Debate: Do we still need а headphone jack on our phones?

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MikeManic
MikeManic
Arena Apprentice
• 1y ago
↵ullokey said:

I thought Motorola removed it way back with their Moto Z

Actually, it was the "Oppo Finder" back in 2012 who was the first company to remove the Aux port from a phone. They did it mostly for bragging rights since they could then make the phones slimmer than Apple...

So then Apple told Samsung "Hold my Beer".

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sgodsell
sgodsell
Arena Legend
• 1y agoedited

I always liked more things on a smartphone, like IR blaster for TVs, and stereo systems, or some other media, or camera equipment that uses an IR remote. It would be nice if they put multiple USB ports on smartphones as well, well more than just one port.

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Krjal
Krjal
Arena Apprentice
• 1y ago

I still use mine and any phone without it would have to be perfect in every other way for me to consider.

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Mariyan Slavov
Mariyan Slavov
Phonearena team
Original poster
• 1y ago
↵fatTony said:

Looks like manufacturers have been successful at convincing us that we don't need them in order to sell more Bluetooth headphones.

That's one way to look at it. But on the other hand, maybe people are buying wireless anyway...

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Mariyan Slavov
Mariyan Slavov
Phonearena team
Original poster
• 1y ago
↵eyeflaps said:

Yes. I won't buy a phone unless it has one. Companies like apple and Samsung need to stop "innovating" by removing features. They removed the headphone jack and called it innovation so people could use lighting/usbC headphones instead. Stupid. Now the spot where the headphone jack used to be is a smooth flat surface. They could have put it there anyways. It's pointless. Stop buying phones without.

I'm afraid the majority of users simply don't care about the headphone jack anymore... I might be wrong, though. Just a feeling that we're in a sort of bubble here...

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Mariyan Slavov
Mariyan Slavov
Phonearena team
Original poster
• 1y ago
↵Takeharu said:

Not gonna lie, I hated wireless headphones at first. I am not exactly an audiophile but I do care a lot about good sounding audio and I'm not afraid to pay for it. I was using Westone and Shure IEM's all the way until I got my Note 20 Ultra in 2020, my first phone without a headphone jack. I was stubborn and kept using wired headphones with a dongle but the inconvenience grew bigger and bigger. Forgetting the dongle, losing it and the biggest one: not being able to charge and listen to music at the same time.


I finally caved in 2021 and truth be told it has been surprisingly fine. Sure wireless doesn't sound as good as wired but it's fine. I'm not doing critical listening anyway when I'm on the move. Charging isn't really a problem for me so yeah.


I still wish it were an option though so we could chose

I had the same experience, fought the Bluetooth revolution with teeth and nails, and then eventually gave up. I sometimes use my Audio Technica ATH-50 headphones when I'm at home. They sound surprisingly good with Tidal's hi-res audio. But other than that, it's wireless for convenience.

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Mariyan Slavov
Mariyan Slavov
Phonearena team
Original poster
• 1y ago
↵MikeManic said:

Let's weigh the pros and cons of this topic.

Pros for the Aux Jack:

3.5mm Aux cord headphones are price effective

Better quality from wired headphones

Never need to charge the headphones

Can still charge your phone while having your headphones plugged in

3.5mm Adapters exist for studio grade headphones


Pros for not having the Jack:

1 less hole for water to get into the phone

No wires to worry about getting tangled

The 3.5mm hole limited how thin/light/sleek the phone could get

Batteries can be larger without the 3.5mm jack


Honestly, I'd settle for a using another port (Like another C-Type) to plug your headphones into, not only to listen to your music/call, but also charge the headphones at the same time. So a Phone would have 2 USB Type-C ports, or 2 Lightning ports (For Apple's closed ecosystem). Listen to music, while charging the headphones, and charging the phone. All at the same time. Win Win in my book.

That's a great breakdown! Dongles with both ports do exist, but it's a bit cumbersome to carry one at all times. Asus (and other manufacturers of gaming phones) have models with two USB-C ports, but it's a fringe-case scenario. By the way, the Lightning port will be gone from the iPhone 15 series onward.

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Mariyan Slavov
Mariyan Slavov
Phonearena team
Original poster
• 1y ago
↵sgodsell said:

I always liked more things on a smartphone, like IR blaster for TVs, and stereo systems, or some other media, or camera equipment that uses an IR remote. It would be nice if they put multiple USB ports on smartphones as well, well more than just one port.

I remember using the IR blaster on my Huawei Mate 20 Pro a lot back in the day. I wonder, though, do normal (average, casual? non-tech nerds?) people use such features?

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Mariyan Slavov
Mariyan Slavov
Phonearena team
Original poster
• 1y ago
↵Crispin_Gatieza said:

Better to have it and not need it…….that’s always been my argument for the 9mm.


As for the topic at hand, we don’t NEED the wired connection but it’s infinitely better. If you’ve owned a higher end LG phone then you know what I mean, the sound quality is night and day compared to Bluetooth. Anyone who says it doesn’t really matter, that’s fine. Just never write a review about a phone and complain that the audio is not that good, it doesn’t really matter right?

Yeah, LG used to put nice DACs in their phones; that's true.

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Attila91
Attila91
Arena Apprentice
• 1y ago

It is not a matter if we need or not, we want it because of quality!

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