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OnePlus 6T Trades the Headphone Jack For Better Battery Life (techradar.com)
OnePlus CEO Carl Pei confirmed to TechRadar that the OnePlus 6T won't have a headphone jack. Instead, it will feature a larger battery that will be "substantial enough for users to realize." From the report: Our first line of questioning was obvious. Why? Why ditch the jack? Why ditch it now? For Pei, it's about timing, and creating the best smartphone experience. "When we started OnePlus, we set out to make the best possible smartphone, but making a great phone doesn't mean putting every component available into the device," he said. "You've got to make decisions that optimize the user experience, and understand that at times things that provide user value can also add friction. "We also had to think about the negative side [of removing the headphone jack] for our users. We found 59% of our community already owned wireless headphones earlier this year - and that was before we launched our Bullets Wireless headphones. "If we were to do that [remove the jack] two years ago, the percentage [of wireless headphones owners] would have been much lower and it would have caused a lot of friction for our users."
Pei went on to explain that there are user benefits to the removal of the port, which should bring some comfort to OnePlus fans already pouring one out for the headphone jack. "By removing the jack we've freed up more space, allowing us to put more new technology into the product," he said. "One of the big things is something our users have asked us for, improved battery life." Pei wouldn't be drawn on what the "new technology" will be, but we already know the OnePlus 6T will feature an in-display fingerprint scanner, which will eat up some of the space left by the exiting jack. Pei did mention they will include an adapter in the box to allow users to use wired headphone.
Pei went on to explain that there are user benefits to the removal of the port, which should bring some comfort to OnePlus fans already pouring one out for the headphone jack. "By removing the jack we've freed up more space, allowing us to put more new technology into the product," he said. "One of the big things is something our users have asked us for, improved battery life." Pei wouldn't be drawn on what the "new technology" will be, but we already know the OnePlus 6T will feature an in-display fingerprint scanner, which will eat up some of the space left by the exiting jack. Pei did mention they will include an adapter in the box to allow users to use wired headphone.
They had to make room for the notch.
I still find it bizarre that such a tiny change can attract so much attention in mobile device world. There is so little innovation that people will have passionate, heated discussions (and spend significant extra $$$) for this year's device that has a slightly different screen: a notch, a curve around the side, no fixed buttons at the bottom, 0.5mm less bezel. None of this makes your calls more reliable, or gets you faster mobile Internet, or lets you view stuff you couldn't see before in apps or on web sites, or lets you type faster when you're sending a message. It's just not that important.
At least having a significantly bigger battery or a particular physical connector can make a slight but noticeable difference to what you can actually do with your phone, so that kind of trade-off is worth considering. The other stuff is 99% marketing because otherwise phones are like laptops a few years ago: everybody who wants one already has one that is good enough, and the upgrade cycle is slowing down as a result.
If you disagree, post your argument. (-1, Overrated) isn't your personal censorship tool for views you don't like.
OnePlus CEO Carl Pei confirmed to TechRadar that the OnePlus 6T won't have a headphone jack. Instead, it will feature a larger battery that will be "substantial enough for users to realize.
If that's what their customers actually prefer that is a sensible course of action. Personally I seldom used the headphone jack on phones so I'm quite pleased to have the space budget utilized for other items like batteries. You may feel differently of course and that's totally fine but there are a LOT of people who do not actually care much about the 3.5mm jack. The fact that Apple sells tens of millions of iPhones without the jack is proof enough of that. People that need/want the jack are passionate about it but not as many as you might guess from the complaining.
Personally I think the best answer is to move the headphone jack to the cases that virtually every smartphone is put into anyway. Think about it. Imagine a smartphone that has a standard interface (contact or wireless) to connect to the case. Then you could put all sorts of useful equipment (headphone jacks, bigger batteries, ethernet or other ports, better cameras, good speakers/amps, extra storage, multi-meters, oscilloscopes, etc) into the case based on your particular needs at the time. It's kind of like the unix philosophy in hardware. You have a minimalist core system and then people add the components to it that they actually need. Since nearly everyone adds a case to their phone anyway it seems foolish to not make full use of that fact and put some real capabilities into the case. Plus it would seem to be a real economic opportunity since people LOVE to personalize their phones. I do a lot of photography and I would love to have a case with a much bigger camera lens and battery that integrated seamlessly with my phone. All the smartphone maker would have to do is provide a good interface and API for the hardware makers to play with.
Maybe you are an ultra organized person, but if you have a family dongles get lost. Four family members with four devices means you need at least eight dongles so there are enough around. Also, you must be expecting to buy one a month because kids will lose them; you can damage control by teaching them responsibility but they will get lost. No fucking thanks.
Laws are rules for the court, but merely a bottom bar to hit for life. Think beyond laws in your actions always.
that this whole jack removal thing is somehow industry forced. Maybe a requirement for 1+ to sell their device (for the first time) via a major US carrier? I can understand the reasons to remove the SD card slot and for non-removable batteries, even though I don't agree, but regarding the headphone jack there is literally no reason at all (more space, outdated tech is just... laughable) except one... DRM.
Also, 1+ plus knows the majority of their customers are power users which won't accept this change lightly. They also ridiculed themselves (just like Google did) because they followed this trend only a few months after mocking their competitors for doing so. So either Pei was somehow forced to it make this change or he is a complete idiot. I don't think the latter is true.
Doesn't excuse his action though...