Can Android phones without headphone jacks charge while listening?

[fuzzybabybunny]

So it seems like the lack of a headphone jack is catching on with Android phones.

On my S5 I play my music through the USB via USB OTG, but it's not possible to charge my phone and play through the USB at the same time, even with a splitter cable.

Is it possible to do this on the newer Android phones without a headphone jack?

 

[tsupersonic]

It's not a popular trend in the Android world - the Galaxy S8 variants, LG G6, and many other Android phones have a headphone jack. It's easier count the phones without.

I guess your options are: a) USB hub (probably needs to be powered) or b) Use Bluetooth (yeah, I know audio quality...). The obvious would be to get a phone w/ headphone jack Also, in the future, I could see USB-C coming into advantage here.

Curious, what's your setup? How are you using a USB OTG to listen to music (and why not the headphone jack)?

 

[fuzzybabybunny]

It's not a popular trend in the Android world - the Galaxy S8 variants, LG G6, and many other Android phones have a headphone jack. It's easier count the phones without.

I guess your options are: a) USB hub (probably needs to be powered) or b) Use Bluetooth (yeah, I know audio quality...). The obvious would be to get a phone w/ headphone jack Also, in the future, I could see USB-C coming into advantage here.

Curious, what's your setup? How are you using a USB OTG to listen to music (and why not the headphone jack)?

I've got a good set of headphones (Westone W60) and since I listen to most of my music through my phone, I wanted to maximize audio quality and really allow my headphones to shine by pairing it with a high quality DAC.

So I have a DragonFly Red USB DAC connected via USB OTG to my S5, and that's what I plug my headphones into.

The audio quality difference IMO is very noticeable compared to going through the headphone jack, which utilizes the onboard DAC of the Samsung.

Unfortunately, this setup is a pain in the ass because the USB connection isn't stable. If you're moving around the audio can frequently disconnect and you have to keep on buying new OTG cables as the micro USB connectors wear out.

And of course you can't charge while listening to music (but at least I have the headphone jack as a backup!)

 

[tommo123]

wireless charging not an option?

 

[WelshBloke]

wireless charging not an option?

Easiest option with the S5 is a spare battery and external battery charger. Just swap the old one out when it's low.