Say goodbye to headphone jack

[eshropshire]

Uh .. Cool I guess? I mean yes cars before this year can have it (I never said they couldn't) but usually in the past years it was more of an upgrade or if you got this higher priced model you would get it. Now a days from what I saw even the base models have it.

I had a 2014 Pathfinder that had Bluetooth for calls, but would not do Bluetooth audio. Nissan gave some lame excuse on how hard it would be to support all phones for Bluetooth audio. Main reason it did not work was Nissan wanted you to spend $2K on an upgrade with navigation that included bluetooth audio. My Wife's Hyundai's Bluetooth works great on all out phones.

After the warranty ran out on my Pathfinder (worried about future expenses - Pathfinder had quite a bit of expensive warranty work completed) and moving to a snowy climate, I sold the Pathfinder to get a 4x4. I bought a fully equipped low miles Ford Explorer with the much maligned MS Sync system. The bluetooth worked great with my Note 4 and now works great with my Note 8.

 

[Almeuit]

I had a 2014 Pathfinder that had Bluetooth for calls, but would not do Bluetooth audio. Nissan gave some lame excuse on how hard it would be to support all phones for Bluetooth audio. Main reason it did not work was Nissan wanted you to spend $2K on an upgrade with navigation that included bluetooth audio. My Wife's Hyundai's Bluetooth works great on all out phones.

After the warranty ran out on my Pathfinder (worried about future expenses - Pathfinder had quite a bit of expensive warranty work completed) and moving to a snowy climate, I sold the Pathfinder to get a 4x4. I bought a fully equipped low miles Ford Explorer with the much maligned MS Sync system. The bluetooth worked great with my Note 4 and now works great with my Note 8.

Yeah every truck I looked at had it without question. I have a 2017 F150 now with Sync 3 I think?

 

[Aquila]

I know for some people it's not used. But think about the majority that do use them, millions. Sorry not sorry?

And 100% of the millions who do use them .... can still use them! Isn't that exciting!

 

[Zendroid1]

And 100% of the millions who do use them .... can still use them! Isn't that exciting!

But then they will have to lug around the dongle when they lug around their headphones already. It would make too much sense to just connect it and leave it.

 

[Mike Dee]

And 100% of the millions who do use them .... can still use them! Isn't that exciting!

This thread is jacked up

sorry...couldn't resist

 

[flyingkytez]

I definitely see a mix out in the wild. I see people using the dongle (most people I know w/ the dongle use the tip dsignori described a few posts up), others using regular headphone jacks with older phones, and bluetooth. I never see just headphone jacks. It varies from person to person.

For my personal family / friends -- they all use BT.

Strange. I very rarely use Bluetooth, mainly because it is inconvenient enabling/disabling and connecting/disconnecting and sometimes unreliable connection and some battery drain. I don't know anyone that uses Bluetooth, none of my family nor friends. Does that mean Bluetooth should be eliminated? No, because some use it.

 

[Aquila]

Strange. I very rarely use Bluetooth, mainly because it is inconvenient enabling/disabling and connecting/disconnecting and sometimes unreliable connection and some battery drain. I don't know anyone that uses Bluetooth, none of my family nor friends. Does that mean Bluetooth should be eliminated? No, because some use it.

False choice. No one is eliminating wired headphones. They still work. The only thing that is changing is which port it connects to. Instead of 2 ports, now there is 1 port. Eliminating BT would be ridiculous, so would eliminating wired headphones. Neither one of those things is happening.

 

[Almeuit]

Strange. I very rarely use Bluetooth, mainly because it is inconvenient enabling/disabling and connecting/disconnecting and sometimes unreliable connection and some battery drain. I don't know anyone that uses Bluetooth, none of my family nor friends. Does that mean Bluetooth should be eliminated? No, because some use it.

Exactly so -- use what works for you. If this phone has no headphone jack simply don't buy it. Go buy a phone that does, right? So I guess what is your point with all of this?

You said the same stuff about removable batteries as well but sorry the manufacturers are going to do things that make sense to them -- not for the few people that want said feature. Few people < the masses in their eyes. Hell just look at the V30. Everyone called the V series the "Power user" phone for years and now .. It has no removable battery. Same as the Note... and the Note still sells millions. I think Samsung has their answer if that one feature was truly used by the masses or just a small percentage.

 

[flyingkytez]

How does the FCC chairman expect FM to work on phones without wired headphones attached? The wire acts as the antenna. If headphones aren't attached to the phone, there's no FM antenna. As you mentioned before, an internal antenna is really the best solution. In a time of disaster it's silly to assume everyone will have their phone and their headphones.

Perhaps they need to hire an electrical engineer to head the FCC rather than an attorney. No offense intended to the attorneys in the crowd but an EE degree goes a long way in understanding antennas.

In case of emergency, FM radio isn't needed. They have imbedded software on phones that sends out amber alerts and emergency messages. Though manufactures/carriers are trying to do away with FM tuner because no one is really "using it". I still think FM is fantastic and has great uses, especially when outdoors in areas with no cellular connection or at the gym and you want to listen to the TV, or sports games to listen to commentary. Old tech still works great. The 3.5mm tech still works great. Some tech needs to be retired, I get it, but not the 3.5mm jack.

BTW Steve Jobs (father of smartphones) would be pissed about the headphone jack removal. He ain't tryna use bluetooth! If you see his demonstrations, he gets pissed when the wireless connections wasn't working well. He grew up using the headphone jack. He invented the iPod and iPad. He made the first successful real smartphone with a headphone jack. He changed the music industry with iTunes and the headphone jack. Apple's new CEO is a disgrace. And Google? Let this explain:

https://youtu.be/YpdnvFx__lI

 

[Aquila]

The 3.5mm tech still works great. Some tech needs to be retired, I get it, but not the 3.5mm jack.

It's not about retiring it as if it's become useless, it's that it has become redundant.

If a phone comes with a headphone jack and a USB Type C port, there is redundancy. The USB type C port can do everything a headphone jack can do, and much more. The 3.5 mm port can only do 1 thing that USB type C can, and it cannot do all the other things it can do.

So everyone with wired headphones can still use them. And everyone with wired headphones can choose to buy a phone without a dedicated ports or they can choose to buy one with a dedicated port. But whichever way they choose, the headphones that they currently own will still work.

 

[Mike Dee]

It's not about retiring it as if it's become useless, it's that it has become redundant.

If a phone comes with a headphone jack and a USB Type C port, there is redundancy. The USB type C port can do everything a headphone jack can do, and much more. The 3.5 mm port can only do 1 thing that USB type C can, and it cannot do all the other things it can do.

So everyone with wired headphones can still use them. And everyone with wired headphones can choose to buy a phone without a dedicated ports or they can choose to buy one with a dedicated port. But whichever way they choose, the headphones that they currently own will still work.

No one would be complaining if the very first music players and smartphones never used a jack from day one had a proprietary connector instead.

 

[flyingkytez]

It's not about retiring it as if it's become useless, it's that it has become redundant.

If a phone comes with a headphone jack and a USB Type C port, there is redundancy. The USB type C port can do everything a headphone jack can do, and much more. The 3.5 mm port can only do 1 thing that USB type C can, and it cannot do all the other things it can do.

So everyone with wired headphones can still use them. And everyone with wired headphones can choose to buy a phone without a dedicated ports or they can choose to buy one with a dedicated port. But whichever way they choose, the headphones that they currently own will still work.

Redundant? But it works. And it can still work for another 50 years. The IR blaster on TV remotes still works and can for another 50 years.

I get you can listen to audio via USB C. But it will take a very long time for 3.5mm jacks to be extinct because it's still universal and used. The problem is convenience and using two ports at the same time. I'll stop complaining if they added 2 ports, maybe turn it into like a laptop and have multiple ports. Imagine a laptop with only 1 USB port, no headphone jack, and no way of charging except for that same USB port. Buy a dongle or USB hub? Defeats the dang purpose of convenience. Same concept.

 

[Mike Dee]

Redundant? But it works. And it can still work for another 50 years. The IR blaster on TV remotes still works and can for another 50 years.

I get you can listen to audio via USB C. But it will take a very long time for 3.5mm jacks to be extinct because it's still universal and used. The problem is convenience and using two ports at the same time. I'll stop complaining if they added 2 ports, maybe turn it into like a laptop and have multiple ports. Imagine a laptop with only 1 USB port, no headphone jack, and no way of charging except for that same USB port. Buy a dongle or USB hub? Defeats the dang purpose of convenience. Same concept.

Anything can work forever if we never progress. When pagers and cell phones first came you were laughed if you owned one. People felt that only drug dealers and doctors needed them. Bottled water was a joke....who would buy water in a bottle? I can go on and on with examples of change we did not need that is now basic necessity.

 

[modifier]

In case of emergency, FM radio isn't needed.

Don't tell me, tell the FCC chair. I'm not the one who doesn't get it.

BTW Steve Jobs (father of smartphones) would be pissed about the headphone jack removal.

Interesting facts: Apple wasn't the first smartphone by a long shot and wasn't the first to remove the headphone jack in a smartphone.

Fun fact: Humans can't "talk to the dead" despite what movies and carnivals lead some to believe. Trying to guess what some dead guy might or might not opine is impossible. Using said guesswork to refute an argument is also impossible.

 

[flyingkytez]

Anything can work forever if we never progress. When pagers and cell phones first came you were laughed if you owned one. People felt that only drug dealers and doctors needed them. Bottled water was a joke....who would buy water in a bottle? I can go on and on with examples of change we did not need that is now basic necessity.

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.

 

[Aquila]

But it works. And it can still work for another 50 years.

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.

 

[Aquila]

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.

The tech is improved. What exactly do you think that you mean by this?

 

[flyingkytez]

The tech is improved. What exactly do you think that you mean by this?

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.

 

[Aquila]

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.

Wait, you think the jack is what makes v20 and v30 audio good?

 

[Aquila]

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

It doesn't need a dramatic improvement. RCA cables are from the 1950's. Since then we've had VGA, DVI, Mini-VGA, SDI, MHL, Mini-DVI, Micro-DVI, HDMI, Mini HDMI, Micro HDMI, DisplayPort, Mini DisplayPort, USB Type C, etc, etc. None of them are night and day over the prior version, they're all incremental improvements to either speed, quality, adding sound, improving the usability, etc. TV's and monitors improve, cables improve, connectors improve, content improves, everything about this evolves and the redundant things tend to get left behind as adoption of newer products increases. At some point a line has to be drawn where we figure a whole lot of people either a) already upgraded or b) are about to. Right now we're pretty darned close to that line.