Samsung Kills Headphone Jack After Mocking Apple (macrumors.com)

Last week, Samsung introduced its latest smartphone, the Galaxy A8s. Not only is it the first phone of theirs with a laser-drilled hole in the display for the front-facing camera sensor, but it is also their first phone to ditch the headphone jack. Slashdot reader TheFakeTimCook shares a report from Mac Rumors that takes a closer look at the move and the hypocrisy behind it: [The A8s] is also Samsung's first smartphone without a headphone jack, much to the amusement of iPhone users, as Samsung has mocked Apple for over two years over its decision to remove the headphone jack from the iPhone 7 in 2016, a trend that has continued through to the iPhone XS, iPhone XS Max, and iPhone XR. While on stage unveiling the new Galaxy Note 7 in 2016, for example, Samsung executive Justin Denison made sure to point out that the device came with a headphone jack. "Want to know what else it comes with?" he asked. "An audio jack. I'm just saying," he answered, smirking as the audience laughed. And earlier this year, Samsung mocked the iPhone X's lack of a headphone jack in one of its "Ingenius" ads promoting the Galaxy S9. Samsung isn't the first tech giant to mock Apple's decision to remove the headphone jack, only to follow suit. Google poked fun at the iPhone 7's lack of headphone jack while unveiling its original Pixel smartphone in 2016, and then the Pixel 2 launched without one just a year later.

Comments

Jack? Jack who?

[Anonymous Coward]

Who is this "Headphone Jack" and why has this multinational corporation murdered him?

And why do they mock an innocent piece of fruit?

And don't tell me to RTFA or even the FS.

Re: Jack? Jack who?

[Anonymous Coward]

Bill Stickers is innocent!

Killed is a bit of a strong word

[Anonymous Coward]

Samsung is simply cutting costs on their budget line up by removing the headphone jack. Multiple accounts indicate the jack is still present on their upcoming flagship S10.

Re:Killed is a bit of a strong word

[Anonymous Coward]

They aren't cutting costs. They are reducing their costs and at the same time adding costs to the end-user. This is normal tech policy as it is more profitable to lower the bottom line. Push the risk/cost/mounds of aftermarket gear on the consumer who already has a listening device that doesn't require batteries or a recharging cycle.

Re: Killed is a bit of a strong word

[Anonymous Coward]

Soon, one of these companies will introduce a wireless headphone service at $10/mo.

Re:Killed is a bit of a strong word

[Anonymous Coward]

But when Apple does it, then we can say "Killed" right?

Re:Killed is a bit of a strong word

[alvinrod]

Could just be them testing the waters. If there isn't a decline in sales, expect this change to come to other models in the future.

Re:Killed is a bit of a strong word

[Anonymous Coward]

They didn't remove it just form their cheap model. They killed it completely.

Re:Killed is a bit of a strong word

[Anonymous Coward]

They mocked Apple because they wanted people to buy their product instead of Apple's, and that was something different about them.

They also would like to sell the more expensive accessories, so they subsequently did the same thing Apple did.

And they are no longer mocking Apple, because they now have a similar product, and that is the only reason.

This makes absolute sense if you don't assume that the leaders of large corporations care about things like consistency and good-faith. They care about making money, and doing/saying whatever seems like the best way of doing that at the time. And nothing else.

Re: Killed is a bit of a strong word

[Anonymous Coward]

Cutting cost....bulllll shiii. If Apple claimed it dumped it to cut cost or even implied it they would be burned at the steak.

Re:Killed is a bit of a strong word

[SuperKendall]

Except that they didn't kill the headphone jack from Mac computers they, so you cannot yet say Apple "killed" headphone jacks.

Re:Killed is a bit of a strong word

[Anonymous Coward]

They just dropped all the other useful jacks (Ethernet, HDMI, USB type A) from most of their notebooks...

Re:Killed is a bit of a strong word

[markdavis]

>"Samsung is simply cutting costs on their budget line up by removing the headphone jack."

Seriously? As if a headphone jack costs more than $0.50?

Re:Killed is a bit of a strong word

[MSG]

By removing the headphone jack on their lower-end models, they may intend to make the iPhone look cheap.

Re: Killed is a bit of a strong word

[J. T. MacLeod]

Designing phones that are thin and waterproof is difficult and expensive when you have ports to the outside.

The headphone jack is a prime candidate to cut. Not that I approve of the measure.

Re: Killed is a bit of a strong word

[Anonymous Coward]

So we should all shitcan out existing displays because there's a new "standard" port? Good thing I'm made of money, don't care about tossing shit into the industrial waste pile and pray at the altar of fruit.

You're an idiot.

Re: Killed is a bit of a strong word

[Anonymous Coward]

What do people do with their thunderbolt displays now?

Re:Killed is a bit of a strong word

[arglebargle_xiv]

Y'know, if you could mix and match features from about ten different Samsung phones, you'd get one pretty decent phone that didn't suck. Take the J-series for example, a range of phones so badly crippled they can't even update their own firmware because there's no space on the system partition, but it does have a headphone jack. Then there's the A8 without the headphone jack. And there are others, all crippled in various ways so they won't compete with each other. Drop a few thousand on various Samsung phones and pretty soon you've got the feature set for a single actually useful phone.

Re: Killed is a bit of a strong word

[Cinnamon Beige]

Designing phones that are thin and waterproof is difficult and expensive when you have ports to the outside.

The headphone jack is a prime candidate to cut. Not that I approve of the measure.

I'd argue that the 'thin' part is the real place to object--the goal should be to have it the right size and thickness to be easily and securely held. (If the expectation is that it'll be in a case, keep the case in mind...and possibly even design it so some of the ports could be contained within an inexpensive case that can be sacrificed to protect the phone.)

Re: Killed is a bit of a strong word

[Anonymous Coward]

Designing phones that are thin and waterproof is difficult and expensive when you have ports to the outside.

A statement that was refuted and mocked to death when Apple removed the jack from iPhones. Most notably using Samsung phones as counter examples. LOL

Somehow it became true again when Android phones started coming without the jack.

Yeah, right.

Re:Killed is a bit of a strong word

[guacamole]

Seriously? As if a headphone jack costs more than $0.50?

You are probably correct, but when they sell cellphones by many many millions of units, these costs savings will add put to a nice seven figure pile of cash which the chief executives will pay to themselves as an end of year "bonus" while the suckers they're calling their customers be asked to swallow this new "feature" as if it was an improvement.

Re:Killed is a bit of a strong word

[guacamole]

So we now need to buy a 700 dollar smartphone to have a headphone jack? And the A8 still costs hundreds of dollars. For the last few years, my go-to cheap android phones were Huawei Honor and Moto G series. I never paid more than 200 bucks, and they always came with a headphone jack.

It's preposterous to defend Samsung by saying they did this to save the costs of making this "budget" device.

Re:Killed is a bit of a strong word

[guacamole]

Samsung is afraid of building an honest to god good 200-300 dollar smartphone that could compete with say the popular Moto G series because then the bubble of the 800-1000 dollar Galaxies and Notes will pop as people will realize that a cheap phone still can have a big screen, a quality build, and for most purposes it runs the same apps you need to use just fine.

Re: Killed is a bit of a strong word

[Anonymous Coward]

Mmmmmm, steak.

Re: Killed is a bit of a strong word

[SeaFox]

Designing phones that are thin and waterproof is difficult and expensive when you have ports to the outside.

The headphone jack is a prime candidate to cut. Not that I approve of the measure.

Sony seemed to have no issues making phones for years that were IP68 rated but had headphone jacks (and didn't have a special plug or anything else on them to keep the water out).

Are these new phones we're getting now that headphone jacks have been removed a higher water-resistance rating? I haven't heard of any that are.

Re: Killed is a bit of a strong word

[Anonymous Coward]

So ... basically Samsung can't be trusted by anyone expecting them to be looking out for anything other than themselves? If it takes getting rid of headphone jacks that's fine by you?

You must have a ton of money sunk into Samsung stock to be so readily able to overlook the utter ridiculousness of Samsung business practises regarding this issue from an end user perspective.

It's worse than being paid to defend them on forums. There is a grudgingly understandable logic behind that. But shareholder bending over backwards is just plain ... disgusting. And in the long term, it won't end well for you or them. You are enabling their behavior which could result in it enduring long enough to blow up in both your faces. Being critical of companies allows them to see where they've made potential missteps resulting in them being able to address them.

Re: Killed is a bit of a strong word

[Anonymous Coward]

I think it is very brave of Samsung to remove he headphone jack. That's what Apple said when they did it, right? Brave?

Or is it bad now that Samsung does it?

I'm confused. It seems like there is a huge amount of hypocrisy here, so I must be misunderstanding something. I mean, there couldn't possibly be this many assholes on one board could there be?

Re:Killed is a bit of a strong word

[hazardPPP]

I'm really at a loss as to why people pay $800-1000 for a smartphone in today's market.

My most expensive smartphone was my first one, an HTC Legend, I think I paid around $600 for that one. I used it for 5 years (it still works, although the power button is screwed up so turning on/off is annoying and you can't run any up-to-date software on it - the phone is now 8.5 years old).

My next phone, a huge upgrade in every way, was an Asus ZenPhone (ZE500) and that cost me around $280. It lasted me a good 3 years, the main reason I decided to replace it was the fact that I dropped it on the street and broke its screen (it's still usable btw). It did have a few other issues (was geting a bit slow, had some strange software bugs, and some mechanical issues with the power button and the SIM card slot), but had I not broken the screen I could've easily used it for another year.

A few months ago I got a Motorola Moto G for about $350. Again, a big upgrade in every way...works absolutely great. All this makes sense to me, as technology improves you should be able to get more bang for less buck. This is generally the case, I mean check out what you can get now in a Xiami phone for $200 (my girlfriend has one). Yet, the prices of the flagship models seem to be increasing (Apple breaks the price ceiling with each new generation top of the line iPhone) while adding rather dubious "features", such as the lack of a headphone jack, incompatibility with existing peripherals, phones so thin that they bend in your pocket and which you then need to embed in a two-times thicker case to ensure they don't break...I don't see why I should ever pay more than $500 for a smartphone again.

Re:Killed is a bit of a strong word

[Gavagai80]

Bluetooth ear buds aren't exactly expensive. Got mine for $10 a few years ago. I've actually saved money compared to wired, because I always ended up damaging wired headphones by accidentally yanking the cord within the first year.

Re: Killed is a bit of a strong word

[hazardPPP]

Indeed. Phones are already too thin, so thin and fragile you have to put them in a case to stop them from breaking (or even just bending in your pocket or bag). Guess what, that makes them thicker...so what's the point again? Oh, marketing, so we can wow people with how thin our phone is compared to the competition. The fact that 90% of the phone's users will admire the thinness only while looking at the store display and for the first few hours/days they take their phone out of the box (before they permanently stick it in a case) seems lost on most people.

Re: Killed is a bit of a strong word

[jellomizer]

Why do you think any company or organization can be trusted?
When any any group gets larger their morals gets simpler as it will need to accommodate the diversity of all the people and their needs within it.
A company will want to make money. A religion will want more followers. A Lobby group will just want listeners.
Leaving us individuals having to fend for our self in terms of making sure we keep our moral standards in place.
There is nothing wrong likening a company, following a religion, or being part of a political party. But you will need to remember to keep your standards in place and these larger organizations will have an agenda that may be in conflict with its previous statements. Because their agenda is different then yours.

Re: Killed is a bit of a strong word

[ckatko]

>Designing phones that are thin and waterproof is difficult and expensive when you have ports to the outside.

Yeah, that's just some fanboy bullshit.

Waterproofing has been a "done" science since like, the 80's. There are entire laptops that are waterproof and you think a piece of crap little phone with an audio jack is somehow Achilles Heel? What about the goddamn USB port? What about the BUTTONS?

Conjecturing. Bullshit.

Re:Killed is a bit of a strong word

[hcs_$reboot]

I'm really at a loss as to why people pay $800-1000 for a smartphone in today's market.

If you want a high-end iPhone, that's the price to pay. Unlike Samsung in the Android world, the iPhone has no competitors. iPhones and Android based phones are still very different, mainly in terms of security, and ergonomics.

Re:Killed is a bit of a strong word

[sad_]

indeed, it's perhaps even a good strategy.
have phones with and without headphone jacks, people can decide for themselves if they want it or not.

Re:Killed is a bit of a strong word

[Anonymous Coward]

I'm really at a loss as to why people pay $800-1000 for a smartphone in today's market.

For the same reason people spend 50K+ on a SUV when a small Hyundai Elantra for 9K would suffce?

Re: Killed is a bit of a strong word

[rainmouse]

That's a relief then. I can switch back to Samsung when I'm done with my Pixel 2. It was a terrible mistake to switch to a phone without the jack. Bluetooth is just crap, gets interference and it simply doesn't sound as good. I've had no end of problems getting speakers and headphones to pair. Not having a common feature is not a sign of good engineering, if you can't achieve what others can, it's a failing, not innovation.

Re:Killed is a bit of a strong word

[danbert8]

I would agree with you. I bought a OnePlus One years ago when it came out and it's more than sufficient with custom Android updates to do pretty much anything except AR and fingerprint reading. I did however just buy a new Pixel 3XL for $1000 but it was for the promotion with Google Fi where I should be getting that $1000 back in travel gift cards... I couldn't justify spending over $500 on a new OnePlus 6 (or T) considering the capability differences. I only pulled the trigger on the Pixel because of the deal which is awesome if it pays off and the exceptionally good camera on the phone. I also had service issues with the OnePlus One since it didn't support all of the GSM bands in the US and I was left struggling for a data connection a lot of times.

Re: Killed is a bit of a strong word

[markdavis]

>"I'd argue that the 'thin' part is the real place to object--the goal should be to have it the right size and thickness to be easily and securely held."

Couldn't agree more. And none of us CARE about being stupidly thin. We want to fill some of that thinness WITH MORE BATTERY CAPACITY! But somehow the phone manufacturers still haven't figured that out yet. And an extra 1 or 2mm of Lithium doesn't weigh much, either.

Re: Killed is a bit of a strong word

[Anonymous Coward]

Sony seemed to have no issues making phones for years that were IP68 rated but had headphone jacks (and didn't have a special plug or anything else on them to keep the water out).

Even Samsung has been doing this. My Samsung S5 mini is waterproof (IP67) and several other models at that time were waterproof. That argument is bullshit and anyone willing to take the time to research it refutes the argument in 2 minutes.

Re:Killed is a bit of a strong word

[Anonymous Coward]

no headphone jack on the new iPad

Re:Killed is a bit of a strong word

[hazardPPP]

If you want a high-end iPhone, that's the price to pay. Unlike Samsung in the Android world, the iPhone has no competitors. iPhones and Android based phones are still very different, mainly in terms of security, and ergonomics.

Yeah, I'm also at a loss as to why anyone would want an iPhone of any variety, but I guess that's just me.

Re: Killed is a bit of a strong word

[Anonymous Coward]

Baby powder with asbestos anyone?

Re:Killed is a bit of a strong word

[iampiti]

Cutting costs? How must is cost to add the jack on a phone? I reckon less than a dolar per phone. I think it has more to do with either following trends or artificially crippling some models so people will buy more expensive ones

Re:Killed is a bit of a strong word

[fluffernutter]

Oh sure, I have a cheap bluetooth headset too. But I can't listen to music with it at all. At around $45 I can listen to music with wired headphones, but I haven't found a bluetooth pair I can listen to music with yet. No bass response.

Re:Killed is a bit of a strong word

[samwichse]

That would be a bit of marketing genius if it were true.

But unfortunate for everyone who doesn't buy $800-1000 phones.

Re:Killed is a bit of a strong word

[Cro Magnon]

Well, for one thing, my old iPhone 6 still gets security updates.

Re:Killed is a bit of a strong word

[Ol Olsoc]

Oh sure, I have a cheap bluetooth headset too. But I can't listen to music with it at all. At around $45 I can listen to music with wired headphones, but I haven't found a bluetooth pair I can listen to music with yet. No bass response.

Your "cheap bluetooth headset" might be a clue.

I find the concept of audiophile level listening with a smartphone pretty amusing.

But there are applications that will tailor the sound for you. I use Boom3d and get all the bass I could want. With the real benefit that I'm not tethered to anything.

Wired headphones are going to go the way of replaceable batteries. A few people will miss them terribly, most of us won't.

Re: Killed is a bit of a strong word

[Anonymous Coward]

Any time apple is involved with anything the hypocrisy goes up to 11.

Re:Killed is a bit of a strong word

[Ol Olsoc]

>"Samsung is simply cutting costs on their budget line up by removing the headphone jack."

Seriously? As if a headphone jack costs more than $0.50?

Thickness and case intrusion are one problem with the headphone jack. You can pack in a significant amount of battery in the space taken up by the ingress - remember the ingress is going to define a line across the form that can't be taken up by battery.

Waterproofing the ingress area is going to take up space.

Then there is the problem of reliability. The mini headphone jack is a scaled down version of the quarter inch jack. Doesn't seem like much of a big deal until you factor in the spring strength, and there is a lot less pressure against the plug in the scaled down plug. I've replaced a lot of them over the years. Either through wear or the typical catching the cord on some object and pulling out the plug at an angle.

It is just a failure point, and while it could be made stronger, it would get bigger, and since the mini jack is supposed to be cheap, it would be putting lipstick on a pig.

Re:Killed is a bit of a strong word

[Anonymous Coward]

What do you do in a corporate presentation when all you have is HDMI or VGA to connect to the projector? Accuse your client of being an aging boomer stuck in the past? I guess I could carry a forest of dongles and look like a fool as the connection breaks 12 minutes into the presentation because I moved my computer 10mm and that jostled the connector, but I'd rather just have a nearly universal display connector in the first place.

Re:Killed is a bit of a strong word

[TheFakeTimCook]

Y'know, if you could mix and match features from about ten different Samsung phones, you'd get one pretty decent phone that didn't suck. Take the J-series for example, a range of phones so badly crippled they can't even update their own firmware because there's no space on the system partition, but it does have a headphone jack. Then there's the A8 without the headphone jack. And there are others, all crippled in various ways so they won't compete with each other. Drop a few thousand on various Samsung phones and pretty soon you've got the feature set for a single actually useful phone.

Or, you could just buy an iPhone. No headphone jack; but then, they sure aren't unique in that regard, now are they?

Re:Killed is a bit of a strong word

[TheFakeTimCook]

I'm really at a loss as to why people pay $800-1000 for a smartphone in today's market.

My most expensive smartphone was my first one, an HTC Legend, I think I paid around $600 for that one. I used it for 5 years (it still works, although the power button is screwed up so turning on/off is annoying and you can't run any up-to-date software on it - the phone is now 8.5 years old).

My next phone, a huge upgrade in every way, was an Asus ZenPhone (ZE500) and that cost me around $280. It lasted me a good 3 years, the main reason I decided to replace it was the fact that I dropped it on the street and broke its screen (it's still usable btw). It did have a few other issues (was geting a bit slow, had some strange software bugs, and some mechanical issues with the power button and the SIM card slot), but had I not broken the screen I could've easily used it for another year.

A few months ago I got a Motorola Moto G for about $350. Again, a big upgrade in every way...works absolutely great. All this makes sense to me, as technology improves you should be able to get more bang for less buck. This is generally the case, I mean check out what you can get now in a Xiami phone for $200 (my girlfriend has one). Yet, the prices of the flagship models seem to be increasing (Apple breaks the price ceiling with each new generation top of the line iPhone) while adding rather dubious "features", such as the lack of a headphone jack, incompatibility with existing peripherals, phones so thin that they bend in your pocket and which you then need to embed in a two-times thicker case to ensure they don't break...I don't see why I should ever pay more than $500 for a smartphone again.

Then you're in luck!

The iPhone XR is available from only $449!

https://www.apple.com/

Jus' sayin'...

Re: Killed is a bit of a strong word

[Anonymous Coward]

Lil' Wayne solved this one a LONG time ago...

Re:Killed is a bit of a strong word

[TheFakeTimCook]

If you want a high-end iPhone, that's the price to pay. Unlike Samsung in the Android world, the iPhone has no competitors. iPhones and Android based phones are still very different, mainly in terms of security, and ergonomics.

Yeah, I'm also at a loss as to why anyone would want an iPhone of any variety, but I guess that's just me.

Maybe because my iPhone 6 Plus still gets full OS and Security Updates (and in fact, runs better than ever with iOS 12), plus still shows 93% battery capacity (and no "slowdowns" ever) on its original battery.

Re: Killed is a bit of a strong word

[TheFakeTimCook]

Indeed. Phones are already too thin, so thin and fragile you have to put them in a case to stop them from breaking (or even just bending in your pocket or bag). Guess what, that makes them thicker...so what's the point again? Oh, marketing, so we can wow people with how thin our phone is compared to the competition. The fact that 90% of the phone's users will admire the thinness only while looking at the store display and for the first few hours/days they take their phone out of the box (before they permanently stick it in a case) seems lost on most people.

Well, iPhones have actually been getting THICKER since the iPhone 6; so now what?

https://www.macrumors.com/2018...

And ANOTHER Slashtard Apple-meme bites the dust through FACTS...

Re:Killed is a bit of a strong word

[TheFakeTimCook]

That would be a bit of marketing genius if it were true.

But unfortunate for everyone who doesn't buy $800-1000 phones.

Then just get an iPhone XR for as little as $449, or an XS for as little as $699.

And as a bonus, you'll actually get UPDATES (and a Secure OS) for 5 or more years:

https://www.apple.com/

Re:Killed is a bit of a strong word

[Anonymous Coward]

Bluetooth ear buds aren't exactly expensive.

They're more expensive than the $0 it costs to use the headphones I already have, and there's the added bonus that I don't have to charge the headphones I already have. Bonus bonus: there's no battery in the headphones I already have to go dead and render them useless after a couple of years.

Re: Killed is a bit of a strong word

[TheFakeTimCook]

That's a relief then. I can switch back to Samsung when I'm done with my Pixel 2. It was a terrible mistake to switch to a phone without the jack. Bluetooth is just crap, gets interference and it simply doesn't sound as good. I've had no end of problems getting speakers and headphones to pair.

Not having a common feature is not a sign of good engineering, if you can't achieve what others can, it's a failing, not innovation.

Again, I point to Apple.

Apple uses AAC in its (and their Beats-branded) Bluetooth earbuds/headphones. It sounds great!

Oh, and with Apple's Wx series chips that Apple produces and uses, pairing is a complete non-issue.

You can call me "fanboy" all you want; but those are the facts, supported by dozens of reviews and millions of users.

Re:Killed is a bit of a strong word

[swillden]

This makes absolute sense if you don't assume that the leaders of large corporations care about things like consistency and good-faith.

Right conclusion, wrong rationale.

The thing that, bizarrely, very few people seem to be able to figure out is that: Corporations are large collections of people. It's reasonable to expect an individual person to maintain a consistent viewpoint on a question (though they can also legitimately change their minds), but large corporations are made up of tens or hundreds of thousands of people, divided into lots of subsidiary organizations with goals that don't always perfectly align even at a single moment in time, much less over time. Yes, corporate leaders do attempt to prevent the worst cases of elements of their organizations working at cross purposes, but they often fail, especially over time. And that's true even when the leadership doesn't change, which it often does.

In cases like this, the "mocking" almost certainly comes from the marketing department who is focused on selling the current product. The product development department is likely not even consulted to see whether their future plans include products which can be mocked for the same reason. And note that I'm almost certainly dramatically oversimplifying to refer two only two organizations here.

Re: Killed is a bit of a strong word

[arth1]

And an extra 1 or 2mm of Lithium doesn't weigh much, either.

The Lithium in Li-Ion batteries is just a tiny part of the overall mass; the cobalt, oxygen, carbon and electrolyte is what makes up the most of it.

Re:Killed is a bit of a strong word

[Anonymous Coward]

They released the Mac Mini with only one jack. (I don't know about the former ones)

This might be a lesser used thing, but they're killing the input jack on desktop - I think it's output only, not combined output/input?
Sure most people never use the input jack but on a computer many things are there in case you might need to use it. Like parallel ports when many more people owned a PC than a PC and a printer.
Thunderbolt is a perfect example of stuff you might never need because peripherals are expensive and uncommon.

Re:Killed is a bit of a strong word

[samwichse]

Oh, Apple has put a headphone jack back on their phones now? Great news!

Re:Killed is a bit of a strong word

[Anonymous Coward]

"First they ignore you, then they laugh at you, then they fight you, then you win." -- Not Ghandi

Re:Killed is a bit of a strong word

[toonces33]

About a year ago, I got a Galaxy S7 (used and reconditioned). I think it only cost me 250$ or so.

The major challenge of going this route is that it seems like there are a lot of shady operators out there, so you have to choose carefully.

Re:Killed is a bit of a strong word

[fluffernutter]

I like to know I'm getting the best I can out of the device I'm using. If I want stereo sound I'll sit in the living room with my stereo. In either case, I don't want the wireless protocol to be an additional bottleneck and source of compression if I can help it.

Re:Killed is a bit of a strong word

[thegarbz]

And they are no longer mocking Apple, because they now have a similar product, and that is the only reason.

Which product? The poor selling A series of phones? Their flagship and best selling smartphone still has a headphone jack and the leaks from the S10 show a headphone jack too.

Re: Killed is a bit of a strong word

[Anonymous Coward]

Why is it better to be a paid shill than a stockowner shill?

Re:Killed is a bit of a strong word

[Ol Olsoc]

I like to know I'm getting the best I can out of the device I'm using. If I want stereo sound I'll sit in the living room with my stereo. In either case, I don't want the wireless protocol to be an additional bottleneck and source of compression if I can help it.

Take really good care of your smartphone then. As the top models fit your standards less and less, you may be forced to go to the cheapest phones out there in order to have your headphone jack.

Re:Killed is a bit of a strong word

[jimbo]

Indeed! My wife with an iPhone 5S just got the latest iOS 12 on it and it got faster - it practically got a new "lease on life" and she'll keep it for another year.

My Samsung GS6 stopped getting OS upgrades after three years.

Re: Killed is a bit of a strong word

[Dixie_Flatline]

I don't think it's the waterproofing, I think it's just that it takes up space. The hole itself isn't very big, of course, but the jack itself extends quite far into the phone. That means you have to design the screen hardware so that the jack isn't interfering. It also takes up a non-zero amount of battery space. If you pretend charging and audio could be done perfectly without any ports at all, that would probably be the best phone. A single, do-everything port is a good compromise to that. A headphone jack is just another compromise to make on top of that (though it might be one worth making—depends on what your design philosophy is).

Re:Killed is a bit of a strong word

[nightfire-unique]

Heh. Funny, because I want to go the other way. I want to spend $2000 USD on my next phone, as long as it's a true, legitimate flagship. Removable/replaceable 7500mAh+ battery, factory unlocked bootloader with at least official acknowledgement of LineageOS, IP68, rugged, plastic body, dual sim, SD card, headphone/mic jack, hardware buttons, flat screen with "thick" bezel, hygrometer, thermometer, pressure sensor .. all the sensors..

Basically, a Note 3 (which I currently use) but with a bigger battery and modern camera, processor, and more RAM.

Re: Killed is a bit of a strong word

[nightfire-unique]

Designing phones that are thin and waterproof is difficult and expensive when you have ports to the outside.

Ugh. This is a lie you've been led to believe. The lie was told to justify removing the headphone jack to increase sales of wireless headphones / replacement USB-C adapters.

IP68 headphone jacks have existed for roughly 40 years. They're trivial to build, and integrating them is a 1st year engineering problem.

Re: Killed is a bit of a strong word

[Anonymous Coward]

For a trade in of an iPhone X.

Just saying, I spent $1000 for the phone last year, now they want to give me $500 for it? Yea fuck off shill.

Re: Killed is a bit of a strong word

[markdavis]

>"The Lithium in Li-Ion batteries is just a tiny part of the overall mass; the cobalt, oxygen, carbon and electrolyte is what makes up the most of it."

True, but I still think most of us would be more than happy with a 2mm phone that weighs an extra 20 grams if it meant 33%+ more battery life (or whatever it would end up being).

In the past decade I have never thought to myself "oh, I wish this phone were thinner or lighter", it has always been "why can't the battery last longer".

Re: Killed is a bit of a strong word

[arth1]

Agree. Well, I would like some of them smaller in area, so they fit in a shirt pocket without falling out, but thicker would be no problem, and I'd welcome the battery life!

The Xperia Z1 Compact works pretty well in that it's small and thick with a flat back so it can actually lie flat on a table unlike its successor.

Re:Killed is a bit of a strong word

[mapkinase]

It looks like you are looking for flagship series, for which you must pay much more than for J or A.

Re:Killed is a bit of a strong word

[mapkinase]

You just convinced me to buy an iPhone next time. I am looking at my 2014 phone and last time I got any was almost two years ago.

Do you have to pay extra? Are your updates filtered through the provider, can the provider block them?

Do providers put a lot of their bloatware on iPhones?

Re:Killed is a bit of a strong word

[mapkinase]

>when a small Hyundai Elantra for 9K would suffce?

MSRP: From $17,100

Why don't you piss off and never show up again, AC?

Re:Killed is a bit of a strong word

[Anonymous Coward]

Right, but they won't admit that, nor will they admit they were wrong, so if you remind them about their own tag lines and marketing then it is one way to manipulate them to your own benefit.

Re: Killed is a bit of a strong word

[hazardPPP]

Uhm, and the iPhone is the only smartphone lineup in existence?

Re:Killed is a bit of a strong word

[aquacrayfish]

Jump to Lineage OS (Samsung GS6 build), and don't look back. I got tired of being dependent on manufacturers and bloatware a long time ago. Been happy ever since.

Re: Killed is a bit of a strong word

[sound vision]

Why is a phone that works for multiple years with a functional battery so notable? Why so defensive?

Re:Killed is a bit of a strong word

[TheFakeTimCook]

Oh, Apple has put a headphone jack back on their phones now? Great news!

Mods, Parent is Offtopic, Redundant, and Trollish.

Re: Killed is a bit of a strong word

[TheFakeTimCook]

Uhm, and the iPhone is the only smartphone lineup in existence?

It's the only one the GP mentioned as being "too thin"; so, in this case, "Yes".

Dumbass.

Re: Killed is a bit of a strong word

[TheFakeTimCook]

Why is a phone that works for multiple years with a functional battery so notable? Why so defensive?

You actually have to ask why someone who supports Apple often has to take a Defensive posture on Slashdot? You must be new here!

And you deceptively didn't include "...and receives regular OS and Security Updates for multiple years" in your "Why is...?" "question". That's pretty notable.

And telling.

Re: Killed is a bit of a strong word

[J. T. MacLeod]

Ok, let's ignore that he was probably talking about a used model.

His comment makes perfect sense with the 17k figure. You have failed to even attempt to refute his point.

Re: Killed is a bit of a strong word

[J. T. MacLeod]

It's obviously possible. I posted that with an IP68 rated phone with a headphone jack right beside me. By Samsung, no less.

That doesn't change the fact that there are actual costs and design compromises involved in making it. Samsung's made a choice based on that. I'm not happy about it, but my displeasure doesn't mean these things aren't factors.

Re: Killed is a bit of a strong word

[J. T. MacLeod]

It's obviously possible. I posted that with an IP68 rated phone with a headphone jack right beside me. By Samsung, no less.

That doesn't change the fact that there are actual costs and design compromises involved in making it (especially in such a small package). Samsung's made a choice based on that. I'm not happy about it, but my displeasure doesn't mean these things aren't factors.

Re: Killed is a bit of a strong word

[J. T. MacLeod]

It's obviously possible. I posted that with an IP68 rated phone with a headphone jack right beside me. By Samsung, no less.

That doesn't change the fact that there are actual costs and design compromises involved in making it. Yes, buttons and USB ports present the same issues. But why would a manufacturer stop caring about one design difficulty/cost just because others exist? Samsung's made a choice based on that. I'm not happy about it, but my displeasure doesn't mean these things aren't factors.

Re:Yeah well then

[humptheElephant]

Do they glue the battery in too?

Re:Samesung

[Anonymous Coward]

I hear their mock apple pie is pretty good.

Re:Yeah well then

[Anonymous Coward]

starting with the s6

The road to Hell...

[b0s0z0ku]

The road to Hell is paved with rotten Apples.

Re:The road to Hell...

[Anonymous Coward]

It is delicious that Samsung is once again copying Apple. And fandroids are crying their tears.

Let the mocking begin on Samsung however. It is well deserved.

Re:The road to Hell...

[b0s0z0ku]

Fortunately, "fandroids" have their choice of phones, and don't have to buy crippled junk from Samsung.

Take the Moto G4 Play and G5. Removable battery? CHECK! SD card slot? CHECK! Headphone jack? CHECK once more!

Re:The road to Hell...

[Cmdln Daco]

What is a 'fandroid'? The rest of us just want hardware that is more open. I don't log into Google at all on my present phone any longer. I download apps I want from alternative sources, and have had little difficulty.

Google and Apple can pound sand in my world. Which, I know, is just my world, no more. But more and more of us are logging out these days.

Re: The road to Hell...

[Anonymous Coward]

All android phones are shit.

Re:The road to Hell...

[Billly Gates]

Fortunately, "fandroids" have their choice of phones, and don't have to buy crippled junk from Samsung.

Take the Moto G4 Play and G5. Removable battery? CHECK! SD card slot? CHECK! Headphone jack? CHECK once more!

Dude have you seeen the specs on this thing?!> . 100 DPI? My non smart phone from 2009 had a better screen! It is IPS?! The CPU is 5 years old and 2 generations behind the budget grade snapdragons which powered my old Windows Phone. Tiny battery life and no mention of ram which makes me suspicious.

Can it even boot anything after 6 marshmallow or run apps? 3 gigs of ram is the minimum requirement for any phone these days.

Re:The road to Hell...

[b0s0z0ku]

LAH-DEE-DAH! You sound like a real prima donna... It's a phone, what the hell are you doing on it that requires 3 GB of RAM and a fast processor? Mine works great for talking, texting, email, photos, SSH, remote desktop, and any sort of basic non-gaming app.

Re:The road to Hell...

[markdavis]

>"Dude have you seeen the specs on this thing?!> [google.com]. 100 DPI? My non smart phone from 2009 had a better screen!"

Ones he was quoting went off sale years ago. Let's look at the now 2-year-old Moto G5Plus which I bought a year ago from Costco for $189.

1080P screen on a 5.2" screen = 424ppi

> It is IPS?!

Yes

>The CPU is 5 years old and 2 generations behind the budget grade snapdragons which powered my old Windows Phone.

It is an 8 core Cortex A53 @ 2Ghz and seems very speedy to me. Much faster than the Nexus 5. And the Snapdragon 625 is only 2 years old.

>"Tiny battery life"

3000mAh is not tiny. Again, much longer battery life than the Nexus 5.

>"and no mention of ram which makes me suspicious."

5plus 2GB. 5plusS 3GB LPDDR4

>"Can it even boot anything after 6 marshmallow"

Android 8.1 Oreo

>"or run apps?"

Yep. And GPS, decent cameras, fingerprint sensor, headphone jack, and SD card.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/...

Re:The road to Hell...

[Anonymous Coward]

The road to Hell is paved with rotten Apples.

The road to Hell is paved with Applesauce.

There, FTFY.

Re:The road to Hell...

[Anonymous Coward]

The G Play and G Plus are very different phones. The G Play is a budget phone intended for foreign markets; it has dual SIM, etc. As far as I remember, the G Plus models never got removable battery (or dual SIM in the base model).

Re:The road to Hell...

[war4peace]

Use it as a mobile PC.
I take my Note 9 and Samsung DEX phone cradle with me, with a TKL wireless keyboard and a wireless mouse and an HDMI cable. I am yet to encounter a decent hotel room without a HDMI-enabled TV.
The line between smartphones and laptops is now close to indistinguishable.

Re:The road to Hell...

[hazardPPP]

The line between smartphones and laptops is now close to indistinguishable.

No it isn't. Smartphones generally (99,99% of them) can't/don't run PC operating systems which enable the doing of real work...and I set the bar of "real work" pretty low, i.e. starting from a full-featured office suite. No matter how close the hardware specs, things that run Android and iOS are closer to appliances and game consoles than they are to laptop and desktop PCs.

Re:The road to Hell...

[war4peace]

Wow, I must be living in the future.
I'm using full Office Suite (for Android) and Office365 Online, as well as Google office suite (Docs, Sheets). I'm using browser-based enterprise apps, attend audio/video meetings, play multimedia files, including high definition movies, all on Android. Amazing, isn't it?

Re:The road to Hell...

[markdavis]

You are correct. None of the non-Play models have removable batteries.

Re: The road to Hell...

[Anonymous Coward]

I'll bring the pork chops

Re:The road to Hell...

[Anonymous Coward]

The rest of us? Are you saying that fandorids (people who are illogically obsessed with Android) the majority of users? It seems that way because you said "the rest of us" and most people don't give two ham sandwiches about open hardware. They want Pinchat or whatever illogical noise is the new social networking platform.

Re:The road to Hell...

[Anonymous Coward]

Well I looked up the G4 Play and it's got 294 ppi, quad cortex A53, 2800mAh. It beats the Samsung S3 overall.

Re:The road to Hell...

[Cmdln Daco]

Anybody who the situation is explained to, or who runs butt up against restrictions, will opt for open hardware. Not just zealots.

Re:The road to Hell...

[Anonymous Coward]

Doesn't all that stuff take up as much room in your bag as a laptop would?

Re:The road to Hell...

[war4peace]

The Samsung DEX is small. The cable is a must even when using a laptop, IMO, because laptops have small screens. The phone is something I carry anyway so it doesn't count. That leaves the keyboard and mouse, and then again, I have to use a mouse, was never able to get used to the laptop embedded crap.

Re:Dont care about app UI

[Anonymous Coward]

How many users of phones without notches or holes drilled though the screen are going to have to suffer with unusable screen space on their phones due to app developers and content developers having to develop for the lowest common denominator. Were pretty much getting to the point you have to assume the edges of 5-10% of a phone's screen are unusable because you dont know what kind of notch, hole, curved corner or other bullshit might be in the screen.

So much for a bezel free phone, when now that 5-10% of the screen itself is now the bezel and has to be assumed to be unusable, lest some part of your content gets cut off.

Not really a big deal anymore

[Powercntrl]

A car stereo with Bluetooth costs $15. Walmart also sells Bluetooth adapters in the impulse bins at the check-out counters.

Yeah, the lack of a headphone jack probably annoys audiophiles, but if you're really that picky about your audio quality, you're probably using a standalone media player.

I've personally been using a phone without a headphone jack for several months now and haven't missed it. I never used it on my previous phone - I went Bluetooth "everything" quite awhile ago.

Re:Not really a big deal anymore

[Jetstream]

What about those of us with less than perfect hearing, who use stereo headphones just to be able to understand what people are saying? Are we going to be required to pickup yet another gadget/gizmo to have to worry about charging & buying batteries for, in order to use bluetooth? Guess if I have to, I'll dump all bloatphones & go back to a flip phone if they all dump the jack.

Re:Not really a big deal anymore

[DontBeAMoran]

Wow, talk about a coincidence. I haven't had a TV in over two decades!

Re:Not really a big deal anymore

[Anonymous Coward]

Well, I sure miss the audio jack. I would not buy an Apple phone for myself, but my work phone is an Apple and has been recently "upgraded" so that I no longer have an audio jack. I work remotely now so I use the phone a lot. Not having an audio jack means that when I'm on a conference call, I can't charge the phone and use the earbuds/mic at the same time. Bluetooth is not an option for the work phone (security reasons) and I wouldn't want a Bluetooth headset anyway. I don't need more things to charge. Also, the lightning connector headsets are stupidly expensive. Funny how Apple is now forcing users to use the much more expensive headset.

Re: Not really a big deal anymore

[Harlequin80]

Really curious. Why won't my bluetooth headphones work on a plane? They did on my flights on Friday so I'm wondering what changed?

Re:Not really a big deal anymore

[Anonymous Coward]

No TV ? Not since 1973 here. No loss.

Re:Not really a big deal anymore

[Cmdln Daco]

Area man constantly mentioning he doesn't own a television.

Re:Not really a big deal anymore

[omnichad]

It probably has USB-C to 3.5mm audio adapter and you can keep using your existing headphones, knowing that the new phone is slightly more water resistant than the old one and that you don't need any more batteries.

Re: Not really a big deal anymore

[Cmdln Daco]

I am sitting in the seat behind you.

Re:Not really a big deal anymore

[Actually, I do RTFA]

Audiophiles? A cheap pair of corded headphones is around $5 and I don't need to charge them or worry about power at all. I don't like having extra things that need charging.

I say this as someone who jumped hard onto bluetooth, but then realized the damn cord was more convenient.

Re: Not really a big deal anymore

[Anonymous Coward]

Was all pumped about my bluetooth headphones, till i realized that my phones FM radio requires headphone wires for antenna. Stop ths madness!

Re: Not really a big deal anymore

[Anonymous Coward]

The guy is an obvious nutbar who sees a conspiracy around every corner.

Re:Not really a big deal anymore

[Anonymous Coward]

Yeah, the lack of a headphone jack probably annoys audiophiles, but if you're really that picky about your audio quality, you're probably using a standalone media player.

Long recognized and easy to discern problem having facilitated active work on higher bitrate and higher complexity codecs to resolve. Dismissing the issue by asserting only crackpots care changes nothing.

There are additional issues. Unnecessary expenditures, having to screw with pairing when switching / borrowing devices, more doohickeys to remember to charge, random signal issues.

The one and only thing on the benefit side of the ledger of substance appears to be no wires.

I've personally been using a phone without a headphone jack for several months now and haven't missed it. I never used it on my previous phone - I went Bluetooth "everything" quite awhile ago.

What's the point of people announcing to the world change x doesn't affect them? Does it make them feel good? Do they want to establish they are hip and everyone who is negatively affected must be an irrelevant dinosaur?

Re: Not really a big deal anymore

[Anonymous Coward]

FM radio? Nigga u for real? Apple Music been had all the relevant radio station streaming for a minute. Baby boomer bitch.

Re: Not really a big deal anymore

[TuballoyThunder]

Wireless charging--works great. There are even battery packs that have wireless charging.

Re:Not really a big deal anymore

[Anonymous Coward]

In short, yes. If Apple made pacemakers you'd be forced to "upgrade" every three years too and they'd be made of material known to degrade over time due to blood contact (much like their headphone cables).

I have headphones I bought in 2001 that still work just fine. You CAN have intrinsically safe devices without removing external contacts. What I don't get is why a company wouldn't just make something like they've done in two-way radios for decades. I suspect the reason is they want more ways to track people then make their devices waterproof.

Re:Not really a big deal anymore

[arth1]

Yeah, the lack of a headphone jack probably annoys audiophiles, but if you're really that picky about your audio quality, you're probably using a standalone media player.

No need for that. USB-OTG to a DAC/headphone amp. And wired headphones retrofitted with a balanced plug.

Wireless is useful for when working out, and you don't want to risk snagging any wires. But it sounds like shit, unless your phone and receiver both support AptX-HD (ok) or LDAC (better). Especially AAC, which Apple uses, is max 250 kbps, which is less than most MP3s these days, and unless your file was AAC encoded to start with, full of recompression artifacts. Just don't bother for anything more complex than audio books or third millennium noise. There are AM radio broadcasts with better quality...

Re:Not really a big deal anymore

[misnohmer]

Bluetooth things you have to keep charged. So if you use a headset once or twice a week you just want to leave in your jacket pocket because you use it only when you receive a call while outside, you're out of luck. Dongles add weight, break down and require replecement (my kids go through 1-2 Apple headphone adapters per year as they just stop working) or simply don't work well (I work with a person who's never been able to get his Pixel to work well with a small wire only non-chargeable headset to work, every time he tried, at some point during the call we'd have to wait for him to switch to speakerphone because the headset stopped working). That and bluetooth is not as reliable as plain old wired headset - interference, compatibility and reliability/software bugs issues plague them constantly. I have a Plantronics savi-7xx and it works great with Galaxy S9+ if I only enable bluetooth when I want to talk, but if I keep bluetooth enabled, few days of going in and out of range of the thing results in one way audio connection only, I can hear the caller but they cannot hear me - disabling and re-enabling bluetooth fixes it.

Re:Not really a big deal anymore

[markdavis]

>"It probably has USB-C to 3.5mm audio adapter and you can keep using your existing headphones"

Which you inevitably never have with you when you need it.
Which doesn't allow charging and using it for music at the same time.
Which uses more battery.
Which almost never comes with the device, meaning more $.
Which is more weight and complexity when using ultra-light/thin wired earphones.

Just give me a headphone jack! Which, typically also work with wired headsets and microphones (3 stripe).

Re:Not really a big deal anymore

[friedmud]

Serious question: do you know about the "Live Listen" capability of Airpods?

Here's a good article on it: https://www.imore.com/how-make...

It essentially turns AirPods into hearing boosters.

Check it out and see if it fits your needs. Yeah, you'll have to charge them, but that's pretty painless and the case keeps them charged pretty well.

Re: Not really a big deal anymore

[Anonymous Coward]

Don't worry, they'll stop using the lightning connector soon too, like they are doing with iPads that have switched to USBC

Re: Not really a big deal anymore

[Harlequin80]

Funny. Evil. But Funny.

Re:Not really a big deal anymore

[cheesybagel]

Same here. Not to mention the possible security implications of using Bluetooth.

Re: Not really a big deal anymore

[Anonymous Coward]

Because you are not allowed to use radio transmitters (yes, that includes Bluetooth) on most flights?
At least for flights within Europe, it's only the very rare ones with inflight wifi that allow it.

Re:Not really a big deal anymore

[guacamole]

I care about audio quality and comfort but you don't need to have a dedicated audio player for that. Case in point the well known Koss Porta Pro and Sennheiser PX100ii ranges of headphones. They are both affordable and designed to work well connected to a mobile device.

Re:Not really a big deal anymore

[Anonymous Coward]

If you're working from home, why wouldn't you just play the call via your MacBook speakers?

Re:Not really a big deal anymore

[Anonymous Coward]

That's precious. You're using a smart phone-home device and you're worried about the possible security implications of Bluetooth? LOL.

Re:Not really a big deal anymore

[SeaFox]

I've personally been using a phone without a headphone jack for several months now and haven't missed it. I never used it on my previous phone - I went Bluetooth "everything" quite awhile ago.

Why are the people in the "Bluetooth" camp always making this out as though we have to choose one or the other? There's no reason you can't continue to ignore the headphone jack for the Bluetooth you find more convenient. Removing the headphone jack has no impact on your use, so why can't they just leave it and give the consumer more choice.

The cost of the jack is a non-issue in a device costing as much as a major appliance. We don't need to remove the jack because it is "hampering the thinness of the phone's design" -- because they don't need to be thinner. People are already complaining about phones being too thin to be structurally resilient depending on the material. The waterproofing argument is bogus, too. Handset makers are not making the phones more water-resistant after removing the jack than they were before they removed it.

What is an actual legitimate reason that it is necessary the jack be removed?

Re:Not really a big deal anymore

[Falos]

A coworker lamented his dead headphones on his way to babysit a late meeting.

"I should have charged" "Oh do you want to borrow mine?" "I don't even have a jack"

It was an unusual sensation. It gave me pause the way that someone might have experienced when they first heard of a watch that needs no winding or batteries. "That's a thing? That's different than how I've always done it."

We have created entire new and exciting problems for the man of tomorrow. Except my phone does the same things as his. I'm pretty sure this is the opposite of progress.

Re:Not really a big deal anymore

[Powercntrl]

Why are the people in the "Bluetooth" camp always making this out as though we have to choose one or the other?

That wasn't the implication. I was postulating as to why manufacturers don't see removing the headphone jack as a problem: its absence is not a deal-breaker for most users. Even though plenty of people still smoke, most cars don't come with ash trays these days, either. It's just part of modern design aesthetics to remove superfluous elements.

Re:Not really a big deal anymore

[hazardPPP]

A car stereo with Bluetooth costs $15. Walmart also sells Bluetooth adapters in the impulse bins at the check-out counters.

So? Lack of a headphone jack has nothing to do with annoying audiophiles...in fact it's more annoying to just us regular folk.

I have bluetooth headphones. The sound is great for my needs and they're pretty cool. But...

• - They're wireless (duh), so you need to charge them. Another piece of equipment you need a cable for and a charger and that you have to worry about plugging in at night. Annoying.

• - Bluetooth is far from a perfect technology...in the past it was horribly buggy, now it's got better but it's still not seamless. If you use just one pair of equipment (a single set of headphones with a single phone for example) it'll work OK most of the time but once you start swapping pairs around the problems multiply. Which headset do you pair to this device? Which is the default audio output? Did it automatically pair with another nearby device with which it was paired in the past and currently has its Bluetooth on? Etc. etc.

• - The communication is ultimately software-based, which means software updates can break things. For example, an update for my OS broke the ability of my computer to stream full stereo sound to my bluetooth headphones.

• - The whole pairing process is still so 1995, compare to the much more straightforward process of connecting to WiFi.

• - Declining battery life means your bluetooth headphones are going to need replacing sooner than your regular headphones most likely. Take earbuds. I can go the cheap route and pay $5-10, those will probably break within a year. But hey, they're dirt cheap who cares? Or if I choose to spend $30+ on earbuds those will probably last me 20 years. I also get to use them with a whole variety of equipment. Which pair of bluetooth headphones will last me 20 years? Which one of them will plug into my 10-15 year old sound system? Etc.

• - What happens all the time is that exactly when I need to use the headphones, the battery is empty.

• - More on the phone side: the main way I listen to music at home now is by plugging in my tablet or phone into my sound system and playing music off Spotify, Youtube, internet radio, MP3s, whatever. Hard without a 3.5 mm jack, and yeah, I like the ability of being able to charge the phone/tablet simultaneously.

• - You officially aren't allowed to use Bluetooth on an airplane.

So yeah, I have Bluetooth headphones, but more or less I always carry a pair of ordinary earbuds as backup. Don't remove my 3.5mm jack, thanks.

Re:Not really a big deal anymore

[Anonymous Coward]

I've spent the last few years getting rid of wireless stuff as it was just overly burdensome. First, got rid of the wireless mouse, the things batteries always would go dead at the worst time. Next to go was the keyboard. I was playing video games and an input would get delayed. Luckily never had wireless headphones. Right now I'd like to get a wired controller for my Switch, but I don't think they exist. I always forget to charge the damn controllers so I'll sit down, start playing a game, and about 5 minutes "Controller R's battery is low". Toss in that lately I've been having really bad issues with dropped inputs. Was playing BotW last night and it took 5 tries to open my menu to change armor. Very frustrating.

The problem with wireless is, it's a shared medium. And the more people you put on it, the more congestion you're going to get. Imagine a bus full of people using bluetooth headphones. 50 people all using a high bandwidth connection. You aren't going to be having a great connection.

Re:Not really a big deal anymore

[froggyjojodaddy]

I use Anker wireless around-the-ear headphones when I'm working out. I started around 2 years ago and will never go back to wired headphones - there's nothing more annoying than cords getting caught on something, or you're on the treadmill and move just a little too far back and your phone gets tugged and ends up flying off

The battery lasts for at least 8 hours which is good for 4 days workout. Charging them is easy, just plug into any micro-USB cable. It's a trivial inconvenience.

I also don't understand the 'poor quality' sound comments - I had my annual physical a few months ago which includes a hearing test. Absolutely no issues with my hearing whatsoever. However, I cannot detect any decrease in sound quality of wireless vs. wired, and I've tried really hard. I mean, maybe if you're an audiophile and are listening to very specific notes or music, maybe you can tell the difference. But for the other 95% who listen to music when working out, on the train, or working around the house, I don't know if it's really a problem

Re:Not really a big deal anymore

[froggyjojodaddy]

You CAN use Bluetooth on airplanes. I do it all the time. When I enable flight mode on my phone (S9+), it disables WiFi and Cellular radio but not Bluetooth.

Also, the FAA permits Bluetooth: https://www.faa.gov/news/press... Excerpt: "Devices must be used in airplane mode or with the cellular connection disabled. You may use the WiFi connection on your device if the plane has an installed WiFi system and the airline allows its use. You can also continue to use short-range Bluetooth accessories, like wireless keyboards."

Re:Not really a big deal anymore

[hazardPPP]

Well, that's news to me, thanks. I stand corrected. I've been repeatedly told in the past by flight attendants that anything that has any kind of wireless transmission is a no-no.

Re:Not really a big deal anymore

[Anonymous Coward]

This is not true at all. Even at the medium bitrate setting on the worst codec (SBC) is already _transparent_ http://soundexpert.org/encoders-320-kbps

Re: Not really a big deal anymore

[Anonymous Coward]

"Bubble child lives in bubble, finds real life confusing"

iTunes is for goons kid.

Also who says nigga anymore, PewDiePie said we're not allowed to use that word.

Re:Not really a big deal anymore

[Anonymous Coward]

Sales numbers went down, profits went up. When Apple removes a feature, they make more money. That is the only reason to be 'brave'.

Re:Not really a big deal anymore

[Anonymous Coward]

Hold up - I am trying to untangle what you just said. Amazon sells Lightning to 3.5 mm headphone adapters for $1.49 and I bet you can do better than that if you shop around. Just leave this plugged into your cheap headphones and - poof - the dongle is gone!

Re: Not really a big deal anymore

[fluffernutter]

You must turn off all sending and receiving for wireless devices on an airplane. Therefore you have to turn off bluetooth.

Re: Not really a big deal anymore

[fluffernutter]

Because you have to turn off bluetooth on an airplane. No transmitting or receiving functions.

Re: Not really a big deal anymore

[fluffernutter]

At what cost? Presumably more than the free cable that comes with the phone.

Re:Not really a big deal anymore

[Anonymous Coward]

That does make their jobs easier, no?

Re:Not really a big deal anymore

[scamper_22]

Just to tag on.

I was using my bluetooth headset for a while at work.
I recently switched to a regular 3.5mm headset.

Battery life was a concern, but not the major one.
My main one was switching between devices at work.

I have to attend conference calls, so I want the headset paired with my phone. Then, I watch a training video and I want it paired with my laptop.

I know it's possible to switch what the headset is paired to. I've done it, but dammit if every time it's like I'm playing a game. Enabling and Disabling devices and pairings. Whatever I have to do, nothing is easier than just swapping the jack.

Wired headset is just easier. Do I care if it's USB-C or 3.5mm Audio? Only to the extent it works. I doubt my laptop will come with a USB-C port anytime soon, but it has that trusty 3.5mm jack.

Re:Not really a big deal anymore

[Anonymous Coward]

Airpods with Mac and iPhone/iPad do this too. The last device to hit play starts sound in your headphones. There is no switching needed. Heck, when you pair one device with AirPods all of your apple devices are now paired.

Re:Not really a big deal anymore

[arth1]

I also don't understand the 'poor quality' sound comments - I had my annual physical a few months ago which includes a hearing test. Absolutely no issues with my hearing whatsoever.

Hearing tests don't measure your ability to discern harmonies or minor sounds lower in volume than the main sound.
You may have 20/20 vision in a test and still be unable to distinguish near colors, or see well at night.

Re:Not really a big deal anymore

[Wulf2k]

Yes, that was the reference being made.

Congrats.

Re: Not really a big deal anymore

[Wulf2k]

But you are free to use the in-plane wifi on the same frequencies if you supply a credit card.

Re:Not really a big deal anymore

[Wulf2k]

Wired pro controllers are a thing.

Re:Not really a big deal anymore

[Anonymous Coward]

Thank you, Ted. That was the joke.

Re:Not really a big deal anymore

[TheFakeTimCook]

Well, I sure miss the audio jack. I would not buy an Apple phone for myself, but my work phone is an Apple and has been recently "upgraded" so that I no longer have an audio jack. I work remotely now so I use the phone a lot. Not having an audio jack means that when I'm on a conference call, I can't charge the phone and use the earbuds/mic at the same time. Bluetooth is not an option for the work phone (security reasons) and I wouldn't want a Bluetooth headset anyway. I don't need more things to charge. Also, the lightning connector headsets are stupidly expensive. Funny how Apple is now forcing users to use the much more expensive headset.

https://www.amazon.com/Bland-1...

Wow, that was hard. Took a whole 30 seconds on Amazon.

Oh, and $8 for this Y-cable is hardly "stupidly expensive". Just use them with the Lightning Headset that came with the phone.

Slashtards.

Re:Not really a big deal anymore

[TheFakeTimCook]

Audiophiles? A cheap pair of corded headphones is around $5 and I don't need to charge them or worry about power at all. I don't like having extra things that need charging.

I say this as someone who jumped hard onto bluetooth, but then realized the damn cord was more convenient.

You mention "audiophile" and $5 headphones like those two terms belong in the same sentence.

Cute.

Re:Not really a big deal anymore

[TheFakeTimCook]

If you use just one pair of equipment (a single set of headphones with a single phone for example) it'll work OK most of the time but once you start swapping pairs around the problems multiply. Which headset do you pair to this device? Which is the default audio output? Did it automatically pair with another nearby device with which it was paired in the past and currently has its Bluetooth on? Etc. etc.

I have great news for you! Apple has already figured ALL of this out with its Airpods.

See this post:

https://hardware.slashdot.org/...

Re:Not really a big deal anymore

[Anonymous Coward]

What is an actual legitimate reason that it is necessary the jack be removed?

When your production runs in the 10s of millions, every design choice is a million dollar one. What seems trivial to you isn't to apple or samsung. In a modern smartphone the jack, board space, and BOM cost for a headphone jack is pretty significant.

Apple and Samsung ran the numbers, did studies, and probably came to the same conclusion I did. - Most customers like the idea of having a headphone jack more than they actually use one.

Cutting the jack makes them more money. End of story.

Here's the thing. You, the power user, the geek the expert. You're actually the worst customer. You complain the most. They make the least money off of you.

Stop wondering why they don't bend over backwards to you.

Re:Not really a big deal anymore

[Cinnamon Beige]

It's also really nice if you want to hijack somebody's stereo or headphones. It doesn't take that much skill to hijack Bluetooth stuff...

Re:Not really a big deal anymore

[iampiti]

I don't know if you were exaggerating but are there any headphones that last 20 years (or close)?
I've been using headphones (lately in-ear) for 20 years and not a single pair has lasted me more than 1,5 years and I'm not especially rough to them. I usually buy in the 20 - 30 € (most expensive pair was 40€) and the sound quality is enough for me but their durability has always been crap

Re:Not really a big deal anymore

[thegarbz]

Especially AAC, which Apple uses, is max 250 kbps

As much as shitting on Apple is a favourite passtime of mine, I challenge you to do a blind ABX identification of a WAV file and a 250kbps AAC encoded file. I'll bet you a Marsbar you're unable to get through with any statistical significance.

Re:Not really a big deal anymore

[froggyjojodaddy]

Ah, makes sense. I guess I just don't know what I'm missing in that case if my otherwise-fine hearing is incapable of picking up subtle sounds. That leads to a weird feeling - what if I'm hearing something like Bohemian Rhapsody in a way that is very different to someone who can pick out all the different sounds that I cannot?

Re:Not really a big deal anymore

[Actually, I do RTFA]

Cord fraying is a real problem, including (and especially) adapters. Also, all headphones just got $1.50 more expensive (and needs to be ordered 2 days in advance). And wears the charging port. And blocks my ability to charge and play at the same time (which seems useful as at the same time.)

Re:Not really a big deal anymore

[Dixie_Flatline]

More to the point, if you're trying to get audiophile quality and listening experience out of your phone when you're out and about in the world, you're 100% doing it wrong. The ambient noise in the world is worse for your audio quality than the transition from cable to bluetooth. And let's not forget that a cable doesn't guarantee good quality, it simply removes that from being a factor in the quality. But the $20 bluetooth headphones I have are 1000x times better than a pair of wired Skullcandys at any price. Skullcandy makes garbage headphones with garbage drivers, but they have a wire.

I totally agree that if you're going to claim you're interested in quality you should be getting a DAC+amp to drive your headphones rather than just jamming them into your phone in any case.

Re:Not really a big deal anymore

[Dixie_Flatline]

Because it takes up space. That's it, end of story. Space inside a phone is at a premium for all sorts of reasons. More battery could be fit there. It's easier to design the layout of the internals. You don't have a long connector intruding on the screen internals. You already have a port that can output audio.

Apparently the reason why the headphone jack was removed on the iPad Pro was because they couldn't make the bezels as small if they had the headphone jack; it intruded into the space that the screen components needed, so Apple removed it. They felt the screen experience was more important, and so they made the tradeoff.

Look, lots of people disagree with Apple's decisions, and that's fine, but they don't make these decisions blindly or capriciously. They thought about the product they wanted to make, designed it, and released it, and we're not obligated to buy it if it doesn't fit our needs. This is also the case with the notch. It was deliberate, and they decided they didn't have a better solution for the moment.

I actually think the real thing that people hate is that other manufacturers ape Apple for no reason other than Apple did it first. Most of the phones on the market with a notch have it just to look more like the iPhone rather than for any technological reason. They hate that their headphone jack is disappearing because some lazy designer thought it was easier to just follow Apple's lead than make real decisions for themselves.

Re: Not really a big deal anymore

[J053]

Bluetooth and WiFi have been allowed on US flights since 2013:
https://www.faa.gov/news/press...

Re:Not really a big deal anymore

[arth1]

That leads to a weird feeling - what if I'm hearing something like Bohemian Rhapsody in a way that is very different to someone who can pick out all the different sounds that I cannot?

We probably all hear music slightly different. I know that it has changed over the years for me - if I listen to music now that I listened to in my youth, I discover different things than I did then.

One pop music song from my early teens has a quite noticeable master tape stretch which I never heard when I was young, but now it's really grating to hear the slight dip in pitch for every revolution, getting less as the song progresses. That I didn't hear it when young wasn't because it wasn't there, but because pitch wasn't really what I listened for.

As for compression artifacts, what I hear the difference the most on are whisks and high hats. When bad, it sounds like someone is slapping a bag full of crushed glass. Another is the high pitched "walking treble" in Mike Oldfield's Tubular Bells, which psychoacoustic compression tends to filter away, thinking it unimportant compared to the main sounds. But it sounds really odd when it fades in and out, once you are familiar with the tune as it is uncompressed.

Re: Not really a big deal anymore

[Harlequin80]

FAA changed those rules in 2013.

And all the airlines I fly with in Australia allow bluetooth connections but require the cellular to be turned off. Depending on the plane there are restrictions around bluetooth during taxi, takeoff and landing. But not inflight. 747 for example are only while inflight, a320, a380, 787, 737 are on all the time.

Re:Not really a big deal anymore

[cheesybagel]

The less holes the better.

Re:Not really a big deal anymore

[hazardPPP]

Great then for people who use Apple products almost exclusively and don't mind spending $159 on AirPods...let me know when this becomes a standard feature on every new BT-enabled device, and works seamlessly across devices with different manufacturers. The way many other transmission standards do (like WiFi).

Re:Not really a big deal anymore

[hazardPPP]

I don't know if you were exaggerating but are there any headphones that last 20 years (or close)?

I've a pair of Sony earbuds purchased a long time ago, most likely in the early / mid 90s. They still work fine. Also lots of cheap ones that have definitely lasted more than 1.5 years (although I had plenty of those which broke in some way after 6-12 months or even less)

Re:Not really a big deal anymore

[froggyjojodaddy]

The one thing thing I really notice but never did before is the intake of breath a singer makes before singing a line. It's completely natural, of course, but I get very distracted by it, to the point of anticipating and focusing on that just to make sure I'm actually hearing it

Re:Not really a big deal anymore

[omnichad]

Which you inevitably never have with you when you need it.

Leave it attached to your headphones.

Which doesn't allow charging and using it for music at the same time.

This does require a more expensive adapter, but also makes for a strange use case. Using it for music while charging doesn't really sound like a headphone use case. There are a lot of other inexpensive ways to cart off music to speakers from a fixed position. Chromecast Audio is one. And then the phone doesn't have to be next to the speakers.

Which uses more battery.

You're using an offboard DAC instead of an onboard DAC. I'm not 100% sure it has to use more electricity.

Which almost never comes with the device, meaning more $.

Is that really common? Every phone I've seen with no headphone jack does come with one. Even Apple includes one and they like to overcharge for the most basic of accessories.

Which is more weight and complexity when using ultra-light/thin wired earphones.

Phones are heavy. Either the thing goes in the phone or the thing goes outside the phone. The weight isn't terribly different.

Re:Not really a big deal anymore

[TheFakeTimCook]

Great then for people who use Apple products almost exclusively and don't mind spending $159 on AirPods...let me know when this becomes a standard feature on every new BT-enabled device, and works seamlessly across devices with different manufacturers. The way many other transmission standards do (like WiFi).

Hey the rest of every other BT earbud OEM is free to do the same thing. AFAIK, Apple's "Pairing" method isn't patented.

The other OEMs are evidently just too greedy, lazy, and stupid to do it.

Re:Not really a big deal anymore

[Anonymous Coward]

I believe there are other Bluetooth headphones with a similar feature, so may be worth looking around if you don't want airpods.

Re:Not really a big deal anymore

[markdavis]

>"Leave it attached to your headphones."

True, but if you have more than one pair, gotta have more than one.

>"This does require a more expensive adapter, but also makes for a strange use case. "

Agreed. It is unusual.

>You're using an offboard DAC instead of an onboard DAC. I'm not 100% sure it has to use more electricity.'

I am not sure

>"Phones are heavy. Either the thing goes in the phone or the thing goes outside the phone. The weight isn't terribly different."

Also probably true. It is more of a problem with more than one jack to get disconnected inconveniently.

Re: Not really a big deal anymore

[Cmdln Daco]

Yes, evil. But think about evil dude with a jammer in his pocket on a crowded commuter train full of Iphone users with their ear podlets.

Re:Samesung

[DontBeAMoran]

Wouldn't it be better as "Samesong"?

This article is terribly misrepresentative

[psperl]

Apple has removed the headphone jack from ALL of its phones. Samsung removed it from one midrange phone, and still offers dozens of models with it. This is clickbait, pure and simple.

Re:This article is terribly misrepresentative

[fustakrakich]

Removing the headphone jack, that's patent infringement, right?

Re:This article is terribly misrepresentative

[Anonymous Coward]

implying the writing isn't on the wall

implying matte finishes on laptop displays didn't disappear shortly after Apple started shipping glossy finish laptop displays

Re:This article is terribly misrepresentative

[Anonymous Coward]

Samsung just hasn't removed it from the rest of the phones YET.

Re:This article is terribly misrepresentative

[Anonymous Coward]

Apple has removed the headphone jack from ALL of its phones. Samsung removed it from one midrange phone, and still offers dozens of models with it. This is clickbait, pure and simple.

The headphone jack isn't a big deal to me either way, though speaker volume and clarity is important for my mother.

I am curious if someone could recommend the best phone for someone where you want it to just work. I've been buying android phones for myself and my mom, but I'd consider apple, if that is really worth it. I'd rather not spend more than say 200 without a great reason, since a phone is still one bad drop away from needing a new phone. Right now my best guess is a Motorola G5 and to never buy a phone with the speaker firing downward again.

Re:This article is terribly misrepresentative

[Anonymous Coward]

I suspect this sort of comment will look incredibly naive in a few years. It reeks of denial.

Re:This article is terribly misrepresentative

[squiggleslash]

Please please please Apple sue over that! In fact, if they could sue over missing headphone jacks, notches, poor battery lives, and phones that are too thin, we may even forgive them for their many sins...

Re:This article is terribly misrepresentative

[Anonymous Coward]

Applel drones don't care if it's clickbait if it embiggens their smugness. Which this absolutely, positiviely, 1000% did.

Re:This article is terribly misrepresentative

[thegarbz]

This is clickbait, pure and simple

No! TheFakeTimCook, Apple shill (or maybe just mental institution escapee) posting clickbait of no value? Say it aint so!

Surgeon General's Warning: Reading this post comes with levels of sarcasm high enough that it may cause cancer in the state of California.

Re:Fuck Samsung and Apple.

[nnull]

No root, no buy.

Re: I'm excited to be getting a new Mac personally

[Anonymous Coward]

How many dicks have you sucked?

hifi snobs ?

[swell]

MY PHONE HAS ONE, a headphone jack. But for years I've preferred my Bluetooth headphones. I have a nice stereo for those times I want high quality sound, but why bother with the lower quality stuff in my phone?

My brother, a hifi snob, has electrostatic headphones for his musical journeys. But he doesn't listen on his phone either (which also has a headphone jack).

So where are the hifi snobs who get their music on a cell phone while they're out and about, and can't tolerate Bluetooth? Are they doing FLAC on their tiny phones? Ridiculous!

Re:hifi snobs ?

[Actually, I do RTFA]

It's not a weird quality thing. It's that corded headphones are dirt cheap, ubiquitous and never need charging.

Re:hifi snobs ?

[Anonymous Coward]

kinda amusing we are on a project at the moment where we are replacing all the Bluetooth headsets with wired ones for everyone in a couple of our buildings for their corporate issues smartphones. Bluetooth signal flooding and interference made them near impossible to work reliably. couple of hundred thousand dollars worth of headsets just went into the buildings basement, will probably end up at auction place early next year.

Re:hifi snobs ?

[Anonymous Coward]

If I gave a shit about Slashdot, and I bothered to log in, I would vote you up. Sorry, though.

Re:hifi snobs ?

[iggymanz]

all that is true but the wired sound quality really is better also.

Re:hifi snobs ?

[Anonymous Coward]

You clearly have no idea what FLAC is . While everyone else was convertting their media to mp3s, some of us saw through the marketing crap and went FLAC which is lossless. Unlike mp3 or any of the other gawd awful formats you found on mobiles.

It's funny seeing those same people buying the same songs again.

Re:hifi snobs ?

[Anonymous Coward]

I like my corded IEMs. They are about 100 dB SPL @ 1 mW, which my Samsung Note 8 easily provides into the nearly-ruler-flat 32 Ohm impedance of my IEMs. Even with the high output impedance of the Note 8 - it still sounds VERY good (again, thanks to the flat impedance of the IEMs). Plenty loud and extremely convenient to use as a source, since I have about 40 GB of off-line Tidal Masters and lossless files on the micro SD card.

Re:hifi snobs ?

[Doke]

Bluetooth has a history of security holes. Here's just one link https://www.cnet.com/news/blue...

Re:hifi snobs ?

[Anonymous Coward]

But for years I've preferred my Bluetooth headphones. I have a nice stereo for those times I want high quality sound, but why bother with the lower quality stuff in my phone?

Corded headphones means one less thing to have remember to keep charged and one less thing to either periodically swap the batters on or, more likely, throw away because the battery isn't easily replaced with something you can buy at the drug store.

Corded headphones means universal (except Apple) compatibility. Use them with your phone, your tablet, your pre-BT iPod (I own and use a couple; I prefer the tactile controls over today's touch-only devices), your PC, your TV, even an old portable CD player or Walkman if you still have one. (I do. I haven't used them in years, but I could.) You can use something cheap and easily replaceable or something pointlessly expensive and high-end if you choose. Forgot them or lost them? Easily find a cheap replacement set.

For those phones that include an FM radio, I understand the headphone cord also provides an antenna.

Re:hifi snobs ?

[Anonymous Coward]

I know that many people will not understand this, but Bluetooth stuff works over radio. Bluetooth was never designed for sending stereo audio over. Thats why bluetooth headphones or earbuds sound like shit! The bluetooth standard does not have enough bandwidth to transmit stereo audio without compression and distortion. A $5.00 set of wired ear buds sounds better than a $169.99 pair of bluetooth earbuds, plus the wired earbuds never need charging, and are harder to lose. And if you lose the $5.00 ear buds, just buy another, or carry a spare!

Re:hifi snobs ?

[Solandri]

Bluetooth works OK for listening where timing is not a factor, but it introduces latency. My car seems to add about 300 ms of latency when receiving audio via Bluetooth. That makes it really annoying to play video on my phone with the sound piped to my car's speakers (so the kids or passengers can watch). If I use my tablet I can just plug the headphone jack into the car's aux port. But my newest phone eschewed the headphone jack. I didn't think it'd be a big deal because "I can just use Bluetooth." But I'm really missing the headphone jack.

Re:hifi snobs ?

[ljw1004]

I'm not an audiophile. My music is already in highly compressed mp3 format. But I prefer wired headphones because

* I like my Etymotics brand canalphones that stick far into my ear canal. They block out background noise really well, better than my wife's Bose noise-cancelling headphones. They passed the "sit next to a screaming baby on an airplane and not even realize that it's screaming because you can't hear it" test perfectly. I've not yet seen such "canally" canalphones in Bluetooth.

* The same headphones can either plug into my phone, or plug into the airplane's headphone jack so I can listen to music

Re: hifi snobs ?

[Anonymous Coward]

To answer the OP, hifi buffs are doing flac on phones, also on other handy portable content-crrying devices. And loving it.

Miniaturisation. It's a thing. You should have seen them, back in the day, audiophiles walking the streets pushing sack barrows with 'portable' Univacs on them. It's much easier now.

In fact the only barrier now that memory is cheap is manufacturers being wedded to lossy standards.

Re:hifi snobs ?

[zilym]

FLAC is nice, but it can't fix problems with the original source material being poorly produced. The loudness wars have resulted in really poor recordings nowadays. The dynamic range has been compressed and normalized to make everything sound as a loud as possible, because hey, louder will help the music sell better, right? And once you've got everything uniformly loud, why bother making sure musical nuances and details are kept intact since nobody is going to be able to hear them anyway? It doesn't matter if you switch from lossy data compression to lossless FLAC -- you can't fix bad source material.

So, I've pretty much given up on my FLAC collection... I've moved on to collecting MIDI files instead. Back in the old days, MIDI files sounded pretty lame, but nowadays with the massive processing power, storage, and RAM we have available on modern computing devices, I can use HUGE multi-gigabyte instrument sample sets that sound fantastic. Sure, there's no vocals, but then again I don't have to listen to Nicki Minaj talking about truffle butter and other repulsive lyrics.

Re:hifi snobs ?

[PhrostyMcByte]

It's absolutely possible to have portable hi-fi. LG's line of high-end phones comes with a stellar audio stack that measures better than most desktop audiophile gear.

And you don't need FLAC. 256kbps MP3, 196kbps AAC, 160kbps OPUS are audibly transparent for basically any music.

Re:hifi snobs ?

[Anonymous Coward]

I second this. I love my Etymotics. Fell in love with them while travelling in the NYC subway for a 1.5 hour commute each day, and then 3-4 hours of my day spent working in a server room. I would have (more) hearing loss without these life-savers and I've been using them steady since I found the company.

The reason they work so well is that they aren't "Noise Cancelling" (like: produce the inverse waveform to cancel out the sound) they are straight up noise blocking, like ear plugs. Its great and wonderful (if you need them).

Re:hifi snobs ?

[Anonymous Coward]

My 2012 car can take an aux cable to play through the car's speakers. Remove the headphone jack from the phone and I can't listen to music in the same way with the car's factory fitted equipment.

As a side note, I strongly dislike anything with builtin batteries that make it difficult to replace. Those expensive airpods and other bluetooth headphones are disposable as soon as the batteries have been through enough cycles. I still play my old game consoles occasionally with the oldest being the sega megadrive (genisis to you USA folk). I do have a nintendo switch where I won't be able to do the same in 20+ years when the builtin battery dies.

Non-user replaceable batteries are a cancer which needs to stop. More e-waste and only benefits the companies flogging more electronics.

Re:hifi snobs ?

[iggymanz]

my car will take audio via bluetooth.... but it sounds like shit compared to wired connection

Re:hifi snobs ?

[strikethree]

So where are the hifi snobs who get their music on a cell phone while they're out and about, and can't tolerate Bluetooth? Are they doing FLAC on their tiny phones? Ridiculous!

Nice strawman argument there. I want a headphone jack for several reasons, none of which you mentioned. Odd that.

I want a headphone jack because I don't like having to charge headphones.

I want a headphone jack because sometimes I am in a very dense EM environment and bluetooth just doesn't work.

I don't like remembering and performing the various dances that bluetooth devices require in order to connect to my phone.

A headphone jack just makes life simpler since the standard has been around for multiple decades.

It is great that bluetooth suffices for your needs. You are in luck, because bluetooth has been offered on phones for years, even with a headphone jack. You don't have to give up your beloved bluetooth in order for the rest of us to have a headphone jack. How cool is that?

None - NOW, a question "4U" (lol)... apk

[Anonymous Coward]

See subject for your answer & does that 'upset' some "StRaNgE-PhaNtaSieS" regarding me or something? Sorry to disappoint you then!

* I suppose now another question is for YOU to answer YOUR OWN QUESTION for all of us...

APK

P.S.=> "Inquiring minds WANT to know" (not really - keep THAT to yourself - if you toot other men's flutes, that's your business)... apk

Re: None - NOW, a question "4U" (lol)... apk

[Anonymous Coward]

gonna drive up from the city and teabag your ass, bitch

Re:None - NOW, a question "4U" (lol)... apk

[Anonymous Coward]

See subject for your answer

You mean this one?

I'm excited to be getting a new Mac

That's probably a non-zero number.

Re: None - NOW, a question "4U" (lol)... apk

[Anonymous Coward]

Yeah, APK sucks more dicks than the Debbie does Dallas fluffers

Simply unfuck the product.

[Anonymous Coward]

Simply unfuck the product.

I have no problem with killing the jack

[melted]

But if you're going to do it, there need to be some actual USB-C headphones available, besides the low quality earbuds that manufacturers include with their phones. I get that they'd like us to use Bluetooth, but it's yet another device that needs to be charged, and I hate that.

Re:I have no problem with killing the jack

[Anonymous Coward]

But if you're going to do it, there need to be some actual USB-C headphones available...

Good luck selling them to more than the choir. A standard 1/8" headphone jack can be plugged into darn near anything going back decades. It's simple, it's non-proprietary, it's universal. USB-C headphones would only be of use with a latest-gen phone. Not most that have a micro-USB-B, not Lightning, not most PCs and laptops, not anything you already own.

Bad enough they gouge us for the latest mobiles, you can bet USB-C headphones wouldn't be cheap and probably wouldn't be available in form factors that make everyone happy.

Re:Dont care about app UI

[omnichad]

Android has a new DisplayCutout API for this. It's usually in the notification area, so it only affects apps that block that.

Samsung knows their customers...

[Anonymous Coward]

I droppped them long before the audio jack went missing. Their phones suck now.

Samsung sheeple always behind the times...

[Anonymous Coward]

Embarrassing.

Your post is pure spin

[SuperKendall]

Samsung has removed the jack from it's LATEST phone. You seriously do not think it likely the rest of the models will follow?

Do the mocking ads they produced apply to this phone or not? If they are making fun of no headphone jack, ANY phone that fits that description applies - including their own.

No matter how you look at it this is a self-own. And a great reason not to run mocking ads, for someday that could be yourself you are mocking.

Re: Your post is pure spin

[Anonymous Coward]

Apple used to mock Intel CPUs before switching to them shortly after.

Re:Your post is pure spin

[exomondo]

Who gives a shit? Apple went through a whole marketing song and dance about how great and necessary magsafe was and now admitted actually you don't need it, how the trashcan mac pro was the future of computing, 7" tablets, styluses, intel CPUs, etc ... the tech world is full of hypocritical pontifications and neither Apple nor Samsung are strangers to them.

Re:Your post is pure spin

[Anonymous Coward]

Samsung has removed the jack from it's LATEST phone. You seriously do not think it likely the rest of the models will follow?

Assuming Samsung is not planning on removing the jack from all their phones but from some of them, wouldn't they at some point have removed the jack from their LATEST phone. (Is their a reason LATEST needs to be in all caps? I don't want to miss out.)

So at best the fact that their LATEST phone (there go the caps again) has no jack is not dispositive.

Re:Your post is pure spin

[Anonymous Coward]

Samsung has removed the jack from it's LATEST phone. You seriously do not think it likely the rest of the models will follow?

I do not think that is likely. Why do you think it is? The Galaxy A8s has many differences to other phones that Samsung offers, why do you think the lack of a headphone jack on the A8s is any different to other differences between the A8s and other Samsung phones?

But rather than speculating we can see from the latest leaks of the Galaxy S10 casings that it does indeed have a headphone jack.

Do the mocking ads they produced apply to this phone or not?

Seriously? "I just don't understand the ads, I can't understand what they apply to?!?!?!?!". Perhaps you're better off ignoring that and focussing your menial capacity on something a little more simple.

They apply to the company. They are saying Apple makes no phones with headphone jacks, Samsung makes a lot of phones and thus far only one of them lacks a headphone jack while certainly going forward (the S10 at least) the headphone jack will still be included in many phones Samsung sells.

WTF? LMAO - not interested... apk

[Anonymous Coward]

See subject: You've said that to me before, nothing came of it NOR do I want it to - AGAIN: Not gay here & NOT interested + I'm certainly NOT "your bitch"...

* Heck, you UNIDENTIFIABLE anonymous "ne'er-do-well" DO-NOTHING trolls are MY bitches, lol!

APK

P.S.=> Sometimes I wonder if some of you guys STALKING me by UNIDENTIFIABLE anonymous are "touched in the head" - seriously! apk

Beware

[Anonymous Coward]

Some recent android devices without headphone jacks use the same antenna for both WiFi and Bluetooth, and this is a huge problem if you are streaming content over WiFi and want to listen to the audio via Bluetooth headphones. I nearly pulled the trigger on the purchase of a Huawei android tablet before I found a bunch of online reviews of people who claim the device fails at streaming standard definition content (Netflix, YouTube, etc) when using Bluetooth headphones. Don't pre-order devices and make sure to read those one star reviews.

Re:Beware

[Solandri]

Bluetooth uses the 2.4 GHz band. WiFi uses 2.4 GHz (802.11b, g, and n) or 5 GHz (n and ac). If you encounter this problem, all you have to do is connect to your router via the 5 GHz WiFi band.

I'm not even sure the problem is due to a shared antenna. The 2.4 GHz band is so crowded (a lot of wireless mice and keyboards use it too, and microwave ovens blast spread spectrum noise all over it when operating) that I see interference problems more often than I don't.

Re:Beware

[Anonymous Coward]

Provided where you are HAS a 5G band enabled...

Re:Beware

[Anonymous Coward]

microwave ovens blast spread spectrum noise all over it when operating

Not unless you've got gaping holes in your microwave. There's a reason the cabinets are metal, the door has a metal grate, and the whole thing is grounded.

Re:Beware

[Anonymous Coward]

My old Samsung J7 was like this. It made it so that downloading from my home's wifi in my parked car was slow if I was also listening to something over Bluetooth on my car stereo. If I wanted to download a podcast or audiobook while sitting in my car before a trip, I had to turn of Bluetooth for a minute otherwise the download would take 10s of minutes.

Re:Beware

[Anonymous Coward]

If you encounter this problem, all you have to do is connect to your router via the 5 GHz WiFi band.

And if you happen to use someone else's router set at the 2.4 GHz band, now what?

Not everyone uses 5 GHz.

Come on, you KNOW which one, lol... apk

[Anonymous Coward]

See subject (it's none to THAT one) & I really AM excited to do MacOS work (I've always SAID it's the 'prettiest', even though KDE Plasma using PLASTIK widgets & theme rocks + I liked Win7's "aeroglass" too which they killed off STUPIDLY imo (among too many other 'stupid things' in Win8 onward, killing menus, changing what folks used for decades unnerving many including me, sending WHO KNOWS WHAT out of your system to MS, recently BUSTED AGAIN doing it even when turned off - list goes on - imo, Windows was killed by MS after Win7).

* I love that "kickerbar" MacOS X has that "flexes" as you pass over it (yes, I've seen it on diff. Linux desktops, another area I intend to explore eventually (LXDE, xfce etc.)).

APK

P.S.=> In fact, on Linux again - IF I could submit a story (AC's no longer can, as I tried to the other day in fact)? I'd do a "ASK SLASHDOT" what Linux desktop do YOU use & why - I've NEVER seen that one here, oddly, since 2005 (it'd be a GOOD LEARNING EXPERIENCE for me @ least, probably others too)... apk

"Setting the record straight", lol... apk

[Anonymous Coward]

See subject: I don't DO that kind of thing - which I am SURE disappoints more than a few of you "fellas" who DO but that's that.

* Debbie does Dallas - please - IF you're going to cite a pr0n comparison, you can do BETTER than that one!

APK

P.S.=> Anyhow - "onwards & UPWARDS" into Mac-Land, soon... apk

EXACTLY!!!!!

[SuperKendall]

Apple used to mock Intel CPUs before switching to them shortly after.

Yes I had those "Switch" ads in mind as well when I wrote my post. They were amusing at the time for sure, but they too were a self-own for Apple as Apple had to go down the Intel path as well... probably other aspects apply these days if you went back and watched them.

A little less direct a self-own, in that more time had passed before they applied - but still.

Re:EXACTLY!!!!!

[TheFakeTimCook]

Apple used to mock Intel CPUs before switching to them shortly after.

Yes I had those "Switch" ads in mind as well when I wrote my post. They were amusing at the time for sure, but they too were a self-own for Apple as Apple had to go down the Intel path as well... probably other aspects apply these days if you went back and watched them.

A little less direct a self-own, in that more time had passed before they applied - but still.

But Apple didn't just DECIDE to switch to Intel; they were FORCED to, because neither Motorola nor IBM were interested in creating a laptop-version of the G5 CPU, nor were they interested in breaking the 3 GHz barrier.

THERE WILL BE CONSEQUENCES NAZI FAGGOT KEN DOLL

[Anonymous Coward]

THERE WILL BE CONSEQUENCES FOR YOUR LIES NAZI PROPAGANDA FAGGOT KEN DOLL

Filter error: Don't use so many caps. It's like YELLING. Filter error: Don't use so many caps. It's like YELLING.

When will Android manufacturers stop copying Apple

[AbRASiON]

This is one idiot Apple feature, not worth copying.

Just picked up my new Huawei phone 3 weeks ago, after 7 years of Android loyalty.

Detest their insistence that only the weak phones get flat display. Even more glad now with this headphone change.

Fan since the S2. No more, they don't want me as a customer.

THERE WILL BE CONSEQUENCES NAZI FAGGOT KEN DOLL

[Anonymous Coward]

THERE WILL BE CONSEQUENCES FOR YOUR LIES NAZI FAGGOT KEN DOLL FOR YOUR ENTIRE FAMILY

Filter error: Don't use so many caps. It's like YELLING. Filter error: Don't use so many caps. It's like YELLING.

Bluetooth batteries dont last long.

[wolfheart111]

Always running out of battery, headphones jacks are good backup.

Re:Bluetooth batteries dont last long.

[swillden]

Always running out of battery, headphones jacks are good backup.

I use bluetooth headphones as a backup to my bluetooth headphones. Two pairs; one charging (often charging from my phone) while the other is in use. I have these; they're pretty cheap ($8), work fine in the shower, last eight hours on a charge and have a pretty decent microphone which I sometimes use for phone calls. I have two pairs that I bought about three years ago -- though they cost twice as much then as they do now -- and they're still going strong. In three years I'd have ruined at least a dozen pairs of wired headphones by catching the wires on things, so they've saved me money.

Re:Bluetooth batteries dont last long.

[thegarbz]

Depends on the headphones. Tiny earbuds I can understand, but in general I can happily take an intercontinental flight and get to my destination with 70% battery remaining while listening to music the entire time.

Now there are other reasons I hate bluetooth (skipping, poor sound quality, etc), but battery life isn't one of them.

It took COURAGE

[Spy Handler]

Samsung is just being brave. It takes courage to copy Apple even after getting your ass sued off for using rounded corners.

Thickness

[PhYrE2k2]

It is all about thickness. The headphone jack limited making the phone thinner. Samsung hopped on the Android fan bandwagon and made fun of Apple to boost their own sales. Now they want to make the phone thinner and need to do the same

Re:Thickness

[cheesybagel]

It is a bunch of balooney. If size was the issue they could have used a thinner headphone jack. There are such things.

This is just a throwback to the old days when mobile phone companies used to charge you $100 extra for a $1 headphone jack. Sony Ericsson loved doing that...

Re:Thickness

[Uberbah]

If size was the issue they could have used a thinner headphone jack. There are such things.

Which would require an adapter to connect to your 3.5mm headphones. So if you're going to make your users get an adapter anyway....might as well be USB-C. Tomato, toe-mah-toe.

Re:Thickness

[guacamole]

And how much thinner the Android phones should go? The Galaxy S8 is already about perfect size. It's only 8mm thin and it STILL HAS 3.5mm jack. Why would anyone need a thinner device?

Re: Thickness

[PhYrE2k2]

Ease of bending. Itâ(TM)s a feature thick phones lack.

Re:Thickness

[Anonymous Coward]

That's a lie. This guy added a phone jack to an iPhone 7. If he could do it - then why couldn't Apple? And The Gionee eLife s5.5 is just 5.6mm thick (thinner than any iPhone) - and has a headphone jack (and was released in 2014, with pretty good specs even back then). Are Apple's engineers not as good as a random hardware hacker in Hong Kong, or a 3rd tier Chinese phone brand?

Apple wanted to monetize its buy of Beats. Beats was - and is - one of the biggest Bluetooth headphone brands out there. It's no coincidence that right after Apple bought Beats (Q3 2014), their new iPhones (iPhone 7, Q3 2015) lack a jack - and essentially require a Bluetooth headphone. Which Apple, conveniently, sells a crap-ton of.

Re:Thickness

[Anonymous Coward]

All I want is dual USB-C then, with the electric path for analog audio _and_ FM radio on at least one of them.

Re:Thickness

[cheesybagel]

Yes, because it's impossible to manufacture headphones with a smaller jack...

Re:Thickness

[Uberbah]

Yes, because then you may as well get a pair of USB-C headphones. Once you've ditched the sacrosanct 3.5mm jack....you've ditched the 3.5mm jack.

Tomato, toe-mah-toe.

Um...

[argStyopa]

...why does 'how the hole is made' ("laser drilled!") have anything to do with, well, anything?

Re:Um...

[Anonymous Coward]

..why does 'how the hole is made' ("laser drilled!") have anything to do with, well, anything?

That only matters to "those" kinds of humans.

Re:Um...

[Anonymous Coward]

It is called marketing. They think saying the hole is "laser drilled" sounds cool and will help with sales. You're right that it has no practical relevance though.

Re:Samesung

[Anonymous Coward]

But the OP is making a "pun" of a company name. He doesn't appreciate being called "Samesong", since that's all Apple fans do is keep singing the same song.

1st and last

[AndyKron]

The way things are going with all the privacy bullshit these days my Samsung S6 will probably be my first, and last smart phone. I still have the old rotary hanging on the wall (with a DSL interface).

Re:Not really a big deal anymore (pacemakers)

[Anonymous Coward]

I have a Medtronic Micra pacemaker. It's implanted in my right ventricle, self contained, no wires. I have to do a dial-in using their supplied mouse-looking device over my chest every three months using a bluetooth-ish comm protocol. I will go in for reprogramming every year or so. For that, they use a proprietary laptop looking thing. The pacemaker is about the size of a big vitamin pill. It senses via an accelerometer, has a realtime clock, CPU and radio, and stores a couple months of log data.
It will degrade over time. The battery will last ~8-10 years. It can't be removed because tissue will grow around it. It was installed via catheter. If I live long enough and it's time for a new one, they have to leave the old one in but they have to take it out if I get cremated 'cuz it'll blow up. I also have to be careful around large magnetic fields like cat scanners. It's cool I guess. It was set too high at first and was having triggered panic attacks every 30 seconds. That was no fun. The reprogrammed it and it's been ok. I can still feel it sometimes.

So, I mocked bluetooth headphones and...

[Anonymous Coward]

They're just as bad as I expected them to be. I had a 5 hour flight and thought "it'd be convenient to have wireless compact headphones". So, I go and buy the best rating ones on Amazon for $25. And......... Well they worked really good until I realized I had to have my phone out.... If I put my phone in my pocket or even in my hoodies pocket there was interference.

So, any of you manu's that ditch the headphone jack, I'll never buy your phone. Sure, you prob dont care about me not buying it; but when there are a lot of us.... Well that just may mean there is a lot of buying power? For the record, my last phone was a Oneplus 5T because it's not glass trash and has a headphone jack. I had to buy it off ebay "new"; so, oneplus lost a potential 6T sale because of this. If I'm not the only one doing it, I imagine your smart phone slump has declined sharply; considering stupid shit like the "notch".

Re:So, I mocked bluetooth headphones and...

[Jetstream]

Likewise, I don't see myself buying any phone without a headphone jack in the near future. Think the two of us will have the buying power to force the manufacturers to change their minds? :)

I also refuse to lug around a frigging "phablet" too. My phone is still an old Motorola Moto G. Don't know what I'm going to do when quit making decent phones at 5" & under.

However you want to rationalize the hypocrisy

[Uberbah]

Apple has removed the headphone jack from ALL of its phones. Samsung removed it from one midrange phone, and still offers dozens of models with it. This is clickbait, pure and simple.

Was Samsung mocking Apple after they took the headphone jack off of their latest phone (7 at the time) whilst leaving it on all their other devices? Why yes they did! You are hand waiving, pure and simple.

Sorry, but MagSafe *was* the greatest

[SuperKendall]

Apple went through a whole marketing song and dance about how great and necessary magsafe was and now admitted actually you don't need it

Are you kidding? Magsafe WAS the greatest, and a laptop owner DOES need it. USB-C is sadly more all-around functional, but there's not getting around it absolutely is inferior to MagSafe for charging... the only reason why it's tolerable is that modern laptop batteries last longer so you can go for. quite a while without attaching the trippin' cord.

I've not talked to one newer MacBook owner that does not miss it.

It's so great in fact that people are making MagSafe USB-C cables.

Re:Sorry, but MagSafe *was* the greatest

[exomondo]

Are you kidding? Magsafe WAS the greatest, and a laptop owner DOES need it.

Apple obviously does not agree because they have gotten rid of it.

USB-C is sadly more all-around functional

You realize that even Apple's own laptops (prior to their current lineup) did indeed have more than one kind of port, the fact that they have USB-C never precluded Apple from having the magsafe charging port.

Re:Sorry, but MagSafe *was* the greatest

[Anonymous Coward]

oh what a boon for the dongle market this stupid decision has been, now you can buy a whole bunch of extra shit to carry around to replace all the functionality Apple removed.

Designed by profiteering half-wits in California. Made in China.

Re:Sorry, but MagSafe *was* the greatest

[Anonymous Coward]

I have a new iphone XS and a new macbook pro and can't plug one into the other, I actually have to buy a dongle to do that. That is fucking retarded unless you just want to extract some more profit from your userbase by doing asshole things like upselling dongles.

Re:Sorry, but MagSafe *was* the greatest

[fluffernutter]

Laptops with cheap flimsy power cords like Apple provides need it. I've never broken a Thinkpad cord.

Re:Sorry, but MagSafe *was* the greatest

[Anonymous Coward]

Magsafe is perhaps popular if you're used to US AC power plugs that are designed to easily come out of the socket. Me, this year I tripped on a power cord and the AC socket came out of the wall (but still attached and working). It's an almost cultural thing.

I like the generic round power plug on laptop. It means you can easily replace the PSU, or use a laptop PSU for other things (such as amps and speakers)

Re:Sorry, but MagSafe *was* the greatest

[TheFakeTimCook]

I have a new iphone XS and a new macbook pro and can't plug one into the other, I actually have to buy a dongle to do that. That is fucking retarded unless you just want to extract some more profit from your userbase by doing asshole things like upselling dongles.

Or, you could just buy a CABLE, like SANE people do.

Here's one that is MFi-certified, Lightning to USB-A. a WHOLE $6:

https://www.amazon.com/AmazonB...

And here is a (non MFi) Lightning to USB-C cable for $8. Note that Apple's cable (not DONGLE!) is $20; but Apple just changed the MFi-program rules to allow 3rd Party USB-C -> Lightning cables; so cheap MFi-Certified ones are right around the corner.

https://www.amazon.com/METRANS...

That took about 2 minutes on Amazon's site.

So, it seems it is YOU that is the retarded one.

Re:Sorry, but MagSafe *was* the greatest

[TheFakeTimCook]

Laptops with cheap flimsy power cords like Apple provides need it. I've never broken a Thinkpad cord.

You've never broken an Apple one either; but I notice you don't mention THAT.

Re:Sorry, but MagSafe *was* the greatest

[Anonymous Coward]

Laptops with cheap flimsy power cords like Apple provides need it. I've never broken a Thinkpad cord.

Well, it's a Thinkpad!!

To paraphrase an old saying:
Only 3 things will survive a nuclear blast:
1. Cockroaches,
2. Thinkpads,
3. and Nancy Pelosi's face

Re:Sorry, but MagSafe *was* the greatest

[Anonymous Coward]

So what you're saying is that you think it's perfectly logical that you can buy a new Apple laptop and a new Apple phone and they supply you a cable that can't connect them together? You truthfully believe that makes sense?

I mean if Apple's motivations on usb-c were about proliferation of the standard rather than just nickel-and-diming customers then why don't they use usb-c rather than usb-a on their flagship bestseller product the iPhone?

Come on, you can be a fanboy and a corporate shill/apologist but nobody is that stupid to not be able to see what's going on here.

Headphone jack vs. waterproof

[steveha]

I like headphone jacks and every phone I have ever owned has had one. But there is a modern trend to getting rid of them, and also a modern trend to making phones waterproof. I don't think it's unrelated.

It is possible to make a waterproof phone with a headphone jack. But to my knowledge all such phones were top of the line, expensive phones.

All else being equal, I'd prefer a headphone jack. But I want my next phone to be waterproof, and my guess is that to get that I will need to accept the loss of the headphone jack.

P.S. My wife's phone has no headphone jack, but there's a little cable that plugs into the USB C port and then gives an analog headphone jack. Spare cables are something like $9. I would have no problem buying one of those cables for each of my telephone-capable headphones or ear buds.

Yes, this means I won't be able to charge the phone while listening to music on headphones. I'll survive somehow.

Re:Headphone jack vs. waterproof

[serviscope_minor]

P.S. My wife's phone has no headphone jack, but there's a little cable that plugs into the USB C port and then gives an analog headphone jack. Spare cables are something like $9. I would have no problem buying one of those cables for each of my telephone-capable headphones or ear buds.

Question is though how long is the port going to last? I can put my phone in my pocket with the headphones in and not worry about a small tweak wrecking the headphone port.

USB-micro was a heap of junk and auto-wrecked almost instantly by looking at it wrong. USB-C is a lot better but it's a way more complex port than a headphone one, and so likely much less robust as well.

Re:Headphone jack vs. waterproof

[Anonymous Coward]

My phone has IP68 water proofing and a 3.5mm headphone jack. I don't buy that excuse.

Re:Headphone jack vs. waterproof

[Anonymous Coward]

My phone has IP68 water proofing and a 3.5mm headphone jack.

Sounds great! What kind of phone is it? A high-end expensive phone, like GP said?

That would be true if

[Anonymous Coward]

That would be true if AirPods would ... you know ... work. But they fail to connect to my MacBook laptop 25% of the time. It's really frustrating that it fails at its main function, that of PRODUCING SOUND. Apple, are you proud of your accomplishment yet?

Obsolete technology.

[jcr]

Apple's not shy about abandoning it. Floppies, ADB, SCSI, Firewire, PCMCIA, etc..

-jcr

Re:Obsolete technology.

[mccalli]

I agree but in this case I might well add on one more - Lightning. USB C is the ubiquitous choice now and whilst lightning does have a few advantages (I prefer the physical connector for instance) I think it's likely time to just go USB C full time.

I also think that solves a lot of the "no headphone jack" issues - you could then have your wireless ones, but also there would be USB C ones from many manufacturers and sold without adapters. Whether it solves the issue in a manner that Apple would actually like it to is a different matter of course.

Re:Obsolete technology.

[JustNiz]

That's because in those instances something better came along.
I don;t see 3.5mm jacks are obsolete tech. Bluetooth is a step backwards. More reliant on batteries, less secure, lower sound quality. Where's the upside?

Re:Obsolete technology.

[LynnwoodRooster]

Lightning is a terrible connector. The reason is the pins are in the phone - not the cable. The cable has all the fixed parts, while the pins (the bending contact springs) are in the phone. The parts of connectors that break/fail are the pins - either they get bent the wrong way, or dirt gets trapped underneath them and they no longer function. The pins belong on the cable, and the fixed parts belong on the phone. The phone is a LOT more difficult and expensive to fix/repair than a cable. The Lightning connector was designed backwards - but it definitely makes a "visual cue" about what connector you're using!

Re:Obsolete technology.

[fred6666]

Apple was the one who kept the obsolete Firewire the longest. It had no peripherals, except a few overpriced Lacie drives with no benefit over USB2.
Floppies were abandoned by Apple when they were still being used, so it was a bad move. They should have waited a few more years.

ADB wasn't used by anyone but Apple, so it was obselete from day 1.
SCSI was too expensive and had no benefit over IDE/SATA for the average desktop computer. Like Firewire, Apple was late on this switch by picking the wrong horse.

I can't remember when Apple abandoned PCMCIA/cardbus/expresscard thought so I won't comment this one. The only thing is that I remember it was useful when WiFi was not built-in to laptops.

In the end, Apple has definitely NOT been a leader in ports/connectivity. On the contrary, they still push obsolete technologies such as Lightning. It's a good thing we have choice other than Apple to drive innovation, and standards.

Re:Obsolete technology.

[Anonymous Coward]

Well over a billion devices shipped in the past 6+ years says otherwise.

Re:Obsolete technology.

[LynnwoodRooster]

Yes, you can ship a lot of crappy product! Isn't that what the Apple Faithful always say about Android and Windows PCs? The facts are the same - it's a poorly designed connector, you don't put the moving/delicate parts on the expensive-to-fix side of the connection.

Re: Obsolete technology.

[Anonymous Coward]

That hasnâ(TM)t happened here. Over a billion shipped and your theoretical complaints have failed to materialize in meaningful numbers.

Re:Dont care about app UI

[Anonymous Coward]

We're eating for bezel with our thin-negating cases anyway.

I don't think any of my phones hyped up as bez-free, but I still have to bend the case away to perform drag-to-edge.

A trillion dollar industry that shapes one of the most central belongings in lives of people the world over, and it's being dictated by the 30-second-impression of "journalists" at CE expos.

It's not even "lol imagine form over function, what hipsters" at this point - they're more committed to how it feels to press a textured button on the side.

This would be Ok if there was a decent replacement

[iamacat]

Bluetooth headphones run out of battery and don't work in a family with X devices, Y earbuds and expectation of using headphones interchangably without complex/flaky pairing. USB-C headphones would work if they were inexpensive and had an an extra jack to charge the cellphone while playing audio. You have created a problem without solving one of a comparible importance.

Surveillance

[mrwireless]

The reason I will never use a bluetooth headphone is that I don't want to be emanating a wireless signal as I move around town. Bluetooth and wireless tracking is everywhere now.

It's weird how Apple champions privacy, yet decided everyone should send out a wireless signal if they want to listen to music.

And yes, Apple's implementation rotates the bluetooth mac to different mac-addresses. Still, that doesn't make me feel comfortable. Perhaps Apple realised that after the GDPR went into effect they might become vulnerable to lawsuits for not applying Privacy By Design principles, so they rushed it through before then.

Samsung has never implemented that MAC address randomization feature. Bluetooth 4 and above actually supports this as a privacy feature, but last time I checked Samsung hasn't implemented it.

If the Samsung A8 doesn't support mac randomization someone in Europe should sue Samsung using the GDPR.

Re:Dont care about app UI

[AmiMoJo]

Most phones with notches let you "disable" the cut out by shrinking the screen a little so that it's just the rectangular area under it. Works with every app, at least on Android (have not looked at iOS). So at the very worst you end up with a screen just like it would have been had they not bothered with a notch and simply reserved the top area for sensors.

I changed my mind..

[Junta]

I thought "eh big deal, it will come with a dongle" when I got a phone without a headphone jack.

After actually having to live with it for a year, it has been far more annoying than I realized it would be.

Re:Jack? Jack who?

[Anonymous Coward]

Jack this, bitch.

easy solution

[Anonymous Coward]

Don't buy it.

People act like it's weird that their being given crap products

"I hate the new iPhone" they say as they wait in line to buy the new iPhone.

Yeah you want headphone jack? Then tell the company you want it and don't buy their products ubtil they being it back. Have some self respect ans some balls.

Clueless about security -n- Bluetooth

[Anonymous Coward]

It is amazing that anyone uses bluetooth for anything.
Truly, convenience has overruled **any** effort at security or privacy.

Stop buying things that include bluetooth. It really is that simple.

Class Action Lawsuit against Tech is very needed!

[Anonymous Coward]

Class Action Lawsuit against Tech is very needed!

I still think the 3.5mm is useful

[fred6666]

However, at some point I agree it might become obsolete. Just not in 2016. So there is nothing wrong mocking Apple for doing so.
Apple also killed the floppy drive too early. I remember my college had a computer lab full of iMacs, each with an expensive USB floppy drive adapter. Just because everybody followed (since floppy became obsolete) doesn't mean Apple was right to do it so early.

Re:I still think the 3.5mm is useful

[TheFakeTimCook]

However, at some point I agree it might become obsolete. Just not in 2016. So there is nothing wrong mocking Apple for doing so.
Apple also killed the floppy drive too early. I remember my college had a computer lab full of iMacs, each with an expensive USB floppy drive adapter. Just because everybody followed (since floppy became obsolete) doesn't mean Apple was right to do it so early.

But if Apple didn't push people into adopting new tech, who would?

Re:I still think the 3.5mm is useful

[fred6666]

It was a bad purchase decision to buy iMacs without floppy drives when they first came out. Floppy drives would have disappeared with or without Apple, mostly because of USB thumb drives. We don't need new tech to be pushed down our throat. We need it to be good enough so that we choose to use it instead of the old one.

Re:I still think the 3.5mm is useful

[TheFakeTimCook]

It was a bad purchase decision to buy iMacs without floppy drives when they first came out. Floppy drives would have disappeared with or without Apple, mostly because of USB thumb drives. We don't need new tech to be pushed down our throat. We need it to be good enough so that we choose to use it instead of the old one.

Strawman argument.

Why? Because there NEVER would have BEEN USB Thumb Drives in the first place, if not for Apple and the iMac.

Proof? USB Ports had been on EVERY Wintel motherboard for YEARS with virtually NOTHING to plug into them... UNTIL THE IMAC CAME ALONG.

Sorry. You stepped in it big time.

Now deflect with something offtopic like complaining about my use of Caps instead of ridiculous manual HTML tags for emphasis.

Re:I still think the 3.5mm is useful

[fred6666]

Strawman argument.

Why? Because there NEVER would have BEEN USB Thumb Drives in the first place, if not for Apple and the iMac.

HAHA good one.

Proof? USB Ports had been on EVERY Wintel motherboard for YEARS with virtually NOTHING to plug into them... UNTIL THE IMAC CAME ALONG.

That's hardly a proof. http://tylervigen.com/spurious...

Re:I still think the 3.5mm is useful

[TheFakeTimCook]

Strawman argument.

Why? Because there NEVER would have BEEN USB Thumb Drives in the first place, if not for Apple and the iMac.

HAHA good one.

Proof? USB Ports had been on EVERY Wintel motherboard for YEARS with virtually NOTHING to plug into them... UNTIL THE IMAC CAME ALONG.

That's hardly a proof. http://tylervigen.com/spurious...

I applaud your healthy skepticism; however, in this case, the vast majority of non-Apple-Hating tech experts would agree that Apple, through the iMac, pretty much singlehandedly put USB "on the map".

https://www.macworld.com/artic...

" Apple Inc.'s iMac was the first mainstream product with USB and the iMac's success popularized USB itself.[12] Following Apple's design decision to remove all legacy port from the iMac, many PC manufacturers began building legacy-free PCs, which led to the broader PC market using USB as a standard.[13][14][15]"

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/...

Citations from above:

12. "Eight ways the iMac changed computing". Macworld. 15 August 2008. Archived from the original on 22 December 2011. Retrieved 5 September 2017.

13. "Compaq hopes to follow the iMac". Archived from the original on 22 October 2006.

14. "The PC Follows iMac's Lead". Business week. 1999. Archived from the original on 23 September 2015.

15. Popular Mechanics: Making Connections. Hearst Magazines. February 2001. p. 59. ISSN 0032-4558. Archived from the original on 15 February 2017.

So, no; in this particular case, the consensus is that the iMac made USB into a viable alternative to parallel and RS-232 Serial (as well as other buses, such as ADB) interfaces popular at the time.

And considering that USB Thumb Drives first appeared on the market in 2000, it is fairly certain that, if the iMac had not come along and, through its popularity, given USB the critical "push" it needed to get past the "chicken and egg" problem faced by every new technology, those USB Thumb Drives would certainly not happened in 2000, and likely not until much, much later.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/...

Heck, I'm sure that you remember: While Apple was just a few months from launching the iMac, Microsoft couldn't so much as plug in a USB SCANNER without Blue-Screening W '98, even though Windows advertises USB Support as early as W '95 OSR2.1!

https://www.theregister.co.uk/...

And, BTW, note that Windows didn't even HAVE Storage Device USB Support until W '98 SE (May, 1999). AFAIK, Apple supported Storage-Class Devices from the first release of the iMac in August, 1998 (running (Classic) MacOS 8.1 !!!).

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/...

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/...

...and let's not even talk about Linux's sad and late adoption of USB. It wasn't even added until the 2.2 Kernel in 1999, although that was experimental support. Mainstream USB support wasn't really available in Linux until the 2.4 Kernel was released in 2001:

https://kernel.readthedocs.io/...

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/...

And even now, USB and Linux is sometimes an exercise in frustration (but I guess that applies to all things Linux, doesn't it?)

https://www.google.com/search?...

Re:I still think the 3.5mm is useful

[fred6666]

The price of flash memory would have reduced with or without Apple and this is what allowed USB thumb drives to exist.
Apple strongly pushed for external ZIP disk drives and it failed. Just because Apple pushes something doesn't make it a success. Removing the floppy from the first iMac was still a mistake, like it or not.

Do not confuse your fanboyism for any hate on my side.

Re:I still think the 3.5mm is useful

[TheFakeTimCook]

The price of flash memory would have reduced with or without Apple and this is what allowed USB thumb drives to exist.
Apple strongly pushed for external ZIP disk drives and it failed. Just because Apple pushes something doesn't make it a success. Removing the floppy from the first iMac was still a mistake, like it or not.

Do not confuse your fanboyism for any hate on my side.

ZIP drives failed because iOmega couldn't make them correctly. Not Apple's fault.

I want an A5s

[Anonymous Coward]

Samsung A5s would definitely be true to its name. When do they launch that? :)

Re:Dont care about app UI

[Anonymous Coward]

Apple is being sued for lying about screen size, because they measure the screen as if it had sharp corners and not rounded corners. Also, they used top-dark images in the phone ads to hide the notch, which makes the screen look bigger, i guess.

Imagine 'shrinking' the usable screen with the notch hide feature? I mean they tell me it's a 6" screen, but for notch-haters it's really a 5.85" screen. Liars! Or possibly not.

We've been seeing this for years

[Anonymous Coward]

I know something like a headphone jack seems like a big deal, and It kind of is. I'm certainly not an electronics expert, but it seems to me as far as "standard" ports go, this one is long surviving and highly compatible. I had a "walkman" in the 80's with the same port, and if I still had the headphones in working condition, they would work on more modern phones too.

But I've seen other atrocities. I remember the first time I went to buy a laptop and had difficulty finding serial or parallel ports on it. It felt like it happened over night, and the solution was obvious, buy USB dongles. And for the most part, it worked fine. Not idea, but a work around.

And this is basically how I've seen them approach the missing jack.

I don't know, I think this is another one of those things, in a couple of years no new phones will have these jacks, and there will be more modern ways to accomplish the same thing.

The more important question is, is this happening for progress? Will we have a new universal standard which will work across all brands? Are we getting into an HD-DVD / Blueray race? Or are we looking at purchasing matching dongles for each device we have?

Re:We've been seeing this for years

[Jetstream]

I think this comes under the heading of "if it ain't broke, don't fix it". A headphone is such a universal accessory that I would argue there is NO GOOD EXCUSE for removing this jack unless they can provide something better. A proprietary dongle or bluetooth wireless is *not* something I would consider a better option. Maybe they're doing this so they can make phones that are even thinner, but I just don't see myself ever buying a phone that doesn't have a headphone jack.

One Plus

[Anonymous Coward]

Samsung is afraid of building an honest to god good 200-300 dollar smartphone that [...]

While not US$ 300, One Plus is showing that you can pretty damn good phones (IMHO) for a lot less than a kilo-dollar.

They're not cheap-cheap, but very good value for the money:

* https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_6-XjSvbJsE

Re:Yeah well then

[TheFakeTimCook]

Do they glue the battery in too?

I know you are trying to mock Apple; but iPhones haven't had a GLUED-in battery for several years now.

They use release-able adhesive strips, much like the 3M "Command" adhesive. They RELEASE when you grab the end of the strip and stretch it.

The best of both worlds: A non-hardware-fastener way to secure the battery, with the ability to easily change the battery if/when needed.

Re:Dont care about app UI

[jareth-0205]

How many users of phones without notches or holes drilled though the screen are going to have to suffer with unusable screen space on their phones due to app developers and content developers having to develop for the lowest common denominator. Were pretty much getting to the point you have to assume the edges of 5-10% of a phone's screen are unusable because you dont know what kind of notch, hole, curved corner or other bullshit might be in the screen.

So much for a bezel free phone, when now that 5-10% of the screen itself is now the bezel and has to be assumed to be unusable, lest some part of your content gets cut off.

Clearly you aren't a developer, and are talking out of your arse, or you'd know this sort of stuff is easy to deal with.

https://developer.android.com/...

Re:Samesung

[DontBeAMoran]

And Samsung is singing the same song as Apple, only one or two years later.

Re:Fuck Samsung and Apple.

[TheFakeTimCook]

No root, no buy.

Remember: If you can root your phone; so can anyone else...

Re: Yeah well then

[sound vision]

So, when I go to the Brainiac Grove or Consumer Nirvana or whatever they call it this year, I expect they will show me where the easy toolless release for the battery cover is, and let me buy a couple extra battery packs to have on hand, right?

Wait a minute, silly me, I overlooked the bravery, the principles at play here... It's adhesive strips, not glue! What a game changer - Android manufacturers better watch out, once consumers hear about Apple's new adhesive strips, their marketshare will be on the downturn...

Re:When will Android manufacturers stop copying Ap

[iampiti]

Yeah, stupid thing to copy, the notch too. Why do they insist on copying the worst Apple ideas?

Headslap, you don't understand the problem solved.

[SuperKendall]

Laptops with cheap flimsy power cords

If power cords were actually flimsy then MagSafe would not be needed.

Magsafe is to solve a problem you apparently did not realize existed - to stop tripping over cords pulling laptops down onto the floor.

So in fact your "sturdy" power cords are WORSE for that problem.

Incorrect

[SuperKendall]

Apple obviously does not agree because they have gotten rid of it.

Wrong. They just find the value of an extra USB-C port MORE useful than MagSafe. Possibly they are correct.

But just because they moved to something else does not mean they didn't find the older standard useful. Please study logic.

You realize that even Apple's own laptops (prior to their current lineup) did indeed have more than one kind of port,

Sigh. Please learn to think. Again, value of extra USB-C port > MagSafe. Obviously.

Re:Incorrect

[exomondo]

Apple obviously does not agree because they have gotten rid of it.

Wrong. They just find the value of an extra USB-C port MORE useful than MagSafe. Possibly they are correct.

But just because they moved to something else does not mean they didn't find the older standard useful. Please study logic.

Don't be such a condescending dickhead with your "please study logic" nonsense, it just demonstrates your inability to make a coherent argument. Clearly if they thought it had value they would have added it, either by having 4 USB-C ports + magsafe or eliminating one USB-C port and replacing it with magsafe.

Re:Headslap, you don't understand the problem solv

[fluffernutter]

Well, I prefer to use a laptop on my lap in bed. I don't like it when you can't because the power cord keeps coming out in that position.

Mocking Apple while having already removed it...

[Anonymous Coward]

So Samsung has been mocking Apple all this time despite having already removed it themselves. They sure as hell didn't decide to remove it the night before the unveil. Fucking hypocrites.

To paraphrase an Apple ad...

[SoundGuyNoise]

Wired headphones. They just work.

Re:To paraphrase an Apple ad...

[Tony Isaac]

Well, sort of. Wired headphones tend to develop crackling static when the wires get jostled. The wires often do break when used for a while. I'm no fan of Bluetooth headphones, but wired headphones do have their own issues.

So what? Nobody cares.

[mschuyler]

The A8 is the model for China. If they axe the jack on the upcoming S10, let's talk, but the lack of one on the A8 is not relevant in the US.

Re:Jack? Jack who?

[michelcolman]

Looks like they have a death wish if they mocked Erik Apple.

Re:Yeah well then

[michelcolman]

I wouldn't be worried as long as they still include a floppy drive.

Re:Samesung

[Anonymous Coward]

Scamsung

Re: Yeah well then

[Anonymous Coward]

That's if they come out ptoperly ...and most times you'll be pro my out the battery with a possibility of having it catch on fire.

Re:Jack? Jack who?

[Anonymous Coward]

This is a total non-story. The A8s is a low end phone and exclusion of the headphone jack was probably a cost cutting measure. I doubt they will lose the jacks on their flagships.

Re: Yeah well then

[TheFakeTimCook]

So, when I go to the Brainiac Grove or Consumer Nirvana or whatever they call it this year, I expect they will show me where the easy toolless release for the battery cover is, and let me buy a couple extra battery packs to have on hand, right?

Wait a minute, silly me, I overlooked the bravery, the principles at play here... It's adhesive strips, not glue! What a game changer - Android manufacturers better watch out, once consumers hear about Apple's new adhesive strips, their marketshare will be on the downturn...

Nice snarkiness; but I wasn't trying to say that replacing globs of obnoxious, hard-to-release glue with a couple of pieces of essentially high-tech double-sided tape was groundbreaking or earth-shattering; but it was an huge advance in repairability over the glob-o'-glue method, and, IMHO, was a meme that needed to be put to rest.

I won't be buying a jackless phone anytime soon

[Anonymous Coward]

I need a wired headphone for taking calls when cycling. Those bluetooth earbuds are so prone to falling out. Over the ears models seem to me to be downright dangerous when cycling - you need to hear the traffic behind you. I was actually given a bluetooth earpiece as part of my mobile phone purchase in 2008 which I still have somewher - never used, and I'm not sure if it was ever charged either...

I really miss

[ennis99]

I really miss the days when we only had to use normal headphones ____________________________________________________ https://downloader.vip/torrent... https://downloader.vip/vpn/ https://tutuappx.com/