[portaear]

This article showed up on my google feed, and it enraged me: http://www.droid-life.com/2017/08/08/pixel-2-headphone-jack-iphone-8/

Here’s a Fun Take: I Don’t Give a crap About Disappearing Headphone Jacks

It boggles my mind that there could be someone as stupid as the author of this article out there in the world. 3.5mm headphone jacks has been used universally for decades, for more than audio. They work perfectly and deliver inexpensive high end audio fidelity that has yet to be fully matched by more pricey usb-c or lightning connectors, and bluetooth?? Don't even make me laugh.

I do have bluetooth headphones and they have their uses in the gym, but come on now, let's get serious if you think bluetooth is the savior to wireless audio. I make phone calls with my smartphone and bluetooth audio sucks so much compared to 3.5mm audio headsets. Plus I can store my cheap or expensive 3.5mm headphones with no worry about battery life in my bag and take them out whenever and presto - magical audio.

In the Sony MDR-1000x review thread, someone (sampson) complained that Sony didn't make a lightning connector to his precious iPhone 7, so why doesn't Sony make a connector for the most popular (sic) headphone on the planet... sorry but this irritated me. It's his damn fault for buying a crappy phone with no headphone jack. I chose to buy the iPhone 6s+ and traded in my iPhone 7 because I didn't want to give Apply my money for removing the 3.5mm headphone jack. I won't buy any more iPhones in the future without 3.5mm headphone jacks, which means I won't be buying any more iPhones. I vote with my wallet, and not put up with Apple shenanigans for the "courage" to get rid of 3.5mm headphone jacks.

Folks who write off the ubiquitous 3.5mm headphone jack make me rage. Just because they are ok with crappy audio doesn't mean we have to live with it. The author and those like the author should just be labeled iSheep and laughed at by consumers with common sense and who value function over form.

 

[Music Alchemist]

Although I agree with you in principle, it isn't really a factor for me since I don't use portable sources for music. Most of those who are serious about sound quality and want it on the go are going to use dedicated devices like DAC/amps anyway. Big companies will do their thing, even if it's senseless, but there will always be a flourishing market for us audiophiles.

 

[aristos_achaion]

Honestly, I can't really get worked up about it, since it doesn't affect me that much. I don't use my smartphone for audio, and I highly doubt audiophile DAPs are going to drop TRS outs any time soon. Even if laptops start dropping TRS outs, I can just use my Dragonfly DAC. It's bull and a pure money-grab (Oh, everyone already has 3.5mm TRS headphones? Guess they'll just need to buy new Bluetooth ones.), but mainstream consumer audio has been going to hell in a handbasket anyway...stuff like Tidal and Pono get torn apart while everyone fawns over Beats. It just means we'll have to add "Yes, Bluetooth audio sucks," to "This'll probably cost more than $100," and "You'll probably want an amp eventually," in the list of things we have to convince Head-fi newbies of.

 

[tk3]

I never got the hype about why everything has to be so thin and bezel-less anyway.
With the current battery tech, thin means smaller capacity batteries, and thinner bezels means it's harder to hold and operate the device.
And to make them thinner they remove stuff like the headphone jack which is a deal breaker to me.

Even as an audiofool I value stuff like a good screen that is still visible under the sunlight, long battery life so I can get through the day and expandable storage so I can have all my files without using online services.
I honestly couldn't care less about audio on the go as long as it meets a baseline of standards (no hiss with IEMs, no apparent distortion), which even relatively cheap DAC chips can achieve.
I mean get serious, you're not going to hear the difference between some dual Sabre DAC + hi-res lossless in your phone compared to a V0 mp3 when you're walking around or commuting. (Or at all, but let's not get into that.)

So as a consumer I'd much rather have a product with those features I want and that just works, rather than having it be 1-3mm thinner so it looks better on renders.
I still don't know if this trend of removing the jack is going to stay or not, but it doesn't really affect me since I would never buy a phone like that in the first place.

 

[droido256]

Eh, I just use the dumb little adapter, it isnt really a deal breaker for me.

 

[willham]

Apple aside, who obviously only did this to sell Airpods, android manufacturers have almost no incentive to do this except maybe a slightly bigger battery but that's it. Just like the notch, I feel like the android market is constantly in an arms race to see who copies Apple better. I think what this trend exposes is who actually care about design and the user experience and who just cobbles together design elements that are 'safe' and 'good enough'. In this front pretty much only Samsung is left. LG too to an extent, but they jumped on the notch bandwagon as soon as they could...