Sunday debate: Is removing the headphone jack the way forward?

21 January 2018
In this installment of our Sunday debate, we discuss whether removing the headphone jack is the way forward.

Sort by:

Borrowing the words from LoTR: "A day will come when we won't need a headphone jack. But it is not this day. An hour of USB-C headphones and Lightning to headphone jack dongles will come flooding down. But it is not this day."

    • ?
    • Anonymous
    • IW@
    • 22 Jan 2018

    Agreed. Its all about sales and corporate greed. Google mocked Apple's removal of the headphone jack in iphones. But when iphone sold overpriced crappy bluetooth earbuds and made more profit due to many users losing them, damaging them or having their batteries badly deteriorated and hence needed replacement a year after, Google realized the potential. Remove anything and everything that promotes longevity so users keep on buying new.

      • r
      • r33fd
      • LaC
      • 22 Jan 2018

      HOW DO YOU SELL TO PEOPLE PRODUCTS THAT THEY ALREADY HAVE AND ARE HAPPY WITH ?

      answer : you make your new products incompatible with what they have .

      That's all there is to say about the removal of the headphone jack . Is a move made by greedy companies in order to encourage the sells of other type of headphones .
      As far as quality goes nothing wireless matches an audiophile grade wired headphones .
      As far as easy of use nothing matches having a single universal solution for all devices so that your precious headphones work everywhere .

        • ?
        • Anonymous
        • 0BG
        • 22 Jan 2018

        Anonymous, 22 Jan 2018Perfect comment. Except that Samsung, Sony and LG are no ex... moreYea and actually manufacturers (Except for Apple and Samsung) tend to be pretty dumb and insane too. I mean what could HTC or Xiaomi possibly earn from removing the 3.5mm? They even sell wired headphones so by removing the jack not only they'll sell less (Only bluetooth here and there...but people who want bluetooth will buy it anyway, the 3.5mm jack won't prevent them from buing bluetooth accesories) headphones, but less phones too (The majority may be brainwashed, but the 3.5mm jack still matters and impacts sales).

        It's almost like something/someone is forcing them to make moves that don't make sense and they have no choice. Totally insane.

          • ?
          • Anonymous
          • JG0
          • 22 Jan 2018

          Alien , 21 Jan 2018Apple logic : " Let's take features OFF (SD Card slot, Infr... morePerfect comment. Except that Samsung, Sony and LG are no exceptions. They also copy iPhone (it's actually that Samsung copy iPhone, then the rest of the Android brands copy Samsung).

          dummies = sheeple = the majority of people

            • ?
            • Anonymous
            • X{5
            • 22 Jan 2018

            I won't mind going wireless, the only thing that holds me back is the botheration of charging the device. It makes me feel uncomfortable when I think that I might run out of battery when I need to use the headphones.

              Rayne, 21 Jan 2018Bad decision!! Period. Headphone jack is essential to smart... moreI made your comment on the top of best rating, beating obi wan kenobi
              u're welcome...

                • ?
                • Anonymous
                • 0BG
                • 22 Jan 2018

                AnonD-731491, 22 Jan 2018if you consume music that is not hires, it does not matter ... moreIt doesn matter - just because i don't listen to high res doesn't mean i have to put up with all the other disadvantages of using a bluetooth. And my car doesn't have a bluetooth either. And the quality can be bad enough to make a huge difference even with low res. Well at least for the price of somewhat decent wired headphones. And not to mention the bluetooth ones (With decent enough quality) will not only be more expensive, but will have to be replaced with a new pair much sooner due to battery (Which in most cases doesn't last enough even as new, and even if it does, you still need to recharge it which is a huge inconvenience, especially if you need to carry another charger/cable with you) degradation.

                Why do we have to explain totally obvious things, like, 100s of times?

                  • D
                  • AnonD-731491
                  • Jci
                  • 22 Jan 2018

                  if you consume music that is not hires, it does not matter if you have 3.5 jack, if you are forced to buy a bluetooth headset

                    • ?
                    • Anonymous
                    • 0BG
                    • 22 Jan 2018

                    Anonymous, 22 Jan 2018SD Card slot Infra-Red FM Radio Removable Battery You... moreWell all these features were the norm, so they "removed" them by changing the norm.

                      • ?
                      • Anonymous
                      • wry
                      • 22 Jan 2018

                      Alien , 21 Jan 2018Apple logic : " Let's take features OFF (SD Card slot, Infr... moreSD Card slot
                      Infra-Red
                      FM Radio
                      Removable Battery

                      You do realise that Apple has NEVER had any of these features???

                      So how can they remove them if they never had them in the first place?

                      Ironic really because sony samsung and lg stopped doing removable batteries.

                      Sony removed FM Radio and infrared.

                      Samsung removed infrared too.

                      SD card and 3.5mm jack are the only things thats retained.

                      Now don't think I'm defending apple. i hate them and would have any android over that crap any day.

                        Shootergod, 22 Jan 2018For those who think removing 3.5mm audio jack is the way to... moreTotally agree with your opinion.

                        On top of that, one thing nobody seems to be focussing on - is why unnecessarily increase the amount of Electromagnetic radiation you are exposed by using bluetooth headphones.

                        Also using BT headphones - you have to worry about charging one more item, which has its own costs not just in terms of time and money but also environment. All these use batteries and semiconductors, and hey we all know that though we love these devices (phones - not the BT headphones), they are not going to make the earth any greener or cleaner.

                          • ?
                          • Anonymous
                          • AeJ
                          • 22 Jan 2018

                          "Removing the 3.5mm jack gives phone manufactures greater flexibility with their form factors"

                          Yet all this resulted in is more iPhone clones.

                          Funny how the generation where every phone had a 3.5mm jack, phones were much more unique.

                            For those who think removing 3.5mm audio jack is the way to forward is just being plain dumb and ignorant. Manufacturers can still make phones to produce stereo sound by using a speaker on top and one below(Huawei P10 plus for example), so having a quality stereo speaker to remove a headphone jack isn't a valid reason.
                            For 2 main reasons I despise this crazy idea.
                            1.using a dongle to use a normal headphone looks plain silly and too troublesome, people don't want to carry more accessories for the phones.
                            2.Bluetooth headphones are not good enough yet(for audio output + quality) plus I don't want to trouble myself for another unnecessary charging device. Enough is enough!

                              FinnishInquisition, 21 Jan 2018Radio frequencies are harmless to us because they largely d... moreThat's because the research trying to prove that the radiations are non ionizing and harmless has been funded aggressively by cellular giants and none of what they say makes sense. If you look up to some proper research, you will know that these radio waves are cancerous and that is why there is a SAR limit both for the head and the body.

                                • ?
                                • Anonymous
                                • 0BG
                                • 22 Jan 2018

                                Akorn Farmer, 22 Jan 2018Removing 3.5 mm is stupid choice for short term, but in lon... more"Once wired digital earphone/headphone become ubiquitous and cheaper, no one will miss the old 3.5 mm earphone."
                                It will take more than that as it's not just earphones, but car stereos, home stereos etc.
                                And the problem with charging and listening to still remains.

                                  • d
                                  • dimitri greece
                                  • gCw
                                  • 22 Jan 2018

                                  I need two holes
                                  One for charging (charger or powerbank), one for audio

                                  So at least 2 usb if you prefer so.

                                  But 3,5 is in so many places (stereo, car, 2 in 1 adapter so 2 people can hear the same music) so please keep it in my phone

                                  Another think I do like is fm radio

                                  So no jack, no fmradio? Sorry no phone.

                                    • S
                                    • ST
                                    • iwj
                                    • 22 Jan 2018

                                    "Extra dongle" is an extra accessory for your phone. Which create an extra waste. Totally useless and environmentally unfriendly.

                                      • S
                                      • ST
                                      • iwj
                                      • 22 Jan 2018

                                      Blame in on Apple. But 35mm jack will stay. Many users still like it. Moreover, lots of users still charged and used 35mm jack

                                        • c
                                        • cycloney0
                                        • 0x7
                                        • 22 Jan 2018

                                        I had a very bad experience with the headphone jack on my old Galaxy S5 and S4... I was gentle with it and they both had the same problem (One earphone started recieving no sound after about half a year of use) that I solved by a microUSB adapter for a headphone jack. Put a quality headphone jack that won't break or don't put it at all. That's my opinion.