Say goodbye to headphone jack

[Mike Dee]

Where is the better alternative replacement? That's right, there's none, no major tech advancements actually. Could they have improved the audio via USB C and still kept the 3.5mm Jack? Yes. I don't understand the ideology of this being futuristic and innovative. There will be soon a mountain of e waste, mostly working headphones in the dump where kids melt to salvage gold. Harming the environment plus not improving technology at the same time.

I don't even know where to begin so I'm not. It's just a jack....you actually don't have to buy the Pixel or the iPhone or the HTC... The LG still has it if it bugs you that much.

 

[Laura Knotek]

Dramatic improvement? Not really. Better than 3.5mm jack? Can be subjective. We'll see which is better, the 3.5mm jack from the V30 vs any smartphone in the market. The V20 was king up until then.

BTW dramatic improvement is like RCA connection to HDMI. If you replace it, replace it with something much greater and better.

The DAC not the jack is what makes the V20 sound better.

 

[PGrey]

No one is talking about the inherent battery issues too, my 6P takes a BIG dive, if I forget and leave BT on these days (ever since 7.0 really).

I think wireless headphones are nifty, as an OPTION, but not as a requirement, which is more or less what adding a BT dongle is, it turns them into a requirement.
I have two old pairs of Bose 3.5mm headphones, the sound quality is awesome, and hard to compete with, except perhaps with a new Bluetooth set of Bose, or similarly priced units.

Could I found a dongle that would reproduce the same quality, consistently? Maybe. Or maybe not, a lot of the dongles don't publish any audiophile (no I'm not one, but I know how to read some of it) info, I might have to buy several, to get the same level of quality still.
Plus, it's ONE more device I have to keep track of the charge-status, and for what reason, that's really the question, if you ask me.

I'm a huge h/w progression person, I worked for years coding h/w level tests, and later on designing the same, and furthering things in this area, so I'm not opposed to things moving forward.
In this area though, I feel this as a backward move, EXCEPT in the fact they don't require a wire to connect (the BT option).

 

[Aquila]

No one is talking about the inherent battery issues too, my 6P takes a BIG dive, if I forget and leave BT on these days (ever since 7.0 really).

I think wireless headphones are nifty, as an OPTION, but not as a requirement, which is more or less what adding a BT dongle is, it turns them into a requirement.
I have two old pairs of Bose 3.5mm headphones, the sound quality is awesome, and hard to compete with, except perhaps with a new Bluetooth set of Bose, or similarly priced units.

Could I found a dongle that would reproduce the same quality, consistently? Maybe. Or maybe not, a lot of the dongles don't publish any audiophile (no I'm not one, but I know how to read some of it) info, I might have to buy several, to get the same level of quality still.
Plus, it's ONE more device I have to keep track of the charge-status, and for what reason, that's really the question, if you ask me.

I'm a huge h/w progression person, I worked for years coding h/w level tests, and later on designing the same, and furthering things in this area, so I'm not opposed to things moving forward.
In this area though, I feel this as a backward move, EXCEPT in the fact they don't require a wire to connect (the BT option).

The choice isn't 3.5mm jack or BlueTooth. Your current Bose headphones will still work perfectly well with this device.

 

[Mike Dee]

No one is talking about the inherent battery issues too, my 6P takes a BIG dive, if I forget and leave BT on these days (ever since 7.0 really).

I think wireless headphones are nifty, as an OPTION, but not as a requirement, which is more or less what adding a BT dongle is, it turns them into a requirement.
I have two old pairs of Bose 3.5mm headphones, the sound quality is awesome, and hard to compete with, except perhaps with a new Bluetooth set of Bose, or similarly priced units.

Could I found a dongle that would reproduce the same quality, consistently? Maybe. Or maybe not, a lot of the dongles don't publish any audiophile (no I'm not one, but I know how to read some of it) info, I might have to buy several, to get the same level of quality still.
Plus, it's ONE more device I have to keep track of the charge-status, and for what reason, that's really the question, if you ask me.

I'm a huge h/w progression person, I worked for years coding h/w level tests, and later on designing the same, and furthering things in this area, so I'm not opposed to things moving forward.
In this area though, I feel this as a backward move, EXCEPT in the fact they don't require a wire to connect (the BT option).

There's a dongle that does not require charging that will allow to use your headphones.

 

[chanchan05]

No one is talking about the inherent battery issues too, my 6P takes a BIG dive, if I forget and leave BT on these days (ever since 7.0 really).

I think wireless headphones are nifty, as an OPTION, but not as a requirement, which is more or less what adding a BT dongle is, it turns them into a requirement.
I have two old pairs of Bose 3.5mm headphones, the sound quality is awesome, and hard to compete with, except perhaps with a new Bluetooth set of Bose, or similarly priced units.

Could I found a dongle that would reproduce the same quality, consistently? Maybe. Or maybe not, a lot of the dongles don't publish any audiophile (no I'm not one, but I know how to read some of it) info, I might have to buy several, to get the same level of quality still.
Plus, it's ONE more device I have to keep track of the charge-status, and for what reason, that's really the question, if you ask me.

I'm a huge h/w progression person, I worked for years coding h/w level tests, and later on designing the same, and furthering things in this area, so I'm not opposed to things moving forward.
In this area though, I feel this as a backward move, EXCEPT in the fact they don't require a wire to connect (the BT option).

Youncan configure tasker to turn off Bluetooth when devices are disconnected I think.

 

[flyingkytez]

There's a dongle that does not require charging that will allow to use your headphones.

Someone should invent a keychain that converts the 3.5mm jack to USB C so you don't ever lose it or forget to bring it. Million dollar business right there, patent pending.

Edit: dang looks like a Chinese OEM already beat me to it. Not actually sure if it really works. But looks convenient sorta, probably sounds terrible.

 

[flyingkytez]

The DAC not the jack is what makes the V20 sound better.

But it sounds great. WITHOUT sacrificing the widely used 3.5mm jack. More innovative than Apple or HTC, saving us money and making our old tech still work. Don't mention the dongle, I know and nobody actually likes it.

 

[flyingkytez]

That's not how the tech world works. Otherwise we'd still be using VHS, 8-Track, payphones on every other corner, cell phones wouldn't exist at all, etc.

Here's the deal. People want smaller, thinner phones with less bezels, better, huger cameras, more sensors, blah, blah. So they want a smaller device, with more in it and many of the things going into it are larger than ever before. That's when you take a look at the product and say, "what's redundant?" When you do that, you come across a few things that are very obviously redundant.

1) headphone jack - replaced by USB C port
2) microSD slot - replaced by sufficient internal storage, readily available access to the web and USB C port
3) physical navigation buttons - replaced in 2011 by more versatile software keys

It also replaced microUSB because of microUSB's limitations.

etc, etc, you get the idea. or should.

The funny thing is, this is exactly why we WANTED USB Type C. It's super versatile and can be used to transmit audio, video, data, power, who knows what else... Just being reversible wasn't the point, it's that it brings access to all the things (which still require a physical connection) without the need for a whole bunch of cords coming out of the device. Remember tablets with mini HDMI ports, etc? This kills the need for that.

But there is only 1 port. So one thing goes in at a time. Power users won't like that. USB C Y-splitter dongle... does that even exist? Main thing is inconvenience mostly. Yeah your old headphones will still work (with a dongle). Gotta carry that dongle everywhere you go. Inconvenient, plain and simple.

Using external OTG drive? Really? Would it hurt to add a microSD slot? My $20 cheapo Tracfone even has one, and I must tell you it's mighty darn useful, old phone turned into a portable music powerhouse. Google wants you to use their cloud. Can't, my internet can't download/upload fast enough, plus I don't have unlimited internet. Nothing innovative, just inconvenient.

Physical buttons and software keys can be subjective. I personally preferred Samsung's old home button and nav keys, but that's just me. I bet many would choose front buttons VS awkwardly placed FPS on back if they had a choice. But the sacrifice is okay because it made the screen to body ratio better, understandable.

Micro USB to USB C was good because there was a better alternative and vastly improved tech. Removing the headphone jack was a bad move because there was no better alternative, in fact you get 1 missing port. You just gotta accept it or buy old/different phones, or carry the dongle. Do a nationwide poll and see who wins (hint: headphone jack would).

 

[Almeuit]

I believe we are done here. As said above it's a done deal and the Pixel won't have it anymore. Going in circles about the dongle versus no dongle seems to literally being doing just that.. circles. Some offer ways to get around but it keeps going back to they're annoying.

If you want to discuss it further head over the phone wars area and you can make a thread to have a war about it (or ask me and I can make a thread if need be). For the Pixel it is a done deal -- the phone won't have it so it's either deal with the dongle / Bluetooth or look elsewhere.

Thanks all.