People sticking with audio jack phones, why is USB-C earphones not a solution?
Don't get me wrong. Apple removing audio jack was the biggest facepalm in smartphone history. And you can thank it for not being able to make an upgrade without sacrificing audio jack (and SD card too :/). But USB-C is getting standardized everywhere now (laptops, smartphones, etc.). What makes USB-C earphones not worth the switch?
Because it needs an extra dongle that isn't free and most headphones use an ordinary audio jack.
Charging while listening.
And above all, if it ain't broke don't fix it.
Exactly, most headphones that I like are wired with an ordinary audio jack. I don't really feel inclined to get new headphones for a new phone, and a phone without an audio jack just makes things more difficult for me.
You don't need new headphones though, just the usb-c adaptor, which you can leave permanently attached to the cable (if you only use them with your phone/laptop).
I don't know, leaving the adapter awkwardly protruding permanently on my phone is just unsightly
Permanently attached to the end of the cable, not the phone.
No problem with a proper USB C dongle.
Oh good, something else for me to lose.
I much prefer two ports.
Im not saying that a dedicated headphone jack wouldn't be better, I'm just saying that dongles that support both exist.
I might be swayes if phones had two usb-c ports . That would be nice
The amount of strain put on the port will be insane if it's in your pocket moving around, compared to the nice neat jack.
I just went with Bluetooth in the end
Something in me doesn't like having my headphones, on my head, plugged in the same 0.2ct device made in China the cheapest possible to my main electrical outlet.
I didn't see that as one of the included accessories though. I shouldn't have to pay more to access basic functionality.
I fully agree. I'm not defending getting rid of headphone jacks, I'm just saying that workarounds that allow charging exist and luckily the 10 or so Euro/Dollars is not that bad.
When I'm on the go I much prefer wireless, no cables to impede my movements and the quality loss gets nullified by ambient noise, I wouldn't be able to enjoy Hi-fi audio anyway so I keep my headphones and DAC home where I have all the bandwidth in the world and the silence to enjoy the quality of the recordings and of my cans.
This is actually terrible logic and stifles innovation. The flip phone wasn't broke....but now we have smart phones with screens.
Touchscreen fixes the problem of maximizing the screen on the device. How does removing a jack port fixes the audio problem?
Condenses the ports to one standard. Instead of an audio and a USB-C, you just have a USB-C. So now you can fit more/different stuff in the internals or streamline the device to make it slightly smaller or thinner. Far enough down the line when most everyone is on board, can remove support for it from the kernel, minimizing the code footprint, attack surface, and code maintenance.
Sure, it sucks now as we're in the midst of it and people are resistant to change, but fast forward to when it's universally adopted and accepted, it'll be better.
But this is almost all false or just speculation.
Instead of having audio and usb-c, now you have usb-c port, usb-c headphone dongle, the finally audio port and usb-c port again. Unless you want to intentionally buy a usb-c exclusive set of headphones that won't work with whatever next "revolutionary port technology" comes out.
As long as they still work, good headphones from 40 years ago are still good. Headphone tech has not significantly changed. Amps, DACs, etc have, but not the actual drivers.
As far as space goes, reasonable DAC components are getting smaller and smaller while phones tend to be getting larger as people want more screen space. The space savings on hardware here is not significant. Seriously go and look up sizes of the components needed for audio out.
As far as thinner goes, the width needed for a headphone jack is like 2mm more than what's needed for a usb-c port, and there's width needed for internal speakers either way. I'm also not sure how much thinner people want cell phones to be at this point. We're pretty close to the point of sacrificing device drop resistance for size anyway (arguably we've passed that point with most people doubling the size of their phone with a protective case). Not to mention that the real thing preventing more thinness is the camera lenses now, as easily evidenced by the camera island bumps all phones have now.
Lastly, you can't seriously be arguing that analog audio out represents any significant amount of attack surface kernel wise. Like holy shit man. Wow. Yes, technically every line of code is increased attack surface, but it's a huge assumption that USB-C audio is in any way more secure or less surface.
Standards change as they get developed and better, sorry. I don't see the "new revolutionary port technology" coming out in the next couple of decades, especially with the EU forcing USB-C on all (which is a good thing). USB-C is still fairly new and not adopted everywhere. And I'd bet money that most people don't keep 40 year old headphones. Like, I said, sure it sucks now because we're in the middle of it.
Except the USB-C is here to stay for a good bit...unless you're proposing making it a power only connectors? Some secure devices do that, but why handicap the new port on mobile device that has limited space? So yes, removing the audio port code portion on a device with no audio port makes sense, when we get there.
Space is at a premium in phones as they are already fairly small and cramped. And why duplicate the ports (have two audio ports) simply because you don't want to buy a dongle or a new headset to replace 40 year old devices that have drastically been improved?
You're coming at this from the angle that the headphones are just going to be used with the phone. Why should the headphones I use for my desktop amp, digital drum set, music work, etc all change to support my phone?
I get for the vast majority of people they use headphones with their phones and that's why this was allowed to happen, but in music the overwhelming majority of headphones use the standard jack and I can tell you there is no way in hell that is changing any time soon. People pay a lot of money for audio equipment and they're not throwing it out to use the crappy DAC built into headphones.
Is this niche? Sure. But it's a standard that has worked and will continue to work forever due to its simplicity. The analogue headphone jack will long outlive USB-C, mark my words.
Why should we condense the ports into 1? This is worse, not better. In fact some Chinese phones also have an IR blaster so you can control your TV and Aircon from the phone.
As for thinness is the phone, my Sony Xperia 10iii is 5.9" and very thin. Probably the smallest phone on the market and it has a headphone jack, SD card slot, and full IP68 waterproofing. Plus 3 lense camera. No need for massive stove top lenses on the back.
It can easily fit on any phone. The jack is tiny. It's just a lie from the manufacturers to force you to buy expensive Bluetooth headphones.
My wired in ear headphones take up WAY less space in my pocket than bog bulky Bluetooth headphones with their charging case.
Just a friendly reminder to folks to keep it civil and to reserve downvotes for things that are inappropriate, not disagreement! 🙂
I downvoted it for spreading incorrect information and being incoherent. Happy?
There's just exactly no upsides.
Among other things, a USB-C connector is less stable than a 3.5mm jack, and can twist the cable since the connector cannot spin.
Sure, it can do a lot of things, but there's no reason to break an existing standard if the proposed successor is inherently worse.
I was looking for someone to mention the connection itself. To add to that the connector is a lot more delicate since it's some
4024 pins vs 3 or 4.AND if my one USB-C port wears out from use, now I need a whole ass new phone now as opposed to "oh damn, well the phone still works without headphones, I'll suffer for a bit until I can comfortably replace it."
This is actually something I had once considered too. It's not that they want to downgrade the port itself, it's also that they want to downgrade the AMOUNT of it. I went looking for phones with two ports (I was also curious about using a phone as a data bus) and I could literally find none.
This is why when it comes time to decide on a compromise, Bluetooth (and its audio issues) wins out versus anything with ports. Because it's a solution that doesn't throw away options with it.
"maybe i should get a DAC for the time beeing"
Downsides of usb-c headphones:
Bluetooth security risk surface, exposes your phone to more attacks. (Nobody has mentioned this yet)
Most/all phones have a single usb-c port. Charging and using headphones difficult
Usb-c port placement is awkwardly on bottom of phone while must headphone jacks are on top of the phone. Plugging in your headphones on the bottom of the phone with a dongle is awkward.
The entire process of using a usb-c dongle or using Bluetooth headphones makes the entire system more complicated. KISS (keep it simple). The more complexity there is that can go wrong, the worse the experience. If I'm taking a important conference call, I want my audio to just work.
Not directly related: the whole point of removing the headphone jack was to sell airpods. First apple, then android, and even fair phone. Each time the jack is removed to push sales of the branded Bluetooth ear buds. It's a user hostile move.
https://www.wired.co.uk/article/apple-airpods-success
The excuse may be to save money, Space, water rating, but the reason is increased sales.
I personally still use a pixel 5A which had a headphone jack only because it's the B tier phone for markets where people are less likely to also buy the airpods.
This is a good example of the general enshitificstion of a service. Make part of the experience worse to drive sales or engagement with another part of the service. Just like Reddit, just like Twitter... It's user hostile. It means the marketplace is failing
I have a headphone jack and it's on the bottom of my phone next to the USB?
Oh interesting. What model? How do you like the location? Ever use the headphones with your phone in your pocket?
Not the person you answered, but I have the same location. Samsung M51 (7000mAh battery ftw). I put my phone into my left front pocket facing downward anyway, since that's the direction of my hand, so it's natural, so the headphone jack faces the right direction. I like this location better than on the top side.
It's a Motorola Moto 5G+ if I remember rightly. I realised a few years back that mobile phone tech had plateaued for what I need so I no longer bother with flagships, this one was sub £300, had SD Card and headphone support and NFC for payments so looked promising and I have no complaints. Ironically I don't mind using Bluetooth earbuds so rarely use the port but I like to have the choice. My old man just picked a newer model of the same phone which seems to have all the same features and he's happy.
Loved my Pixel 5a until it died randomly over night a few weeks ago
I've really liked my pixel 5a as well. Always thought the Google phones had the perfect balance of features, design, and cost. I even got the pixel subscription when I got the 5a because I figured Google wouldn't drop the ball. I get to upgrade to the latest pixel in 2 months and I think I'm gonna pass on pixel 7. Think I'm going to check out the Zenphone 10 because I really like the size and design.
It's the last pixel with headphones. Last of the line.
Isn't it more awkward to have the headphone jack on the top? If the jack is on the bottom it faces up when the phone is in a pocket.
Multiple phone scenarios where headphone on top is better. Using phone on a stand, using phone propped up on something, resting phone on your chest while watching something in bed.
If android let the screen rotate upside down I suppose i wouldn't care about top or bottom anymore.
So you put you phone upside down in pocket?
You don’t? When you hold a phone and then put it in your pocket it will naturally be going in top first.
Nope i don't. When my hand goes down, i kind of like hold phone in the middle with two fingers and it will stay upright when i put the phone into pockets
Right, fair enough. For me, and I would assume most people, we hold our phones upright when using them, and then put them down in our pocket without re-arranging the phone in our hand, ending up with the phone top down and with the screen against our body.
Btw i don't rearrage it much it kinda comes automatically i wanna show you some kind of animation lol. Its like the phone stays upright when going from hand to pocket
Nope i don't. When my hand goes down, i kind of like hold phone in the middle with two fingers and it will stay upright when i put the phone into pockets. Plus i know many people dping this
how is using bluetooth headset making it more complicated.....
All other points are valid.
Bluetooth complication over a wired headset:
I'M MINDING MY OWN BUSINESS CRANKIN MY HOG WHEN MY BT HEADPHONES DIE AND THE WHOLE HOUSE HEARS PORN BLARE OUT MY PHONE SPEAKERS.
I'M A PERSON WITH NEEDS TOO MOM! DEAL WITH IT!!!
except most device stop any media when the headphones are disconeted.
The devices that you describe are incompatible with a standard that has been mature for 50 years.
The 3.5mm jack is everywhere, it is the standard. USB C is incredibly recent.
Put it this way, if you were to walk into a store and pick up any given electronic product with audio output, would you expect it to have an audio jack, or a USB C connector?
In your drawer full of random electric cables, how many have 3.5mm plugs in them vs usb a, micro, mini, or some propriety plug? And how many could you plug into a device and just...work?
So why do you accept devices that don't have this standard?? It is beyond me.
Just got a 1981 Sony EQ off eBay, made in Japan, all that! How the hell would I ever adapt USB-C?! I've got fittings in the drawer for all things 1/8", didn't even research what I needed to get this thing integrated with my stereo. Also, it has another gold standard, the 3/4" jack! I can cobble something together for free. Oh! I can also roll my own 1/8" jacks and wiring, certainly can't "create" a USB-C connector.
OP is stuck thinking digital applications. 1/8" is perfect for analog use cases. USB-C is excellent for charging and data transfer. Very different use cases.
(Disclaimer: I'm no sort of audiophile. Just and old guy with vintage gear, going with what works.)
I am not an audiophile or anything but for these oems a headphone jack inclusion is probably pennys and wired is just superior sound, it's madness.
That said I use Bluetooth headphones mostly myself but that doesn't change the fact its inferior sound, something extra to charge and can add quite a bit of lag when playing games or other media.
Its a step backwards just to make a few pennys profit on a hundreds of pounds device. I think everyone should have the option to choose what they prefer.
USB C dongles have potential to be higher quality than your built in-jack if quality is the main concern
Now tell me how many of them actually are. This is just OEMs trying to save literal pennies across 100s of devices by externalizing the cost of a cheap DAC to their customers.
As people have mentioned, it's not about saving $, it's about saving space inside the device which is highly valuable
Lots of dongles are quite high quality. Apples even sounds good, and Moondrop makes a higher-end audiophile one that's better than basically any built-in jack. There's a pretty big market for good USB C dongles (less so for Lightning).
if you care a lot about audio quality, you might know that the companies always tried to save $$ but using pretty mediocre DAC's internally
And all of those dongles work even if you keep the headphones jack. Bluetooth headphones work if you keep the headphone jack.
No one is saying don't have USB-C on the phone, or that it doesn't do some things well, we're saying don't take away our options.
Again, my point 1. was the space the headphone jack takes up.
Apple is going as far as to remove the sim-card slot in iPhones lol
While it's true that some space is saved, that's just the messaging Apple wants to push. The real reason is to sell AirPods.
Apple also wanted to make non-removable batteries standard to make devices thinner. They did and it was a huge marketing success that had the tiny side effect of planned obsolescence (oopsie).
I'm not saying we can never progress, but what Apple says and what Apple does are often two completely different things. Their engineers will grind incredible hours to meet a silly goal that management gave them of making something 0.2mm thinner. They can keep a headphone jack or a sim slot if they actually wanted to. They don't want to.
Well batteries and headphone jacks seem pretty different. You can add a dongle for like $10. Having Apple replace your battery is prob 10x that.
I do 1/2 agree about the AirPods thing but, I’m not convinced the internal space isn’t one of the primary reasons
Apple are the last ones you can accuse of planned obsolescence in the phone world. They support their phones for 6+ years. They will replace your battery for cheap as chips.
Could you recommend one for lightning?
I have the official Apple Lightning-Aux for my AKG K361 and Grado SR60x. It has definitely adequate audio, no complaints.
I use the Apple USB C-Aux I use for when I use any headphones with my gaming PC (usually Koss Portapros). Also definitely adequate.
My impression with either one is - except for physical durability concerns, if either adapter can power what you’re plugging into it they’re awesome. If you need more power or physical controls or weird connection formats that’s where they start to not be great.
I've heard good things about the Apple ones?
The Apple one isn't very durable but the sound quality is just as good as built-in jacks were. Not as much selection for Lightning :/
Digital signaling is not susceptible to interference like analog signaling. Comparing three analog connectors to a digital signal is a false comparison. With a digital signal unless the interference is large enough to sway the voltage to the wrong side of the threshold it doesn't matter as it will still register a one or a zero. Analog signaling on the other hand is very susceptible to interference unless you use balanced connections which uses wave interference to remove the added noise.
This a good argument for any form of digital audio transmission, except headphones. Headphones exist to covert some signal into sound waves for the ears. This a a intrinsically analog process. At some point the digital must become audio for the ears.
The issues people have throwing away the classic transducer standard to sell rechargable airpods is valid. If phones had two USBC ports (top and bottom) it would help a bit, but it's clear the real intention of dropping the headphone port was to sell airpods.
Love this comment! I remember reading about CD players when they were cutting edge. As kids, we were constantly frustrated with and fighting noise and hiss. I instantly understood the advantages of digital, game changing.
In the world of USB Headphones and Microphones, this is unfortunately false. 3.5mm jacks in general don't get any interference from nearby cables/electronics, but USB cables do. This causes a bunch of noise and other issues that are annoying to fix, mostly requiring gear that allows taking the bad USB cable out, and replacing it with one that has shielding. (edit: this came out way too confident, take it with huge grain of salt)
https://www.yoctopuce.com/EN/article/usb-cables-shielding-matters-as-well
IF YOU DO actually work in professional studio environments and know what you're talking about (it's different to just knowing the physics of it), I'm obliged to listen more, because that's the one field where shit goes wank.
This were relevant if you tried to listen to your headphones 10m away from your DAC.
The fact that there is more than one "standard" for USB-C audio is enough to hate it.
Analog 3.5mm just works with everything. No dongles, no drivers, no "unsupported device", no batteries.
It. Just. Works.
There's no reason to switch.
50 year old headphones are still basically fine except for the port changing.
*better
Uses more power and it creates thermal strain on a single point-of-failure port if you want to both charge and listen to music with a poxy dongle.
All this “innovation” does is create more e-waste.
At least on the Fairphone you can trivially swap out the USB-C port when it breaks. And using it for audio moves that from an if to a when, in particular on a phone designed to be used for at least 5 years.
But that's okay, since you can swap it out. On any other phone: Fuck USB-C audio! The port is fragile enough as it is.
I'm still rocking my OG Note 8, granted this thing is a tank, I've never had to replace the port c charger. (But I also have an aux port) However! Any time i feel like m port is finally dying, it really just needs to be cleaned. Get a little toothpick an try cleaning before you ever replace, 9 times out of 10 it's just got some gunk or something lodged in there.
When companies began to drop the audio jack I was annoyed, but I figured I could just buy a converter. Which would be great if there were a universal standard for connecting audio through a USB C. There isn't. There aren't even just two competing approaches. There are all kinds of different setups that sometimes vary even within a single brand.
I found multiple adapter that said it supported my phone brand. It didn't work. I looked deeper and found some advice on adapters that would work with more recent phone. I bought one based on that and it worked, sort of. The audio quality was not great and it would occasionally just cut out for a second. My third try got me an adapter that work reliably, but the audio quality is still mediocre. My best headphones are all analog, but I have to use Bluetooth with my phone because it provides better audio.
The physical issues, particularly the connectors, guarantees that USB C will never work as well. The lack of standards for implementing it make finding compatible hardware a nightmare. And if you manage to get everything else figured out you end up with the kind of sound you can hear from an audio jack using a $5 set of earbuds. It provides no benefits to the user, only to the manufacturer.
I can't charge my phone and listen to stuff at the same time, and my headphone jack headphones work with every device but a new phone. Don't know why I would want to throw that convenience away all because Apple/every other manufacturer decided we should get rid of headphone jacks.
There are usc to headphone + usbc charger adapters
In my particular case, that setup sucks for my car. The adapter advertises having a microphone but my car's aux port doesn't have one.
I would use Bluetooth but the car's Bluetooth is the worst damned thing I've ever had the displeasure of using. It sucks even by Bluetooth standards. The car even forbids pairing/unpairing while the car is in drive, which is great for nanny-stating the morons who try to do that while operating the car but what about when I'm the passenger?! The car's mostly used for family road trips and that kind of inflexibility makes it a nonstarter.
I know this, and they suck (it's another freaking cord to carry around in your pockets), and it's unnecessary in the face of just getting a phone that doesn't need it!
Lol I charge it either wirelessly or use a splitter. I have never had a problem using usbc or Bluetooth. I have a tablet with audio jack and I never use it. I also have connected my phone to a USB hub and used gaming headsets and other peripherals.
I always hear this argument, but seriously how often is this a problem?
I plug my phone in in the car and when I go to bed at night. Neither time of which I would be listening to music
you are aware that other people live different lives to you, and do things differently right? I listen to music to fall asleep, and I plug my phone into my car via the 3.5mm jack to listen to music. You ask how often it would be a problem? It would be a problem every single day
You sleep with wired headphones on?
Many people listen to music and podcasts while driving cars.
Typically through the car speakers though
I can't tell which side of the argument your response is supposed to fall on...
Yes, people typically listen through their car speakers. Good job. Gold star.
But not all cars have Bluetooth connectivity. There's still a lot of people who drive vehicles that have to rely on 3.5mm connections (either directly, or with cassette or even CD adapters!). Or maybe their car supports Bluetooth audio, but they prefer the higher fidelity audio that a 3.5mm interface provides vs Bluetooth.
Maybe I'm missing something here. But this response holds no water.
I do this……using a lightning adapter that has a 3.5mm jack and a lightning charging port. It’s not a problem.
I don't deny that there are a significant number of people that still use the 3.5mm jack when driving
But I believe that the majority of people do not.
Planes, overnight flights is a great example where this becomes a problem
But once again, how often is this a problem? I would say the majority of people are not in overnight flights that often
There is a huge part of the world wide population that uses their phones constantly and need to constantly charge the phone. As an example think of a parking lot attendent sitting in a booth, nothing to do but play on the phone all day...
I'm daily commuting via train. There are USB chargers everywhere in the cars, so this is pretty significant. And don't tell me to buy another wireless gadget I have to charge before I go - or some USB buds that won't work with my other devices, since USB-C is just a plug, not a Standard.
And you need to carry the charging case, and a 2nd usb cable
Why do you need to carry a second cable?
Also the charging case for wireless earbuds is easier to carry than wired headphones.
I relax in my bed and listen to music or watch stuff, and I'd like to charge my phone while I'm close to the socket
Let's invert the question: what makes it worth the switch? If I'm going to change something, you have to prove why it's worth, not me proving why I shouldn't.
I have multiple dozens of headphones that have a normal headphone plug.
I can charge my phone while I listen to headphones without carrying multiple adapters.
We can maybe talk once we get more than 1 USB c connector on a phone. Maybe.
I fucking hate the whiny answer of "but my/most existing headphones had an aux so I don't like USB-C."
The biggest factor for me is that it simply makes it impossible to charge your phone and use wired headphones at the same time without a special splitter adaptor... Which itself is impossible to roll up with your headphones.
It's designed to be such an inconvenience to the point that you're actually just incentivized to buy wireless headphones. And since it was Apple, that of course meant their very expensive Airpods.
That said, I happily use wireless Bose headphones now anyway, but I did have to ditch my audio technicas for that reason.
Except, you know, it's a statement of fact and wired headphones can easily last 50 years with no reason to even consider replacing them. We're past the point where there's meaningful improvement to quality over time.
Plus basically every other piece of audio equipment has a headphone jack, and there’s no reason they should start being manufactured with USB-C ports with all the added complexity, when all they need to do is send audio.
That business model becoming the norm is exactly why I hardly buy anything new these days. I'll thrift, upcycle, reuse, hand-me-down, bargain for, get at the discount shop, commission from a local artisan, wait for the price to come down, and/or pick up from-the-curb items absolutely every time it's possible. Simply avoiding these festering boils on the asscrack of our economy that are big businesses has become a daunting chore of its own... ‘He typed, into his smart phone’ I know, I know; I'm a dramatic bitch, but still.
A usbc dongle with charge passthrough is like 3 bucks on Ali. I have like 5 of them around my house so every time I lose one another will likely turn up when I search
If you ever find one that can be rolled up compactly and is a single wire, I'll buy one for each of my friends.
If you own audio technicas i would expect you to think the same.
i dont even use my jack much, i just fucking hate the lack of options. if my headphones are dead i can still use them with the jack, and i can plug into older cars that only have the jack without shuffling around for a dongle
taking away my options is taking away my service with phones, still using my galaxy s9+ till it dies
It seems like you are assuming that the only device that I want to use headphones with is my phone.
I'm a musician. I've got tons of audio equipment I've accumulated over decades, most of which use a typical analog headphone jack. So if I fully switched to USB-C or Bluetooth headphones, I would need to get a powered adapter of some kind that would then digitize what likely would have been a purely analog signal up until that point, just so it can be re-converted back to analog.
Or I could have sperate headphones just for my phone. Which seems silly.
So I took the 3rd option: got a phone with a headphone jack. The Xperia still has a micro SD card too.
Also I have dabbled in soldering circuits and doing basic repairs. I can easily replace most analog jacks and repair most cables. USB C... It's possible, and I will try to learn to work with it eventually, but it's always going to be more annoying to work with because it has many more, smaller pins.
And just when you have everything setup with USB-C, here comes the new connection standard, USB-D. Eliminating the audio jack is about planned obsolesce.
Samsung propably could make an USB Type A phone and your DAC would still work. Thats what standardisation is for.
Everyone's favourite old headphones not having a USB cable is likely to be the main reason.
because it's already compatible with everything
i have a cheap pair of earphones in my pocket (which i'm prepared to lose). another by the door. a more expensive set of headphones upstairs. a speaker in the kitchen. and when i get in a friend's car or go to their house, i can just plug my phone in and it works without the aggravation of having to pair to their speaker
tell me, oh "you can just buy a dongle" people, what am i supposed to do? buy one and accept that i'll lose it all the time? buy 5 and keep one plugged into every 3.5mm i own and don't own?
plus, y'know - takes slightly more battery, hassle to pair, can't charge and use dongle, all the other obvious issues
Same here - a pair per jacket/hoodie, depending on the season
I cant sleep without listening to podcasts & i charge the phone at night so this is one of the reasons why i was reluctant to upgrade my old phone.
When I inevitably had to upgrade I bought a USB C headphone/charging dongle for about €15. All good, I'd been worrying about nothing ...Until it broke within a few months so I had to go without podcasts for a few nights whilst I waited for the replacements to arrive (might as well be prepared & buy a spare right?). Guess what? The first replacement lasted a only few months again. So far, a lack of headphone jack has cost me an extra €45 inside of about 6 months. Absolutely ridiculous
Buy the braided cable splitters they are invincible
One solution would be bluetooth receiver like the Sony sbh 5x. Or full on Bluetooth headphones.
The point is, the dongle is simply not a good solution
You can buy a small Bluetooth/3.5mm adapter. I have one for my amp when I want to play music through it. It also works with earphones. It's about the size of a credit card but obviously thicker.
… and requires you to use Bluetooth headphones that you have to keep charged…
If they mean what I think they do... There are Bluetooth ->3.5 "adapters"... E.g. Bluetooth source (phone), analog output (headphones). Logitech has/had one and it works well.
No. It has a 3.5mm socket. You connect it to your phone via Bluetooth and plug in your headphones.
Then where does it get power from?
It's rechargeable.
https://www.sony.de/store/product/sbh56ru-b/Bluetooth-Headset-mit-Lautsprecher-SBH56-Frei-sprechen-Gestochen-scharfe-Selfies that's what I mean. It has it own dac and works as a middle man between phone (bluetooth) and wired headphones
I need a special adapter to charge my phone simultaneously
Also, I can't connect it without an adapter to my car, my headphones or my home cinema stereo
Did you actually find such an adapter for Android? Last time I checked I couldn't. Still sticking with my trusty Note9 and wired headphones.
There are various types of dongles. If you want something compact for 3.5mm there are things like this: (greek site)
Cool thank you!
There are way more aux jack headphones out there, and you don't want your very high quality headphones suddenly be forced to be considered obsolete just because tech companies feel like selling a different product.
I only ever use earphones when I fly, which is two or three times a year.
I have a crappy pair of earphones that I bought in a drugstore probably about ten years ago that work surprisingly well and drown out the various environmental noises on a plane.
So I have a perfectly functioning item that I own. I do not wish to be compelled to upgrade something that I use so infrequently because it's stylish or Apple wants me to spend more money.
Dang forget having to buy replacements every couple years because the battery in your wireless headphones dies.
Because its not good to reward bad behaviour
3.5 mm has been a standard from the motherfisting 1950s
Because I can't charge my phone and use the headphones at the same time. Only 1 USB-C port on my phone.
Because it sucks and the 3.5mm jack is better. Manufacturers should be forced to include it or pay a punitive fee calculated to far outweigh the savings of not including the jack, perhaps $5,000 per individual unit manufactured.
It's about saving space, not money. The jack is relatively large compared to other smartphone components. It's bigger than a USB-C port, for one, when you consider the volume and not just the width.
I have a hard time accepting that argument with the camera islands on every phone now.
News to you most users moved over to bluetooth headset thanks to the airpods(?) craze. Only a few people are stuck with 3.5 headphone (some for valid reasons other for bogus ones). Hence it makes sense that the jack can be rationalized to safe a few cents per device.
Meanwhile Cameras are used widely thanks to social media and everyone wanting to be a influencer....
It is never about saving space, it's about saving costs.
It's never been about saving, it's been about selling airpods.
They should've replaced it with a second usb-c port then
to confuse the casual users? Yeah good idea.
Ideally both would have the same capabilities
It requires extra hardware to get the same functionality I'd have by having a traditional jack.
Also the excuses these companies make up for removing it are always silly. No, the phone isn't too thin to have one* -- that's always marketing BS. It's always, always, always to save the pennies it costs to add a headphone jack. Those pennies of course add up during manufacturing.
They can save costs in that way because some people don't care. It makes a simple headphone jack seem like a nothing feature, and the narrative can be pushed that those who want it are simply latching on to the past. Something similar happens with the arguments for and against physical buttons vs. touch screens, especially in cars.
*there is a YouTube video (I believe by Strange Parts) where they add a headphone jack to an iPhone which Apple had explicitly claimed was too thin to have one.
Because while we have wireless charging now, one of the key lifetime limits on a phone is wear on the USBc connector, lost many of my phones that way.
On the micro USB connector yes. The usb-c connector is a totally different beast. I have no idea how you are wearing out USBC connectors. They are usually rated for 10,000 plug/unplug cycles.
It's not insertion cycles, its bending it while it's in your pocket so contact is intermittent, which some of my stuff had before I switched to mostly wireless charging.
10000 is not as many as you'd think. I try to keep phones for 5 years, so around 1800 days. I also listen to music on several different occasions a day, let's say 10 because I listen to a lot of music. Couple that with daily charging, I'm already doubling your number if using audio through USB-C, not to mention the extra wear that comes from the port being in use for around 10-12 hours a day.
I've had 3 android phones in the past 5 years (Samsung, Samsung, latest is HMD Nokia) and every one of them had their usb-c connector broken (in about a year). They really seem to be quite crap when they come out of the factory.
I''ve never had ANY device, in my 40'ish years on this hurling ball of a space ship, brake their 3.5 mm jack. Not a single, and there must have been dozens if not hundreds devices with those jacks.
I haven't seen a single phone that has more than one USB-C port, and I would like to listen to stuff while these these phones charge their miniscule batteries.
Asus ROG Phone 5 and newer has two usb-c ports.
LMAO. They got rid of headphone jack to "save space" and then replaced it with bigger USB C connector
I hate dongles with a passion. They're so easy to lose. And for what? So your headphones work like normal? Not worth it.
While I do use a USB-C phone, the thing I miss most about the audio jack is a wired audio connection that doesn't remove charging or require a separately purchased dongle.
I would need to replace my headphones, too. Right now I'm able to plug in my studio monitors, my earphones for biking, my wife's earphones, my kid's, my spares, ... I can buy cheap replacements, or repair then easily. Kid kept breaking his so I started repairing them, which turned out to be almost trivial. Mostly wires getting loose in the cups or the plug itself.
Its just simpler, and plugging a round plug is simpler than a rectangle. If all heaphones and audio stuff was already USB C then I probably woudnt disagree. But they are just overcomplicating stuf
I use my earphones for both my PC and my phone. Seems kind of dumb I have to disconnect the dongle when I go from phone to PC and vise versa.
I use my Bluetooth earbuds this way but they seamlessly connect to both devices at once.
I do it out of principle. I disagreed with their decicion to remove it like so many others at the time but unlike the vast majority of those others I decided to vote with my wallet and to this day I refuse to buy a phone without one.
That was me until my priorities shifted, (had kids, camera became the priority) that was when I went full convert and got Bluetooth earbuds because the USB-C ones sucked.
i don't even use headphones, however I don't like buying new things that have less features then my old things, so I keep buying phones that have both sd slot and a 3.5mm jack...
however i had to give up 2 sims + sd in my latest phone... Combined slots are such a stupid idea (1 sim + sd/2 sims)
Nobody wants to buy and carry around crappy dongles which get lost. Plus the usb c sound of not any better, in some cases it's worse, especially on a cheap dongle. So now I'm expected to buy expensive dongles to be sure they work, on top of the price of the phone, as well as a phone charger because they don't include that either, when the 3.5mm jack gives me 100% quality audio experience?
No thanks. I'll keep buying phones with headphone jacks.
3 times a week I go for dialysis and I can either take Bluetooth headphones or wired. I tried the Bluetooth to see what it was like and its just clunky. It's bulky and akward to use one handed plus once the Bluetooth in ear bud fell on the floor. I can't get up at all during the session so it had to stay there until I was finished
Whereas I now take my cheap(€10) Sony wired in ear headphones and they are far smaller in my pocket, easy to use, the bud didn't fall out of my ear because it's smaller (no circuitry and battery) and when if it fell out it wouldn't fall on the floor because it's attached to a wire. Plus I'm not isn't extra battery power on my phone while listening whereas Bluetooth will drain my phone battery.
Another reason I discovered recently. I work at home on a company laptop. Can't do shit with it so I listen to music via my phone or personal desktop. I tried using Bluetooth gear but realised quickly that if someone called me on teams/Skype or whatever, switching device with Bluetooth is tedious and slow. Wired stuff goes out and in, boom. Oh and none of my computer's have a usb c port despite one being fairly new (2021).
My laptop has exactly one USB-C port. It's on the back and it's the one port that directly connects to the GPU so slightly better performance if I use that with my external monitor. The audio jack on the side is much more convenient to use. Strike 1.
It is honestly pretty rare for me to listen to something on my phone. The rare times I do use my headphones with my phone it's because something took out my internet while I was in a voice chat and I just unplug the headset from my laptop and plug into my phone to take my friends with me on whatever adventure it takes to investigate. Strike 2.
I already have a perfectly good headset with 3.5mm. Getting a whole new headset or even an adapter just feels like extra added cost for no real gain. Strike 3.
Bonus round. I can plug a 3.5mm headset into my Nintendo Switch while it's docked. Can't do that with USB-C. It's an odd thing to mention, but I have made use of that enough times to bring up.
Bonus bonus round. I have tried giving bluetooth a chance, but every time I'm massively let down. Initially things sound fine, then the moment I connect to a voice chat it's like I'm listening through water or something. Maybe it's the bluetooth headsets in my price range or maybe it's just bluetooth not being good in general but I can't work with that. I have a hard time with my hearing. I need people to be as clear as possible and I know for sure I get that with a wired headset.
Your last point is just how Bluetooth works. It's not to do with the headsets being cheap. When two way audio is used over Bluetooth, quality drops dramatically because it becomes more compressed.
I think they're fixing that with Bluetooth LE audio but I'm not sure.
Are there any waterproof USB-C headphones?
The jack works and I don't have to buy another dongle/cable for my headset to work. I have to use an iphone for work, so I connect that to Bluetooth and everything else is connected through the audio jack on the headset.
I'm not a fan of bluetooth, I find the headphones heavy due to the battery which hurts after long use. 3.5mm is much more convenient to use i find, and also much easier to replace if it breaks.
Due to my current phone not having a headphone jack i can't use my koss portapros, so I picked up a pair of kph40 utility, again from koss which use a USB c cable and they work great.
I can't connect to my car's audio with Bluetooth, and can't afford to replace the car stereo with one that supports Bluetooth - it's just not a priority. When I upgrade my phone, I'll stay with an earphone jack.
Spoken by someone who only has USB-C laptops and phones. I have a lot more equipment that outputs audio, plus, all the good hardware either has a 3.5mm, 6.5mm or a 2.5mm plug.
Yeah. I can put a 3.5 -> C adapter on my headphones but there's no such thing as the reverse. And given that one-way path, it'd be nice if I didn't a dongle everywhere.
Are there already any USB-C earphones with an L-shaped connector (90 degrees)?
My new phone is a flagship and does have a headphone jack (ASUS Zenfone 10), but I will rarely use it. Sometimes it's definitely convenient to be able to plug in some random headphones or speakers, but usually the port just literally collects dust. It actually filled up so bad on my previous phone, that any jack I plugged in didn't stay plugged in. However, that phone is now 6 years old.
For that get a toothpick and just dig around in there. Same for the charging port if the connection is loose when plugged in.
My car is old and I can't afford a new one, it's 3.5mm or a bluetooth speaker in the passenger seat.
Get a Bluetooth FM transmitter, some are very decent
bleutooth to fm isnt optiomal since even less secure then bluetooth. Just get a aux bluetooth dongle.
Or just keep buying phones with 3.5mms as long as I can and be angry about being forced into this shit.
So what? You think someone will hijack your music signal?
Not me but some other people here brought up the concern that bluetooth isnt secure. That's why I pointed out that fm is even less secure.
even so, it's only music
Currently I can connect my phone to a set of speakers at a small local café, several of my expensive over ear headphones, aux input of my friend's car, and a 70 cent lapel mic. Can I carry a dongle with me everywhere? Probably. Will I remember to do it? Probably not.
Because the extra circuits will increase the bill of materials by a few dollars and there's not enough margin for that
I don't carry a bag and I don't want to put a dongle in my pocket
One note I noticed about USB-C dongles and headphones is that they need to be powered, whereas traditional headphones do not. So the headphones draw power from the phone, which then hurts battery life.
With a 3.5mm jack, you need power amplifiers in the source device to provide the amplified analog signal for sound reproduction. With USB headphones, you're just moving the digital-to-analog conversion and power amps to the end device.
You end up with the same power draw from the single battery, either way.
The Sony phones still have audio jacks
A lot of the answers are good and make sense. Sometimes folks have an impression that wired is better even on some super old, crappy headphones.
If they love those wired buds, they won't want a phone without the jack.
Source: My fiance's mom thinks her new phone is bad since it doesn't work with her ancient crappy earbuds.
Well im obvioulsy not gonna throw away my old HD-600s over wireless headphones. because you guessed it, they ARE better.
Great answers here that I 100% agree with, can't add much
I love USB-C for charging and data and display. But it does not replace 3.5mm. Aside from the things mentioned so far in the comments here, a fundamental problem is that now headphones need DACs in them.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USB-C#Audio_Adapter_Accessory_Mode
That increases the cost of headphones and introduces a point of failure and makes things more complicated for the end user. It's just not worth it.
Because all USB C to 3.5mm Aux adapters are flimsy as mother fuckers that break down after two months use. I would not even care otherwise, I never charge and listen at same time anyway.
If anyone has suggestions for adapter that is not made out of thinnest possible wire and is durable, let me know.
Also, I don't want to buy USB-C headphones, since I would only use those with my phone, I want to use them also on other devices, and for compatibility it is better to have it analog instead of USB-C. If I were to buy headphones for phone only, I would just get wireless.
I often have use cases at work where I have to plug in my headphones to device I am not familiar with, for audio troubleshooting at our customers device. Most of the times USB is not an option, only standard analog audio.
Modern laptops also come with way too few USB ports, 2.0 and C combined, so I rather not waste one for audio since there is no reason for audio to go through USB. On my main PC I don't use my internal soundcard but external audio interface for music production, and I want my headphones connected to that, not USB.
So in conclusion, USB-C headphones would be totally worthless to me, no matter the device. Even for phone, I rather go with adapter, or just wireless ones.
For all who want a workaound you could check Sony sbh 5x or 2x line (dunno if they still Produce the 5x line). Those are basicly bluetooth receiver with a classic 3.5mm plug. Sbh 56 https://amzn.eu/d/9ZVvapi