Oh, I can definitely hear the difference between wired and Bluetooth. I only use Bluetooth when the music is just meant to be in the background and I don't care about fidelity.

I use Bluetooth for listening on my iPhone, so I don't miss the 3.5mm jack, but then I only listen to phone calls. My music is on an iPod, and that still has the jack...

There is no reasonable reason to prefer a quality decrease to a slightly "thicker" device. 3.5mm for me.

One has to be careful with replacing something as ubiquitous as a 3.5 mm jack. It is not just on the headphone output of phones, it is the interface to practically every audio-related device.

It is something else as moving to USB on keyboards, mice or printers. There was only one keyboard per computer and it is single purpose. You don't want to use the keyboard in -say- your car. (Hopefully not!)

And moving 5V power supply interfaces to USB format is a delight. I never had so many generally usable power supplies. Don't ask where they come from. But that is a move contrary to removing 3.5mm jacks, isn't it?

The fact that phone designers don't like to have a 3.5mm jacks on their sacred phones does not mean they can force the world to move to a different interface for audio. Correction -- it should not mean that. Of course it will happen just like that.

jlinkels

actually i wonder where you're seeing this?
some links?

I've had at least two phones that had a proprietary socket for everything including charging, with an adaptor for a 3.5mm jack. The first was an annoyance and (iirc) I lost the adaptor, the second stopped working after a while as the socket became worn. I am not convinced the USBC port with its umpteen tiny connections would be any more robust.

I love having a USBx port on my phone for data and charging purposes*, but for listening to stuff (including calls) while I'm walking around and the phone's getting jiggled about, give me the tried and true jack any day.

If a manufacturer has to have One Port To Rule Them All I'd far rather they went the other way: stick the four USB2 connections in a 3-stripe jack (like they should have been to start with IMO) and provide an adaptor for that.



*but don't get me started on MTP. Or its implementation in Mint.

you didn't specify if this was on an android phone.
it's well known that iphones do this.

One was a feature phone from about 2007, the other was an older thickphone. My only smartphone so far is Android and has both sockets.

I've only just stopped using desktops & am now using laptops - my phone is plugged into the wall at home.

A 3.5mm jack would be essential for me, as I use proper headphones when I want to listen to something privately - with wifi - somebody would surely be able to capture the signal, not very secure to my mind.

3.5mm for me always

that's your opinion; but OP expressed concern about manufacturers removing the 3.5mm jack completely...

OnePlus has decided to drop the 3.5mm port with their next toy device as well. They were among the last ones. Damn.

It is time to start the next poll: How do you feel about smartphones removing the physical SIM slot? In case you missed the announcement: Apple wants do do away with that convenience as well.

jlinkels

here's the problem:
the manufacturing process of these devices is tightened to be as economical (read: cheap) as possible.
every single physical connector or switch is by orders of magnitude more expensive than something that can be solved with software.
i have had problems with headphone jacks, charger connectors, sim slots and on/off switches. but never with the circuitry itself.
it's sad.
china is going to get us this way, and we deserve it.
we should all go and buy something made in your home country and feel what electronic devices actually really cost.

Well, I believe they should continue to use 3.5mm jacks because they produce better sound output and there are not that many type-C headphones out there.

Second, there are many articles online that debate how safe bluetooth radiation exposure is on the long run.

I do use bluetooth but mostly through bluetooth speakers.