[zach8278]

I am here to discuss the directions that phone companies are going with their flagships.  
 
HTC removed the headphone jack on what i believe to be their new flagships, the HTC U and U Play.
Apple removed it on their 2016 flagships.
Motorola did the same thing by removing it on their Z and Z Force.  
 
Who's next? Samsung? Hope not.
 
I have a question to ask all of you: Why are companies doing this? To push the wireless headphone market way up? Yeah, i get that wireless is the future to some people but not to me. I believe that analog needs to stay in smartphones. It is a huge inconvenience to the user by not including a headphone jack!   
 
If you were to design a smartphone, with top flagship specs and internals, would you still include a 3.5 mm headphone jack? Or would you remove it and push out wireless headphones? 

 

[Tangster]

If they remove the jack then they won't get my money. Simple as that really.

 

[zach8278]

Same here. I hate seeing smartphone makers screw over their customers by removing the headphone jack.  

 

[ProtegeManiac]

I still don't get the "it's keeping us from making thinner smartphones" argument when

 

1. Bendgate was a thing

2. Short battery life or fast charge, high density batteries explode

3. You still have an audio chip with a DAC and amp in there to decode internet comms and to drive the smartphone speaker

 

You'd think they'd eliminate the speaker first and force everyone to ditch Rolex for Apple Watch, but nope.

 

That said, a small BT dongle that has long enough battery life while being small enough to clip onto a shirt collar sounds like a good alternative along with shorter IEM cables. Fiio is coming up with one but what they did was basically have the dongle as the Y-junction on the cable, with two soldered on cables with MMCX connectors on the other ends.

 

Still, the X5III having 1.9v lineout and Android with Playstore access means the smartphone now has zero advantages over these things. I can dock the X5III upright on the DK1 (or K5 for others), I get 1.9v lineout comparable to using a USB DAC with my smartphone, I have touchscreen controls, and I have access to Neutron Music Player with its parametric EQ and Crossfeed. And it has a rotary volume knob. Smartphone carriers on the other hand are starting to move away from providing the phones at a discount, so while I will still need a phone for other purposes, all the features packed into a sub-$400 DAP is starting to look like a bargain. Might as well just get a cheap Android that's fast enough for browsing and has enough battery life to tether the X5III for Spotify.

 

In any case though I wouldn't bet on Samsung just jumping in. Look at how they backtracked on the Apple/HTC-aping S6 by bringing back the SD card slot on the S7 and Note7. Sure, they didn't bring back the swappable battery, but it's not as big a problem when we get wireless charging, fast charging on powerbanks, and battery kits come with the prying tool anyway and AFAIK no soldering is necessary.

 

[droido256]

Id like a audiophile phone, but 9/10 it’d have crappy android, and I dont touch anything google with a 50 foot pole.

 

[DonCarr]

Tried to embrace the wireless thing with my iPhone 8 , man what a ball ache. Another device to charge regardless of battery life of the phones. The only benefit of of wireless phones is when cooking and not getting snagged on things.

 

[serman005]

I will not purchase anything without a 3.5 mm jack--full stop.

 

[inline79]

I'm not totally dismayed, except that the phone companies don't really advertise if they already have a DAC onboard or not. I have worn out a few 3.5mm jacks on phones from multiple headphone plugs a day and the associated strain. If USB-C is more robust of a connector, good. I can buy USB-C to 3.5mm adapters for $1 ea on ebay….so buy 10 for $10 and put them in every pocket... if my phone had a DAC. So I tried a few.. obviously the iPhones don't have a DAC. The Pixels don't have a DAC.. but the Sonys DO! So don't limit yourself to something with 3.5mm jacks, just get a pocket full of USB-C adapters and make sure you get a phone with a DAC!

 

[ProtegeManiac]

I'm not totally dismayed, except that the phone companies don't really advertise if they already have a DAC onboard or not. ..So don't limit yourself to something with 3.5mm jacks, just get a pocket full of USB-C adapters and make sure you get a phone with a DAC!

Can you load up Spotify or YouTube and hear something? Like through the speakers?

Then that means it has Digital To Analogue Converter. Unless you're fighting the machines in the Nebuchadnezzar, then you just look at a screen and go, "that's a C...B flat...A minor...." like Tank goes "I just see blonde, redhead..." at the Matrix binary code.

The problem isn't the absence of the DAC, but whether they have that DAC's output side wired to the USB-C jack.

Also why adapters when some cable manufacturers are selling MMCX to USB-C cables. Just need to wait for 1) cheaper alternatives and 2) those with anything other than MMCX.

 

[KimChee]

I’ll just stick with my dap, it’s a shame since some phones have decent audio quality...

 

[SonyFan121]

Why are companies doing this?

Simple; to make more money.

 

[Playstation]

is it safe to say that where we seem to be with batteries, no matter the electronic device, isn't good enough yet?

batteries have come a long way. That's great. Though, are we really ready to do away with wires?

Wires can be annoying. In the end, a small price to pay for their inconvenience.

Phones in general cannot be everything for all people. They do try. Fortunately there are plenty of other alternatives on the market to circumvent ones total dependence upon a smartphone. I myself am not big into smartphones. If i had to choose. I'd get some cheap wireless whatever's for the phone and something else, of better quality, for the house.

 

[willham]

I think it's clear by now that getting rid of the headphone jack is just lazy design. Samsung's S10 line shows that you can squeeze in every major feature and still have a fairly slim phone with up to 4100mah battery. Sure the chin isn't as slim as the iPhone but it's pretty damn close and if that's the price I have to pay for a headphone jack I'd happily take it.