Is removing the headphone jack really going to be a thing moving forward?

[JeffMD]

Its possible that we may run into headphones that are hardwired with a usb3 jack and then use a breakaway plug for the headphone jack. At the same time that the headphone jack is going away, wireless charging is becoming a thing so being worried about charging and playback at the same time isn't nearly a problem. Also all the phone are including the adapters with them so that helps. Getting rid of the headphone jack doesn't mean we need to get rid of wired headphones.

 

[you2]

While I currently prefer my wired headphones and really don't want to change them; I do not miss the floppy drive and haven't for years.

 

[Oyeve]

Not only did LG leave the jack on it's latest phones, they gave me a set of B@O headphones for free. I struggle to see what problem it solves removing the jack other than assisting in water-proofing maybe? In my mind we need more removable battery and memory card options, not less. I also hate charging the Anker BT headphones my wife has as it is. I want the headphones to last as long as the phone battery lasts when plugged in.

Dude, I have that phone and the b&o buds and both are just mediocre at best. I got it to replace my note 7 and that lgv20 is so crummy I decided to keep using the note 7.

 

[dawheat]

I do think its a non-issue for a very large percentage of people who only wear the phone bundled headphones. Keeping the dongle attached works fine. Obviously current wireless users are fine too.

However it's annoying for folks like me who have decent wired headphones (Oppo PM-3) and use them across different devices. Not only do I not know what wireless equivalents would be in sound quality (and at what price), but having some devices need a dongle and others not would be annoying.

A universal dongle between say USB-C and the headphone jack might have been more palatable - at least you know if you need one, it's always the same. Now depending on what mix of devices you're around, you'd need a lightning and USB-C dongle.

Down the line when I finally upgrade, these issues may go away but I am 100% sure I won't be buying any headphones that can't have their battery replaced, either by the user or through the OEM at a reasonable price. Nice headphones can be used for years if not decades and there's no way I'd lay down another $300-500 on headphones where the battery will degrade in a couple years.

 

[nOOky]

Dude, I have that phone and the b&o buds and both are just mediocre at best. I got it to replace my note 7 and that lgv20 is so crummy I decided to keep using the note 7.

I know I've seen you post this like 37 times now, I think your nuts.

 

[JeffMD]

dawheat, if your dragging around android and iphones together then you got bigger issues. From what I can tell, usb-c headphone adapters are universal.

 

[dawheat]

dawheat, if your dragging around android and iphones together then you got bigger issues. From what I can tell, usb-c headphone adapters are universal.

In my case it's b/c my work phone is an iPhone and my personal phone is Android. I doubt it's a very unusual use case.

Based on how things are going, I think things might get worse before they get better. If the next iPad ditches the headphone jack while sticking with Lightning (even money IMO), this will be very common as frankly Android tables aren't even in the same zipcode IMO.

 

[Zaap]

Its possible that we may run into headphones that are hardwired with a usb3 jack and then use a breakaway plug for the headphone jack.

One of the biggest problems I see, is that Apple itself is inconsistent in ther own so-called movement. If we're truly going to replace the headphone jack with another standard that will become just as ubiquitous, then it should be just that.

Apple then, should have USB-C on the iPhone and iPad, not their proprietary lightning port. It's even more obvious, with the fact that they clearly voted for USB-C on the MacBooks.

But there's the problem- none of these big companies, least of all Apple is really interested in simplifying things for the consumer and making a new standard that benefits everyone. Apple will push lightning, others USB-C, and (I fear) others still something else.

What a freakin' mess it will be if eventually you go to buy a pair of wired headphones in a post headphone jack world, and it'll be some dumb split of "Opps, nope, I need an iPhone compatible set of headphones, not the other kind! Oh but they don't have the pair I want in anything other than Samsung compatible. Oh, here's a nice pair in USB-C... but that's on the way out, now everyone must switch to USB-X... unless of course you need a brand-compatible pair...."

Eech. What a mess. And it won't surprise me to eventually see it something like that.

 

[HeXen]

Hell even I have wireless earbuds along with HP's, I don't see the point of jacks going forward. I now have 3 BT headphones, 2 of which are gaming HP's and I really love my JBL wireless earbuds. The retractable cord makes it even more convenient plus I don't have to look which one is left or right since the neck piece only goes on one way.

 

[lxskllr]

Hell even I have wireless earbuds along with HP's, I don't see the point of jacks going forward.

I doubt I use headphones ten times per year. What I do use is my 2.1 speaker set in my bedroom, my 5.1 speaker set in my family room, the cheap fm transmitter in the truck, the cheap cb-like handset I got at the dollar store and potentially, any set of speakers I find in the wild. I can also charge my phone while using any of them, and it's still waterproof and no dongles to keep track of. Apple(and any other company that does likewise) can shove their jackless phones up their ass til they choke on it.

 

[Zaap]

That's great for people that like BT headphones (and the presense of a jack doesn't negate using BT headphones) but many people simply don't like wireless headphones. Both for sound quality, and the clunkiness of many of them, and the fact (personally) I hate having yet another thing that needs to be charged and therefore has a time-limited use.

Wired headphones for me are superior in a lot of ways. If during rigorous activity they fall out of my ears, no biggie- the cord is a natural feature of easily retrieving them.

Also, much as we're all spoiled in the first world- everything, everything, everything can be powered and charged endlessly because resources are endless- much of the world doesn't live that way.

There's much of the world that's just not going to start sporting expensive BT headphones (or speakers) anytime soon vs. cheap wired earbuds that practically grow on trees. I see no point in making all those people have to stick with 'lesser' technology as we move into a stupid "everyone can just easily go wireless with everything!" phase other than some mega companies want to gouge more money.

 

[jhansman]

Find me a set of BT earbuds I can sleep with that, well, I can sleep with. My Sony wired earbuds are so low profile, I can lie on my side and they don't create any bulk in my ear that is uncomfortable, and the sound is good. I'm on my third pair of BT earbuds (which I use only at the gym), and they are way too bulky to lie on. I know that BT receivers are getting smaller, but not small enough yet. So yeah, a headphone jack is a must in any phone I buy. That removing the jack is promoted as some sort of advancement in design is just dumb. Even Apple had enough sense to include an adapter for the power jack you can plug into.

 

[Oyeve]

I wouldn't mind all wireless if the sound was of great quality. The problem is idiot people who say it sounds good enough. No, it doesn't. Bt sounds like ass.

 

[desura]

Someone explain this: why do the new MacBooks use USB-c For charging? Why not at least use lightning? Or a smaller MagSafe? Or a lightning cable with a MagSafe break Off?

 

[Commodus]

Someone explain this: why do the new MacBooks use USB-c For charging? Why not at least use lightning? Or a smaller MagSafe? Or a lightning cable with a MagSafe break Off?

Probably because they were going to need USB-C for peripherals regardless, so they might as well have one more port for those times you're not plugged into power. There's also the question of how much power Lightning was designed to support. It can clearly handle up to an iPad Pro, but It might not be up to the demands of a MacBook Pro.

Personally, I would've preferred having a smaller MagSafe connector (if possible) and as many USB-C ports as there are now, but I can see the rationale behind what happened.

 

[jhansman]

Bt sounds like ass.

Wrong. I just got out of my car, and the track I was streaming had enough bottom to shake the windows. Trust me, my audio rig is good, but not great. Bazooka passive sub, 4 Infinity speakers, Pioneer amp and head unit, all in an aging Accord. When I stream FLAC or WAV, I get it all. If you BT sounds like ass, check your gear (including the device doing the BT transmission).

 

[WelshBloke]

When I stream FLAC or WAV, I get it all.

I don't think that you do. BT uses compression doesn't it? So you're not actually streaming FLAC or WAV.

It might very well be "good enough" but that's a different argument.

 

[Zaap]

Wrong. I just got out of my car, and the track I was streaming had enough bottom to shake the windows.

Not at all a comment on the quality level of your audio system, but 'measures' like this astound me sometimes. Bass frequencies shake things. It's why you'll hear the thump of a neighbor's bass through the walls, long before the high end. Has nothing to do with the quaulity of the audio being played. That bass shakes your windows says *NOTHING* about the actual audio quality.

If anything, midrange detail is a far better indicator. And actually lower volumes that still retain detail are better indicators than shit just played loud.

Just sayin'- (anecdote, sure) every time someone's tried to tell me "look how AWESOME my stereo sounds!" just by turning up until the bass was rattling things, it's also every single time sounded like absolute and total ass to me.

 

[rbk123]

Has nothing to do with the quaulity of the audio being played. That bass shakes your windows says *NOTHING* about the actual audio quality.

Not to mention what does BT audio quality in a car have to do with BT audio quality in headphones?

 

[Oyeve]

The top three posts reflect what I was going to respond. Thanks guys!

 

[Rifter]

Im just going to leave this here for the people who are still under the false impression that BT has enough bandwidth.

http://www.sereneaudio.com/blog/how-good-is-bluetooth-audio-at-its-best

 

[Red Storm]

So I now have an iPhone 7 Plus (work issued phone)...

I left my lightning ear phones at home, then I realized I had the adapter with me at work so I thought all was good, right? Wrong. Plug in my standard headphones with the adapter and I hear this constant pulsing every few seconds that interrupts any audio that is playing. The headphones work just fine on my laptop and iPad. Thanks Apple.

What's funny is that the pulsing sounds like my iPhone is saying "Beats.... Beats.... Beats..."

 

[IronWing]

As a wise soul pointed out in another thread, Apple's move sent a bunch of payment processors back to the drawing board, boosting Apple Pay.

 

[Red Storm]

As a wise soul pointed out in another thread, Apple's move sent a bunch of payment processors back to the drawing board, boosting Apple Pay.

How so? Almost every pay processor I've seen is an iPad. I've seen some iPhones, but very few compared to iPads. Even those with phones could easily continue to use their headphone jack equipped iPhones for a few more years.

 

[Yakk]

Yeah payment processors have a number of years before apple discontinues all phones without the, very useful but cowardly, socket.