The Death of the Headphone Jack

Many of the newest smartphones coming out today are lacking one component we have come accustomed to. That is the headphone jack either on the top of the phone or underneath the phone. When both Google and Apple announced that their smartphones would be lacking this feature; their supporters were furious. They didn’t like that they can’t use the aux in their car anymore or just use their old headphones without purchasing an adapter. This is similar to when Apple changed their charger port to a lightning port. People were mad at first and eventually adjusted. This will once again try the patience of these smartphone users. I have a phone upgrade coming up within the next couple of months and I don’t know how I’m going to feel about my new phone not having an audio jack. I have a lot products that use the audio jack, but it looks like now I’ll either have to buy the adapter or start getting products that use bluetooth. Usually people are thrilled when companies make changes and update their products. But this shows that people sometimes aren’t always thrilled when companies try to change the status quo. How do you guys feel about tech companies removing the headphone jack from their smart phones?

 

10 thoughts on “The Death of the Headphone Jack

  1. Pingback: How Did The 3.5mm Jack On Electronic Devices Become The Norm? – MUHABARISHAJI

  2. Pingback: Como o Jack 3.5mm em dispositivos eletrônicos se tornou a norma? | Dicas & Curiosidades™

  3. I felt the same way when I saw the new versions have abandoned the headphone jack. I love carrying my phone around and listening to music wherever I go. I upgraded my phone a few months ago to a 7 plus after using my old 6plus for two years. The only feature that bothers me was the lack of headphone jack. The product does come with a little adapter that you can plug onto your traditional headphone and then connect to the lightning port, this justs seems redundant to me. My roommate upgraded her phone earlier than me and waited for the Bluetooth headphone for months. I just did not get why Apple release their product separately and customers had to wait to buy an accessory that is so important. There are some other cons of this wireless headphone. The actual wireless headphone is tiny and unlike other Bluetooth headphones, Apple’s looks quite funny because it is basically the shape of the original headphone without the wire. Not to mention that customers can lose them easily without noticing. Right now I am still using the old headphone with an adaptor, if I were to purchase a wireless headphone, I would definitely check on other brands except Apple. Here is an discussion comparing wireless headphone from different brands in terms of their quality, design, connectivity, price etc.that I found helpful.
    https://www.quora.com/What-are-the-pros-cons-of-wireless-headphones-Beats-Bose-Is-it-better-to-go-with-wired-headphones

  4. I know the change from having a headphone jack to not having one is becoming the new design of products, but I wish it wasn’t. I think many of us are so used to having headphones that can attach to our phones and computers, it is hard to change. I think a con of having these new phone without headphone jacks is that people will still need their old headphones for their computers. Right now I still use headphones with my headphone jack on my phone and computer. I know in the near future I will upgrade my phone to a newer one that will no longer have a headphone jack. I will have to purchase the headphones that connect via bluetooth. But I will also have to keep my headphones that connect to a headphone jack to use with my computer. I often switch from using headphones on my computer to using them on my phone and it will be annoying to have to carry around two pairs. Even if companies also start to make computers without headphone jacks as well, computers last longer so many people will still have a headphone jack on one of their products and not the other.

  5. I don’t like the idea of no head phone jack. When I upgraded my phone last fall, I kept this in mind. I had the option to get the new IPhone 7 right after its release, however, I decided to forego the features such as the enhanced camera and red color option and get the 6s, because it has a head phone port. My car is quite outdated and does not have Bluetooth capability, or an aux port. So with the iPhone 7, I would need to sacrifice my only charging port to plug in a blue tooth converter. I just don’t like the extra hoops I have to jump through to use my phone to play music in my car. I also find the cord to the headphones a bit of a safety net. It wouldn’t take long for me to lose $150 dollars of apple wireless ear pods in the black hole that is my backpack. With the cord, it is easy for my to locate my phone, and headphones through the wire if they are connected. I also find that Bluetooth drains my phone battery very quickly. Over all I am not on board with the Bluetooth headphone fad, but like all technology, I’m sure I will get used to it sooner than later because regular corded headphones probably won’t come back. In a few years they may be completely non-existent.

  6. I hated the removal of the headphone jack at first. It would bother me so much. I also thought the only company to do this was Apple, but if Google is also going along with this, in just a few years, Everything will change. Cars radios and house speakers will turn bluetooth. Everyone will start to adjust to the new changes, and companies will change their technology into the changing times. What it makes you realize, is Apple is almost like a monopoly, they set a new feature in their products, and everyone else changes their products to adapt to their changes. Soon they will probably make a totally new feature that will re-adjust the ways we use technology. Even Google followed them, and copied what they were doing, since it was innovative and new.

    http://www.ubergizmo.com/2017/10/google-explains-headphone-jack-pixel-2/

  7. Apple’s “justification ” for removing the head jack is as follows:
    1. A Lightning dongle can adapt older devices
    2. It frees up space inside the phone for other tech
    3. It furthers Apple’s vision for better audio

    Negatives for me as a consumer and an Apple 7 user:
    1. Most existing headphones are unusable
    2. New headphones are more expensive
    3. I don’t like wireless headphones
    4. i can’t charge my phone while listening to music or a video
    5. I can’t plug my phone into an Aux cord in my car

    I believe there are more negatives than positives!

  8. Like you I was also a little furious that Apple and other companies releasing their phones without a headphone jack. I was wondering how will I listen to music while I am walking to school, listen to music in my car and how will I adjust to this? I have recently upgraded my phone to a IPhone 8, and I honestly do not miss the headphone jack at all. The phone is included with headphones that is compatible with the phone so you can still listen to music. Thee phone also comes with a headphone jack so you can also still use the aux cord.

    I think phone companies are doing this because of the age the world is moving into. Mainly everything is blutooth as of today and the need for a headphone jack is diminishing. Cars, speakers, laptops and among other things are blutooth compatible now. Soon enough headphone jacks will be a thing of the past and you will have to connect everything using blutooth technology. The only bad thing I would say about the lack of a headphone jack is you can not charge your phone and listen to music at the same time. That is the only issue, but I think Apple was smart to implement this feature to show what age we are moving in to.

    http://www.knoxnews.com/story/opinion/columnists/angela-gosnell/2017/10/13/trending-why-headphone-jack-leaving-us-forever/749052001/

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