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:

  • D
  • AnonD-375713
  • P4m
  • 21 Jan 2018

Anonymous, 21 Jan 2018So when will we ditch the minijack? In 2044? The iPhone le... moreThat's the issue with tech: why do we NEED to ditch it at all? Driving costs up and getting no advantage? That's what wired USB-C headphones do.

The connector has been used for like 70 years (yes, it came around the 50s for transistor radios) for many reasons. The reasons being (if I'm not forgetting something even):
1-Cheap;
2-Does the job for up to 5 connectors;
3-Cannot insert the wrong way - it's round after all;
4-Can be moved during usage by rotating it freely without cutting the connection;
5-Can be made super reliable even in very cheap form;
6-It IS small, phone manufacturer's ain't convincing me these 6" stupidly big slabs have no room for it.

I do not understand the fetish of getting rid of things for no advantage just cause "OLD". Just let it be old, it does the job better than new stuff.

DO NOT come with "hurr durr floppy drives" as it has absolutely 0 relevance. Floppies were replaced by more reliable, higher capacity, faster media, by both CDs and USB flash drives and memory cards. MMC cards in phones were replaced by Micro SD cards that are smaller and provide the same function, while still being backwards compatible with MMC with adapters, meanwhile you wouldn't want to put that 128MB MMC in your new phone now would you? This justifies a change that CAN have some backwards impact, but in reality has not because of how the previous device actually IS outdated.

HDMI replaced SCART, S-Video, RGB and RCA jacks on video (and in cases audio) because all these previous connectors just COULDN'T handle the current video standards, RGB is the only one that comes close. With 5 RCA jacks you managed 1080i with stereo sound, but not more, and it WAS a hassle to plug 5 jacks in correct places instead of 1 connector. And yes, HDMI still is less reliable so it's not all roses.

Incandescent lamps were replaced by LEDs and CCFLs, in some cases HID bulbs, because they're more efficient at producing light, last longer, and are direct replacements without needing to change sockets. For dimmers, where LEDs and CCFLs don't work, HID halogen lamps still do.

THIS, is progress. There was a reason for those changes.

Now, if I have to replace a simple, cheap, reliable and convenient connector with something else, it better be a LOT better, and I doubt we can find that. No, USB-C doesn't. It's only advantage is working for more stuff. At the price of everything else. And then, when I don't need anything else than 3 connections or at most 4, of just... well.. analog electrical signal, why would I ever need something else?

    I think a 3.5mm jack isn't only issue here.Going wireless is the future,huge amount of bluetooth ear/head-phones are available and I believe most of them are actually very crapy products,hugely overpriced too.Talking about stereo sound quality of music.Bigger issue is the audio circuitry inside the phones,or lack of any.A proper headphone amplifier and a dedicated quality DAC are things missing from vast majority of phones.As a sound engineer I do laugh at people who spend $300+ on very bad headphones,like say those Beats Studio and they expect quality sound.Lg,Htc do deserve some praise for investing some $$ in audio section inside the phones,or great example Zte Axon 7.If manufacturers would start to value the audio section the same as display or camera on our phones,we'll all hear huge benefit.And by then wireless ear/head-phones will become (way) better and cheeper...

      • 1
      • 1280x720
      • 0}I
      • 21 Jan 2018

      AnonD-152638, 21 Jan 2018Digital connection right to the headphones or higher qualit... moreWell there's the HiFi argument and it is valid, but for me even with the hi standards in audio reproduction I still prefer plugging just headphones without additional adapters, bulk and all that unnecessary crap. Audio should evolve trough internal components IMO and just be practical when you're on to go.

        • 1
        • 1280x720
        • 0}I
        • 21 Jan 2018

        With so many new phones releases the manufactures are struggling to find innovations, so they have to simulate one since the list is getting shorter .

        Why in a God's name should we use wireless headphones and pay for the same SQ triple amount of cash ? It's a trend and we all know how that works.

          AnonD-508218, 21 Jan 2018Love my 3.5 jack and freedom.I love mine too

            AnonD-630920, 21 Jan 2018I don't care whether iPhone X design afford headphone jack ... moreThat's right, igual agreed, well explained

              • D
              • AnonD-375713
              • P4m
              • 21 Jan 2018

              Anonymous, 21 Jan 2018no jack means less cables means less untangling means a hap... moreDaily reminder that my PC has like 20+ ports and I only use like 3 cables connected to it all the time. 4 when I use a mic or USB cable.

              Having the jack doesn't impede you from using Bluetooth you know, I've been doing this since 2010. It's not like the presence of the jack mandates it to be used always

                I have 11 pairs of headphones of wich 10 of them are wired and just 1 is bluetooth and tha't 'cause they have too many isues with the only one i have is a Gear icon X but is 'cuase they are ligth weigth, pretty confortable, and they -beside Theodore regular use as a headphone- they could work as a standalone digital player and that's a big plus ir you ask me, the point here is that having options is good, and bluetooth headphones are good as an options but not as a norm, the idea that much of us have is "polyvalence", so the same hardware importante use here -my handset- importante want to use it in other areas, as my Walkmans, -many of them actually- and they could handle bluetooth headphones but is ridiculous to have a diferent headphone for a diferent divice when you could have something nice'n'easy that works with everything.

                  • D
                  • AnonD-630920
                  • U@i
                  • 21 Jan 2018

                  AnonD-1825, 21 Jan 2018IPhone X design wouldn't have been possible without losing ... moreI don't care whether iPhone X design afford headphone jack or not. What I want to ask you is, Have you ever watch iPhone 7 headphone jack mod by Strange Part from YouTube? They don't add any extra components on the space where the jack should be, instead they put some plastic block in that precious little space. If you find this innovative and swallowed any excuses shove to your throat by Apple, then it's your choice.

                    • D
                    • AnonD-152638
                    • mhB
                    • 21 Jan 2018

                    Digital connection right to the headphones or higher quality DAC+Headphone amps, that can actually drive most headphones, those are great point for using the digital connector.
                    However, that doesn't mean removing the jack. It has been possible for a while, while still having the jack.
                    With the removal of the jack, one either need a lot of adaptors, or replace perfectly working headphones with new ones.
                    I usually have a couple of handsfree headphones with me, all the time. 1 pair that is weather resistant. And one pair that sounds good. At times I take even better headphones with me.
                    But there are cases when I know I'm not going to listen to music, so I only bring the weather resistant pair.
                    If I were to use an adapter, there is a risk that it would end up stuck to the wrong headphones at the end of the day, and if I then choose no to bring those the enxt day, I migth forget to bring the adapter. Therefor, I would need an adpater for each pair, to make sure that I can use my headphones.
                    The headphones I usually brings are affordable ones. If I were to replace them with new with a digital connector, those would be more expensive, and I might not feel comfortable to bring them with me all the time.

                    And then there is those adaptors. Or actually DAC+Headphone amps, in a small format.
                    While some offerings will be of high quality and with enough power in the headphone amp to actually drive good headphones, not all will be. It is highly likely that the one in the package with the phone, will be about the same level of what used to be built in.... thus not bringing any better audio quality.

                      • J
                      • JEB
                      • 4m}
                      • 21 Jan 2018

                      Anonymous, 21 Jan 2018No it doesn't. It only means less choice but whatever you c... moreThe need to charge BT headphones annoys me too...until I tried the EDIFIER w830bt...Insane battery life! Plus BT sound quality is decent (it even has aptX) and I can use the 3.5mm jack if I want to. You can check it out.

                        • D
                        • AnonD-508218
                        • 0iF
                        • 21 Jan 2018

                        Love my 3.5 jack and freedom.

                          Anonymous, 21 Jan 2018Some are scared of change.. I remember a lot of resictance ... moreUmm... Didn't people that touchpad in return of removal of keys, i remember the times when touch tech was not actually good, the reason why it was rejected, but touchpad was like thing for future at that time, wireless audio doesn't even come close to that, and honestly i don't want to spend any my money buying a dac too

                            • ?
                            • Anonymous
                            • mxt
                            • 21 Jan 2018

                            I disagree. They keep on leaving out features and features and phones are even more expensive nowadays. First they takeout removable batteries, then memory expansion, irda, fm radio. Now even audio jack which is very useful since everyone has headphones or earbuds here and there...in car, office, home, gym sack... They're very unexpensive, standardised and useful. Quality is not an issue since you don't expect great quality with compressed audio files, cellular phones and such. You settle for them, for convenience

                              Anonymous, 21 Jan 2018Valid point. But the removal of minijack will push the tech... moreIt just occupies more space but it doesn't actually stop any innovation or anything, making phone little thicker is better than this bullshit, the real innovation required right now is in battery Department where things haven't improved much for a long time

                                • ?
                                • Anonymous
                                • 04e
                                • 21 Jan 2018

                                AnonD-5197, 21 Jan 2018Moving forward? Definitely... but the real question is are ... moreNo not fast enough.

                                  Anonymous, 21 Jan 2018No it doesn't. It only means less choice but whatever you c... moreKind of true, i don't want the headache of charging that too, i had to charge my earphones every 6 hours which was quite a headache, and problem with removing headphone jack is normal earphones cannot be used while charging, as dongle will be required hence I am not going to buy my next phone without headphone jack

                                    Finally found some decent site - .audiocheck.(guess the rest). For those having hi end wired earphones, to listen to below 20Hz bass tones. Because thats what you won't have in wireless ones. Wonder who will bring that to wireless first.

                                      • ?
                                      • Anonymous
                                      • 04e
                                      • 21 Jan 2018

                                      So when will we ditch the minijack? In 2044?
                                      The iPhone leads the way in terms of sales, and when they ditch the minijack theres no going back.

                                        • D
                                        • AnonD-731363
                                        • SH3
                                        • 21 Jan 2018

                                        This should be done loooooooooooong very long time ago.
                                        It was the worst phone feature ever added.