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."
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.
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.
I bet that not long after Samsung does this Apple will release a iPhone without the 3.5 mm jack.
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.
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
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.
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.
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.
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...
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.
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.
"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.
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
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
Corporations needed another way to overcharge customers and push DRM to please media moguls, ostensibly.
Headphones are the easiest target.
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.
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.
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.