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“Pixel 2 and Pixel XL 2 will both ditch the headphone jack.”
- georgyo 9y agoWhile I am sad about this, at least it is likely to be USB C, which means my dongle and/or head phones will work with more than just my phone. That is the only silver lining here that I can see.
- choosegoose 9y agoYour headphones would need a DAC if you want to charge your phone and use the headphones at the same time. Ideally you would be able to use a splitter that would male USB-C on one end and female 3.5mm + female USB-C. Unfortunately you'll be stuck with only 500mA. The USB-C spec calls for the negotiation of power delivery (amperage) via two lines that are used for audio passthrough. When those lines are occupied the device will only pull 500mA from the cable to ensure components aren't fried. Now if your splitter had a DAC, you could get full power but it sucks you have to spend money to listen to audio and charge your phone at the same time. From USB Type-C Specification Release 1.3: Analog audio headsets are supported by multiplexing four analog audio signals onto pins on the USB Type-C™ connector when in the Audio Adapter Accessory Mode. The four analog audio signals are the same as those used by a traditional 3.5 mm headset jack. This makes it possible to use existing analog headsets with a 3.5 mm to USB Type-C adapter. The audio adapter architecture allows for an audio peripheral to provide up to 500 mA back to the system for charging.
- BinaryIdiot 9y agoWhile I do own a few pairs of Bluetooth headphones I have yet to have any, from the cheap to the expensive, not have occasional hiccups. Because of this I love using my headphone jack. I'm sad that this is a trend especially without a good, alternative and standard way of using headphones over, say, USB-C. I mean I would be _completely fine_ with removing the 3.5mm if you could re-use another jack for the same purpose but being restricted to Bluetooth or USB-C dongles, at least to me, sucks.
- acchow 9y agoHave you tried Apple's AirPods?
- BinaryIdiot 9y agoNo but I am interested in the ideas they're showing. I decided to try out the bragi and I'm actually _super_ impressed; I thought they would be terrible based on a lot of reviews I've seen (I know they're not entirely comparable as the Air Pods have a touch interface but it's the closest I've used). So I'm excited to see more wireless headphones like the Air Pods and what kind of innovation they can bring.
- MBCook 9y agoI've got AirPods and have since launch. I LOVE them. To be fair: I've had to re-pair them twice after they just wouldn't connect. Once in a while only one comes on at first and it takes a few seconds for the other to 'kick in', but that's automatic. A handful of times I've had one cut out and come back within a second or so. But that's daily (at work) use since launch. I'm perfectly happy with them, these aren't serious issues.
- swift 9y agoI second this. I've been using Bluetooth headphones and earbuds for years and I was shocked at how well the AirPods worked. Zero dropouts. If you're into higher-end headphones, I can heartily recommend the B&W P7 Wireless. Fantastic sound and the Bluetooth has been extremely stable for me. And they have a wired port as well, so if you want to go that route at any time they still have you covered.
- komali2 9y agoCurious about audiophile perspectives - I tried them and found the audio quality to be abysmal. But, I'm a snob, so who knows.
- tw04 9y agoThere is a standard way to listen to headphones over usb-c. There just aren't a ton of headphones on the market yet because it's relatively new. But they do exist.
- PhasmaFelis 9y agoI do not understand how this benefits anyone except the "must be thinner" fetishists. With Apple it was their usual form-over-function problem, which is at least what we expect from Apple, but why would Google follow suit?
- lfam 9y agoThe benefit of removing an analog audio output is that you can control what sort of device may play some audio. I am not looking forward to the new world of music DRM.
- wl 9y agoI can't see how this is a DRM play. With HDMI, it's not as if you could easily capture the FPD-Link signals after the video had been decrypted. With digital audio, you still have to drive a two terminal analog transducer. It's trivial to turn a signal for driving a speaker into something that can be recorded with an audio interface.
- lfam 9y ago> It's trivial to turn a signal for driving a speaker into something that can be recorded with an audio interface. In theory, yes, it's trivial. But it's not trivial to 99.9% of people that listen to music. Also, I don't think it will be about preventing the re-recording of the music. Nobody wants to keep a music library anymore, just as nobody keeps a movie library. Is the music industry really losing money to "pirates" anymore? The DRM will be used to control which devices you can listen to music on. As Jay-Z's last album was only available on his streaming service, I predict that the next gimmick will be that you can only listen on his headphones.
- wl 9y agoIt's trivial for anyone who would try to use the analog hole to begin with.
- cschep 9y ago
- sna1l 9y agoThis phone better be waterproof...
- tomc1985 9y agoSo stupid. What a blatant attempt at grabbing money. Headphone ports are one of the last truly ubiquitous pieces of technology still in use today. 1/8" headphone jacks work in EVERYTHING. And we want to throw that all away, because technology.
- oneplane 9y agoIsn't that what everyone said about RCA jacks and reel-to-reel tape machines?
- irq11 9y agoRCA jacks are also widely used, when size and weight aren't a factor.
- tomc1985 9y agoreel-to-reel wasn't ubiquitous, and RCA jacks are still charging strong. The rest of the world doesn't need or want to rotate from perfectly working and good stuff because they don't want their shit breaking all the time. None of these new school dips seem to care about interoperability, or the TRILLIONS of devices out there today that use those ports (everything from TI calculators to 70's stereo amplifiers to random garage kit) with their simple and easy-to-analyze signals. We are the center of this complexity fetishism, and we should be ashamed of ourselves for it.
- donretag 9y agoMy turntable still uses RCA jacks. ;)
- sli 9y agoYeah, same. The amp I used takes RCA in and banana plugs out, and it's nowhere close to old. RCA is far from dead.
- marssaxman 9y agoRCA jacks are still ubiquitous in my experience; is there some movement to get rid of them?
- JoshMnem 9y agoThat's terrible. I wouldn't buy a phone without a way to plug in. I would lose headphones that are not attached with a wire.
- ClassyJacket 9y agoAt least in the case of the Pixel, it'll be a USB-C port instead of an Apple-controlled Lightning port. I prefer the lightning connector but I don't like it being only on the iPhone (you can't even use iPhone headphones on the Mac!) and locked down to Apple's approval for everything.
- git-pull 9y agoI'm a new bluetooth headset adopter. I've been growing increasingly keen with them: You can grab them on Amazon for $20 to $50. - SoundPEATS Bluetooth headphones is $19.99 with Amazon Prime. Some hiccups on this one with connecting. I keep this one as a backup when battery runs out. - Phaiser BHS-730 works like a charm. $39.99 with Amazon Prime. Nice magnet feature that allows you to wear the unit around your neck when not using it. They work with your smartphone and your laptop. So the major downside? These things run out of battery power after 4-5 hours on average. This sucks because you're typically using them on the go. Hopefully more people using bluetooth will result in future headphones with improved battery life.
- Zorlag 9y agoSo what you are basically saying is: they are shit?
- tomc1985 9y agoOr, you know, learn to route a cable through your clothes and then there's one less battery to be concerned with. Outside of the RIDICULOUSLY narrow and short-sighted use-case of "I want to listen to the tunes on my phone" and a few other like scenarios, bluetooth headsets are is absolutely USELESS for anything else.
- ultimoo 9y agoNot justifying the removal of the headphone jack by any means, but bluetooth earphones (good ones) are amazing when it comes to running, working out, skiing, biking etc. when you don't want to deal with wires running through your clothes.
- swift 9y agoI use my Bluetooth earbuds and headphones to listen to music and podcasts on my phone, my tablet, and my laptop, and to connect to my TV to watch movies or play games late at night when my roommate is sleeping. I use them at the gym, where having a cable get in the way could be a problem. I also use them to make phone calls when my hands are occupied. They work wonderfully for all these uses. I'd say that covers a lot of peoples' needs, though it sounds like it may not cover yours.
- deleted 9y ago[deleted]
- whipoodle 9y agoI have one of the iPhones without the headphone jack and it's a constant pain. I tend to agree with Apple's moves of this sort, but this particular one was a bad idea. It just plain sucks.
- asteli 9y agoPhone connectors are rubbish, ancient technology. The only thing they have going for them is the network buy-in from literally 140 years of legacy.[1] They are fine in static audio applications, but their performance on mobile devices is abysmal. Put the device in a pocket, and every time you move or sit down, you're putting huge lateral stress on the connector. Either the contacts get deformed and become intermittent, the plug bends and/or shears off in the jack, or the wire on the plug side develops an open circuit from wear. I've personally damaged or destroyed the headphone jack on every phone I've owned that had one. In the last couple of weeks I've transitioned most of my audio to Bluetooth. BT isn't exactly a pleasant experience, but once paired, it's relatively seamless. I even converted my ubiquitous ATH-M50x headphones to BT using a module[2]. [1]: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phone_connector_(audio)#Modern_connectors https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phone_connector_(audio)#Modern... [2]: https://www.amazon.com/Bluetooth-Adapter-Amplifier-Technica-ATH-M50x/dp/B01MFFH54C https://www.amazon.com/Bluetooth-Adapter-Amplifier-Technica-...
- flukus 9y agoI've broken plenty of headphones, normally when the wires go, but over many years and many devices I've never had a broken jack. That includes some rather violent tugs they've had. How on earth are you breaking the headphone jack on phones?
- asteli 9y agoEasy enough to do. I think the biggest single culprit is cumulative damage from sitting down or walking with my phone in my pocket with headphones plugged in. Second biggest one is catching the cable on stationary objects. Doorknobs, shelves, armrests on office chairs. I'm pretty sure it's a big enough problem that it's a service item. When I opened up my Nexus 5 to do the screen, I noted that the headphone jack was a floating module, connected to the mainboard by spring contacts. If connector damage and serviceability wasn't an issue, it'd be soldered directly to the board.
- flukus 9y ago> Easy enough to do. I think the biggest single culprit is cumulative damage from sitting down or walking with my phone in my pocket with headphones plugged in. Second biggest one is catching the cable on stationary objects. Doorknobs, shelves, armrests on office chairs. I've done quite a lot of everything in that list. Thousands of hours of walking, cycling and other activities, I've caught it on door knobs and other things very violently. I've never had an issue with the jack breaking though, on phones, MP3 players, walkmans or my PC (I've tripped over the cord a few times). I'm sure it can break, but the post I responded too said it happened with every phone they've had, which I find very doubtful.
- sengork 9y agoIt may be useful if they trade the space saved by removing the headphone components to accomodate more battery capacity. This assumes that you're already using BT for your phone audio needs.
- Zorlag 9y agoBluetooth Headset: PRO: - no cable that annoys you CON - heavy, thus fall out your ear while running. - small battery (which evolves, but slowely) - more expensive - redundant audio processors - mostly low quality audio processors - bluetooth is unstable Cable Headset PRO - good audio quality - low price (in comparison) - light, stays in your ear while jogging - usable on a range of devices - compact design - make use of a huge battery, namely the one in your phone CON - the cable breaks after some time - the cable restricts you I don't see the why I would want to change my standard headphones for a technology that is bound to fail me over time, either by running out of juice or by a bluetooth hickup. I wouldn't buy a phone without a headphone jack. Period.
- komali2 9y agoGood analysis, and that doesn't even include the phone itself: Having a 3.5mm Jack on a smartphone: PRO: - Compatible with nearly 100 years of audio technology - Inclusion does not prevent usage of other means of wired/wireless audio transmission - usbc, bluetooth, wifi CON - Phone thickness minimum is hard-set to 3.5mm (not even sure this is a con) - ....cost to.. design? I don't even know.
- deleted 9y ago[deleted]
- morecoffee 9y agoNot justifying, but waterproofing a phone is very hard if it has holes in it.
- bliss 9y agoMicrophone, speakers, charging port - lots of holes. The Sony Walkman Sport from back in the day was waterproof, it had a standard jack
- AstralStorm 9y agoThe audio jack is not a hole at all. It is a sealed port with metal plates inside. (Unless you make one for cheapening purposes.)
- firefoxd 9y agoI haven't used or tried AirPods, but every Bluetooth device i have tried has a noticible to awkward lag when watching video on a phone. This ranges from earphones to my sound system in the house. So unless wireless can solve that problem, it seems like we are giving up something by making the switch.
- arvinsim 9y agoI just don't understand why we can't have the best of both worlds. I mean, having the headphone jack doesn't mean not having bluetooth.
- komali2 9y agoI believe this is an objectively stupid idea. I want to be openminded and understand why I would buy a phone that doesn't have a headphone jack, when there are phones that exist that do have a headphone jack (AND bluetooth!). I don't think I can understand these companies' motives unless I can be convinced there's some benefit here. Can someone who likes phones without headphone jacks tell me why they are a better product that phones that do have headphone jacks?
- pmoriarty 9y agoThere's a right way and a wrong way to transition to a new interface technology. The right way is to offer the new interfaces as options or have them be there in addition to the legacy interfaces. That way people with peripherals that are only compatible with legacy interfaces can still use them, while allowing early adopters to use the new interface. This is what happened when the USB standard was released. Computers were sold with both USB and the old serial/parallel ports. It took many years to get to the point that serial and parallel ports were no longer standard: well, after most every consumer had already switched to using USB for just about everything. The wrong way to go about this is what's happening in this instance, where a widely-used legacy interface is being completely ignored in favor of a new interface that has relatively little adoption. No wonder so many consumers are upset, and that doesn't even touch issues like DRM and the analog hole, where non-DRM-forcing legacy interfaces are clearly better for the consumer.
- tunap 9y agoHeh, to be devil's advocate, sorta, we have had BT option for 17 years or so. The problem is, BT audio quality is sketchy, seamless connections are hit/miss, interference &, my fav, waning battery life. My question to those who would take the jack away is: why would I want to exercise $50+ option that is dependent on batteries when a $5 always reliable option exists? Probably the same reasons the h/w keyboard went away: profit, elegant fragility & control.
- pasbesoin 9y agoAkin to my thinking. Bluetooth still sucks. In terms of connectivity, it is in no way comparable to the seamless functioning of the older port. The data rate has required compression that screws with the signal quality, and then there are the latency issues. If Bluetooth was "great", everyone would already be using it. They aren't. Ergo, it's not time for the "legacy" port to go. I am also concerned about the push to end-to-end digital delivery. Which also gets DRM-ed up the wazoo. Sorry, I don't agree that whoever's coding up whatever implementation gets to determine my usage rights based upon their private project, implementation, and incentives as opposed to my actual, legal rights (which their lawyers are simultaneously busy trying to erode).
- yalogin 9y agoNot even a year since they mocked the iPhone for the lack of headphone jack and they themselves removed it. It’s a matter of time before the rest of the phones ditch it too. Or may be it becomes a “feature” for the high end phones. Got to say Apple saw it first.
- nl 9y agoI'm going to take the contrary view here. I hate hate headphone cords. OTOH I've use 3 different cordless headphones regularly (ironically not AirPods) and I don't have any particular problems. Positives: The cord doesn't get tangled, the remote works properly on all phones and laptops (unlike the multiple standards for wired remotes). Negatives: The battery life. They cost more for similar quality (although this isn't as clear cut anymore: eg less than $100 gets quite competent JBL BT headphones). Neutral: I don't find the audio any worse. Some wired headsets are better, but many aren't.
- johnsmith21006 9y agoDo not believe it.
- synicalx 9y agoGood lord people, if you don't like it then don't buy it. I swear to god this exact same reaction occurs every time something old starts getting replaced by something new. Same thing happened with the iPhone 7, even though it came with a very neat little adapter so you can plug whatever headphones you want into it. Even in some dystopian future where phones are completely wireless, I'm sure you can still buy a little Bluetooth adapter to put on the end of your electrostatic headphones that you wear whilst jogging each day.
- ck425 9y agoExcept that adapter has a max voltage of 0.5v IIRC, which significantly reduces the quality of any high impedance headphones.
- mnm1 9y agoThere's plenty of other phones. Bluetooth is absolute utter shit. No, it's worse than shit. It's an atrocity. Half the time it doesn't connect. Another third it says it's connecting but it's playing from your phone's speakers still. And when you finally get it working--if you do before smashing the damn phone into the ground--it has shitty sound quality. The engineers who work on this should be ashamed of what they've put out into the world: an ugly monstrosity that seems to be a terrible solution looking for a problem. Reliable wireless connections would be nice, but I'm done hoping it will ever happen as long as Bluetooth is a standard. Not a single Bluetooth product I've ever operated has operated with any reliability whatsoever. It's just absolute garbage.
- bassman9000 9y agoThe current Pixel bluetooth support is horrendous. I hope this is not true.
- bliss 9y agoHorrible idea. I'm on holiday at the moment, didn't bring my headphones - don't often use them, but on flight and occasionally lazing by the pool would have liked to listen to my audiobook. I decided to get a new cheap pair when I was shopping, remembering just in time that my phone model doesn't have standard audio equipment. So from what was available instead of a simple €5 purchase, I would be on the hook for another little adapter cable priced at €10 or €39 for another set of Apple's headphones with their bespoke charging port. It's not "brave" it's shit and annoying. Also travelling with Bluetooth speakers, which use standard cables, means I need to carry multiple cables around because of proprietary charging port that they continue to be able to get away with. I like my phone, does what I need, but not being able to pick up a cheap pair of headphones on holiday, yeah thanks Apple. Shit decision. Google... please read this real world experience, don't make your equipment annoying too.
- akmarinov 9y agoHey, remember when they specifically called out Apple for not having a headphone jack at the first Pixel reveal? I wonder how they’re going to spin it now.