How do you feel about smartphones removing the 3.5mm audio jack?

Originally Posted by DDukesXXX 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.

the jacks themselves do not "produce" sound at all.
if anything, headphones that connect directly to the c-type connector might require a D/A converter right inside the headphones, as opposed to inside the phone, which would generally speak for their sound quality, not against it.

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

i'm with you on that one.
always skeptical with bluetooth headphones.
also audio compression == less quality.

Originally Posted by ondoho also audio compression == less quality.

There is a newer and better compression that preserves more of the audio’s full range called aptX. To get this higher quality sound, the devices must support aptX in their Bluetooth profiles.

I still prefer phones with a 3.5mm jack so that I can use my earphones without the hassle of using an adapter.

Originally Posted by donwell I still prefer phones with a 3.5mm jack so that I can use my earphones without the hassle of using an adapter.

Soon, you have to buy connectors for the connectors. lol

What happen to the keep it simple philosophy that steve jobs empathizes on it's devices. I guess it went to the grave with him.

Originally Posted by DDukesXXX Soon, you have to buy connectors for the connectors. lol What happen to the keep it simple philosophy that steve jobs empathizes on it's devices. I guess it went to the grave with him.

Oh but it is simpler. You don't have to find out in which hole you have to insert the connector. No chance of putting it upside down. No risk of inserting it in the mains outlet. No thinking whether your 3.5mm plug fits into that 3.5 mm hole.

Steve Jobs meant simplicity, but not that kind of simplicity like inserting plugs into holes.

jlinkels

Originally Posted by jlinkels Oh but it is simpler. You don't have to find out in which hole you have to insert the connector. No chance of putting it upside down. No risk of inserting it in the mains outlet. No thinking whether your 3.5mm plug fits into that 3.5 mm hole. Steve Jobs meant simplicity, but not that kind of simplicity like inserting plugs into holes. jlinkels

I meant if you don't have a type-c headphone. You have to buy a typc-c to 3.5mm connector. Thus an additional expense that could have been avoided if the phone had a 3.5mm jack already.

A headphones/earbuds plugged into a 3mm jack can rotate as needed. If anything's going to break, it's far more than likely going to be the wiring at the end of the jack (poor strain relief). On the other hand, I've heard more than one person complain about USB-C connectors being damaged--resulting in a trashed phone--when that connector is bent too far. It seems that the connector to the plugged-in device fares OK in those cases. But the USB-C jack connection to the circuit board? That's that fails. Phones are thin enough. Retain the 3mm jack.

any physical connector on a modern chinese electronics device is prone to damage, because they simply aren't built durable. soldered straight onto the circuit board etc.

with that in mind, reducing the number of physical connections from 2 to 1 makes sense...
oh don't you just hate those ever-thinner, ever-cheaper "smart" phones.

Originally Posted by DDukesXXX Soon, you have to buy connectors for the connectors. lol

Like the newer Macs. It's not just you but your employer winds up having to buy all sorts of
adapters and/or docking stations/hubs to use the so-called legacy devices you need on your desk. Or replace all those, too. It's insane.

Originally Posted by ondoho any physical connector on a modern chinese electronics device is prone to damage, because they simply aren't built durable. soldered straight onto the circuit board etc.

I think the 3mm jack/plug combination is sturdier than the USB-C. At least the 3mm plug can rotate to remove one degree of freedom that could result in damage. At least that's what I figure but my favored earbuds have a 90-degree connector to it doesn't protrude very far from the side of the phone. Straight-in connectors wouldn't work as well in relieving that stress. (That 90-degree connector does make it harder to use the earbuds with my Otterbox-protected phone, though.)

I thought about this and honestly I don't really care. If they lost the jack, I would have to get another set of earbuds or get an adapter to usb-c but that's no biggie. Losing the jack would mean a little more space in the phone internals but probably not much. Doesn't really matter to me either way but I still want a wired connection because sometimes I listen with my studio headphones and not just ear buds.

Originally Posted by rnturn I think the 3mm jack/plug combination is sturdier than the USB-C. At least the 3mm plug can rotate to remove one degree of freedom that could result in damage. At least that's what I figure but my favored earbuds have a 90-degree connector to it doesn't protrude very far from the side of the phone. Straight-in connectors wouldn't work as well in relieving that stress. (That 90-degree connector does make it harder to use the earbuds with my Otterbox-protected phone, though.)

i was playing devil's advocate.
point is, having as little physical connectors and/or switches, that's the trend for the reasons i pointed out: making them good is way too expensive.

i am still playing devil's advocate.

for the record, i hate that trend.
show me a phone that has proper, well-made plugs & buttons. like this one - you could drop those on a cement floor, repeatedly, without any damage. or open beer bottles with them (not joking, i've seen the marks it leaves on the plastic more than once).
unfortunately they do not have 3.5mm jacks.

I wouldn't buy a phone without a headphone socket. You can pry my Sennheisers from my cold dead hands.

I'm finding that my headphone connections keep loosening, wearing out so that they stop making contact reliably, etc. It's something I'm going to consider when I ponder this.