Real Reason for Removing Headphone Jacks

K-Moss

I noticed the official explanations about why headphone jacks were removed don't hold up to analysis and scrutiny.

Having a headphone jack and being able to use wired headphones/mic without a dongle and without making use of the USB-C clearly is superior versus not having the option.

Samsung and others have shown headphone jacks don't negate high IP ratings.

Nor is the space gained from removing this jack being put to great use.

So I'm curious if anyone has any real answers about this besides an attempt to make more money from dongles and BT/wireless headphones.

Personally, I always use my phone with a wired headset with mic. Works very well and allows me to keep the phone away from my head especially during moderate and long calls.

I've read of all kinds of issues with dongles and with USB-headphones/mics.

Of course wireless headphones need to be continually charged, and I don't like idea of putting BT/wireless technologies right next to the brain.

How is a phone better for having no sturdy, dedicated headphone jack?

Relevant threads:

https://www.head-fi.org/threads/usb-c-sucks-3-5mm-is-real-sound.959588/

https://arstechnica.com/civis/threads/removal-of-the-headphone-jack-is-not-justified-at-all.1413929/

At the first link:

"So it all goes back to my point: it's all about money and profit. Apple gains much more profit by removing the headphone jack from the iPhone because they will make billions in AirPods Bluetooth headphones.. and the few customers that they lose from removing the headphone jack will not hurt them as they will make more money than lose money from these customers that leave (charging $250 for the AirPods Pro and $550 for AirPods Max, you can see how easily profitable it is and they will make way more money than lose money from customers that leave Apple)."

It's not about that because that doesn't explain why other manufacturers dropped it as well. Samsung and Motorola aren't cashing in from dongles and bluetooth headphones.

JTL

K-Moss So I'm curious if anyone has any real answers about this besides an attempt to make more money from dongles and BT/wireless headphones.

Contemporary smartphone design follows industry trends as a sort of "domino effect". Can't say I agree with it.

Donux

K-Moss in marketing terms, apple is a market challenger. This is a role they take in the industry. They set trends, they pick early technologies that they think will go viral, and others follow, because Apple can make it cool and create customer demand. If potential Samsung buyer sees cool airbuds from apple user, he or she might be lured into competitors product. So there is simply no choice but to follow.

As for manipulation part, I think apple has learned, when it does something it can shoot two ducks at the same time this way acquiring alibi. The same was with remote CPU throttling in order to prolong battery. And at the same time render old devices less usable forcing consumers consider upgrading. Regulators in these scenarios would struggle to win a case as defense is very legit.

languidicity

I mean yeah, everything will be wireless at some point. Nothing unusual or conspiratorial going on here. It’s for the same reasons that I’m typing this on a smart phone and not using some dial up text service on a landline or something.

Also, I do like being able to use my AirPods without having to worry about a cable getting snagged on my clothing when my phone’s in my pocket, or being able to leave my phone on the side with them in and being able to walk around the room. There are huge advantages to wireless headphones. I do also have some decent wired Beyerdynamics for monitoring and for when I want exceptional sound quality. Different tools for different jobs.

K-Moss

languidicity Your reply espouses the benefits of wireless headphones. Guess what - they still work when there's a viable headphone jack in the phone. I simply noticed the benefits of removing the jack do not hold up to scrutiny. The benefits seem kinda plausible to a casual observer being told what those benefits are by a perceived authority figure, but on closer inspection we can appreciate the real reasons(s) for removing the jack aren't publicly communicated, similar to how we were told we needed to lock down the world and line up for all kinds of futuristic mRNA injections for an alleged super pandemic. We were told that, but that's not really what was going on.

languidicity

K-Moss

Ok if we’re going to start going down the road of talking about an “alleged pandemic”” I’m out.

My point was simply that the headphone jack is no longer seen as necessary or wanted by both hardware vendors and most consumers. It’s older electronics tech and becoming more niche by the day, as always happens. I no longer carry a Walkman because it was superseded by a Discman, which was superseded by a MP3 player, which was superseded by my smartphone. It’s evolution and invoking conspiracy when it’s simple logic is ludicrous.

Not really sure what sort of discussion you’re aiming to prompt here, and again I don’t see what any of this has to do with eyestrain.

K-Moss

languidicity

https://totalityofevidence.com/dr-mike-yeadon/

https://rumble.com/v5ba9jx-delingpod-live-mike-yeadon.html

https://rumble.com/v6vo48r-final-warning-dr-mike-yeadon-interview-4k-oracle-films.html

Do you know who Dr. Michael Yeadon is? "I don't think you could have found a much more normie person than me."

You write: "Not really sure what sort of discussion you’re aiming to prompt here."

I understand that.

"They'll tell you about something using the excuse, the ostensible reason, while the real reason is concealed."

"People don't spot things. I didn't spot things even in my own wheelhouse because you are not suspecting people are out to harm you. You're not looking for bad motives. Now I am. I can see so many things."

Both quotes are from the third link.

One more quote to add. This is from the first link 43 minutes in. A chilling comment I want to share.

"This is one of the many pennies that dropped for me over the last couple of years. The reason there is only one category of product you cannot question or criticize is when they were first invented they had this era in mind for them. I don't think they have ever been useful. I think they've always been for that future."

Likewise, the headphone jack was not removed by popular demand nor because flagship phones are better without a 3.5 mm or 2.5 mm headphone jack. Nor have companies like Samsung and Motorola been cashing in on the removal of this port. There is more going on. You have to think bigger.