguls, ostensibly.
    Headphones are the easiest target.

  16. Re:In other news... by macs4all · · Score: 2

    Samsung's Next Flagship Smartphone May Not Be Purchased by Me

    I won't buy one either, and I have only ever had Samsung phones. I'm not worried though, there are lots of Android phone model available, and one of them will suit me just fine.

    And every stinkin' one that you'll want to buy will be jackless by the next model rev.

    I know you really want all manufacturers to make the stupid, selfish decision that your masters made, but reality isn't going to conform to your desires on this occasion. Sorry bud.

    I will keep on buying phones with 3.5mm jacks for the foreseeable future, want to fucking bet?

    Yep. Because it has been proven tine and again that, where Apple leads, the others follow. Period. That's not fanboy-ism; that's History Repeating.

  17. Re:How utterly predictable from Samsung. by fluffernutter · · Score: 2

    So you're saying it's all just a huge coincidence that these moves they make to please the customer just require us to buy more stuff that is more expensive and only lasts a few years?

    --
    Laws are rules for the court, but merely a bottom bar to hit for life. Think beyond laws in your actions always.
  18. I don't want rechargable headphones by nehumanuscrede · · Score: 2

    for the same reasons I don't use wireless mice or keyboards.

    If the battery is replaceable, then you have to keep batteries on hand for when they die. ( which is constantly and at the worst possible moment )

    If not replaceable, you get to keep buying new mice and keyboards every few years when the batteries ultimately give out.

    In your phone, the battery is likely going to be the first component that dies taking the whole device with it. Being non-user replaceable, this forces you to upgrade to the next phone. It's nothing more than planned obsolesence. Same thing for the wireless, battery powered headphones you'll be using soon.

    I have to replace my headphones soon not because the battery died, but because I've worn out the ear cushions.

    Considering I've used them for at least a DECADE, I'm pretty sure I've got my moneys worth from them.

    Then again, I may just try to replace the ear cushions myself and keep on using them until they truly die.

    New hotness is not always better.