5 ms·

I'm not against removing the Aux port on principal or anything, but I just don't understand why we're going toward removing seemingly core hardware. Even on d

I'm not against removing the Aux port on principal or anything, but I just don't understand why we're going toward removing seemingly core hardware. Even on desktops/laptops 3.5mm audio is still used. Why do we need dongles to use core features? Especially since we're removing an "out" port, now we're reliant on a single port to manage all in and out. I don't want to carry dongles to be able to use my phone normally.

I_am_someone 9y ago
I wonder what they'll remove next? Volume buttons? "Oh you can just turn it down with software already on the phone!" Well I could, but damn would that be inconvenient...
criddell 9y ago
Desktops and laptops have different constraints than phones. Bluetooth uses less power (from the device), makes waterproofing easier, and frees up space for battery. I personally would prefer having a headphone jack on the phone (even though I've never used mine), but I understand why they did what they did.
- OrwellianChild 9y ago
  Bluetooth uses less power... than what? Than a headphone jack?
  - criddell 9y ago
    Yes. It uses less power than driving headphones.
    - lambda_lover 9y ago
      Evidence seems hard to come by on this subject, but a web search yields a lot of results along these lines: https://www.quora.com/Which-uses-less-battery-for-a-car-audio-Bluetooth-or-AUX https://www.quora.com/Which-uses-less-battery-for-a-car-audi... It's hardly a scientific study, but it reinforces my prior belief that aux doesn't inherently require any electricity, while bluetooth is sending information over radio waves which of course has to use electricity. I'm not sure about the difference when it comes to fancy, high-powered headphones, but my (anecdotal) experience with bluetooth vs. analog certainly supports the idea that bluetooth uses more power. I'd appreciate some citations if you have some other information about this subject.
      - WillPostForFood 9y ago
        AUX has to send electricity down the wire to drive the speakers in headphones. The Quora article you link to is weirdly written but confirms this, "the signal is from your phone and your phone uses it's battery to make it." I.e., headphones work by taking electricity from your phone and converting it to sound.
        criddell 9y ago
        The Quora article also mentions car audio. In a car, Bluetooth uses more power than a 3.5 mm cable plugged into an AUX port on the head unit.
        WillPostForFood 9y ago
        Yes, it is saying the car uses more power for the bluetooth connection, than receiving the AUX in from the phone. Not that the phone uses less power.
      - coob 9y ago
        > aux doesn't inherently require any electricit Yes I'm sure those headphone drivers magically shake themselves.
      - aforty 9y ago
        What on earth do you need a scientific study on? There are speakers in the headphones that produce audio. Where do you think the power for that comes from?
    - OrwellianChild 9y ago
      While driving the headphones, sure - I'll believe that in certain cases with high-draw headphones. But from a daily power drain perspective, I find that very hard to believe. Bluetooth transmitting is going to be orders of magnitude higher draw than corded earbuds. And when you're not actively listening, standby is still digging Bluetooth further in the hole.
    - btym 9y ago
      No, overall, you'll be using more power (DAC vs encoding + decoding + DAC). It's just split across two devices you have to charge independently.
      - criddell 9y ago
        Sure, but battery power in the phone is valuable. Modern Bluetooth headphones can play 30-40 hours of music per charge.
  - modzu 9y ago
    its up to the phone how much amplification there is on the analog output. the latest BT specification is pretty low power, but which is lowest will depend. in my own experience, it seems like i get longer battery when using the jack over the BT radio, but i have not tested this rigorously https://www.quora.com/How-much-power-current-goes-through-an-aux-cord https://www.quora.com/How-much-power-current-goes-through-an... https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Line_level https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Line_level https://www.turntablelab.com/pages/headphone-buying-guide-what-is-headphone-impedance https://www.turntablelab.com/pages/headphone-buying-guide-wh...
rimliu 9y ago
My audio jack is neither core nor I need a dongle after it's removal. On the go I've got BeatsX, at the desk, I use good headphones which are connected via USB.
grey-area 9y ago
It's not core hardware for the vast majority of people.
takeda 9y ago
And it is silly, because it is copying Apple move, but at the same time a different kind of port (USB-C vs Lightning). So now, instead of a solid standard that has been for decades there's an attempt to have 3 standards. WTF

I_am_someone 9y ago

I wonder what they'll remove next? Volume buttons? "Oh you can just turn it down with software already on the phone!" Well I could, but damn would that be inconvenient...

criddell 9y ago

Desktops and laptops have different constraints than phones. Bluetooth uses less power (from the device), makes waterproofing easier, and frees up space for battery. I personally would prefer having a headphone jack on the phone (even though I've never used mine), but I understand why they did what they did.

OrwellianChild 9y ago
Bluetooth uses less power... than what? Than a headphone jack?
- criddell 9y ago
  Yes. It uses less power than driving headphones.
  - lambda_lover 9y ago
    Evidence seems hard to come by on this subject, but a web search yields a lot of results along these lines: https://www.quora.com/Which-uses-less-battery-for-a-car-audio-Bluetooth-or-AUX https://www.quora.com/Which-uses-less-battery-for-a-car-audi... It's hardly a scientific study, but it reinforces my prior belief that aux doesn't inherently require any electricity, while bluetooth is sending information over radio waves which of course has to use electricity. I'm not sure about the difference when it comes to fancy, high-powered headphones, but my (anecdotal) experience with bluetooth vs. analog certainly supports the idea that bluetooth uses more power. I'd appreciate some citations if you have some other information about this subject.
    - WillPostForFood 9y ago
      AUX has to send electricity down the wire to drive the speakers in headphones. The Quora article you link to is weirdly written but confirms this, "the signal is from your phone and your phone uses it's battery to make it." I.e., headphones work by taking electricity from your phone and converting it to sound.
      - criddell 9y ago
        The Quora article also mentions car audio. In a car, Bluetooth uses more power than a 3.5 mm cable plugged into an AUX port on the head unit.
        WillPostForFood 9y ago
        Yes, it is saying the car uses more power for the bluetooth connection, than receiving the AUX in from the phone. Not that the phone uses less power.
    - coob 9y ago
      > aux doesn't inherently require any electricit Yes I'm sure those headphone drivers magically shake themselves.
    - aforty 9y ago
      What on earth do you need a scientific study on? There are speakers in the headphones that produce audio. Where do you think the power for that comes from?
  - OrwellianChild 9y ago
    While driving the headphones, sure - I'll believe that in certain cases with high-draw headphones. But from a daily power drain perspective, I find that very hard to believe. Bluetooth transmitting is going to be orders of magnitude higher draw than corded earbuds. And when you're not actively listening, standby is still digging Bluetooth further in the hole.
  - btym 9y ago
    No, overall, you'll be using more power (DAC vs encoding + decoding + DAC). It's just split across two devices you have to charge independently.
    - criddell 9y ago
      Sure, but battery power in the phone is valuable. Modern Bluetooth headphones can play 30-40 hours of music per charge.
- modzu 9y ago
  its up to the phone how much amplification there is on the analog output. the latest BT specification is pretty low power, but which is lowest will depend. in my own experience, it seems like i get longer battery when using the jack over the BT radio, but i have not tested this rigorously https://www.quora.com/How-much-power-current-goes-through-an-aux-cord https://www.quora.com/How-much-power-current-goes-through-an... https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Line_level https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Line_level https://www.turntablelab.com/pages/headphone-buying-guide-what-is-headphone-impedance https://www.turntablelab.com/pages/headphone-buying-guide-wh...

rimliu 9y ago

My audio jack is neither core nor I need a dongle after it's removal. On the go I've got BeatsX, at the desk, I use good headphones which are connected via USB.

grey-area 9y ago

It's not core hardware for the vast majority of people.

takeda 9y ago

And it is silly, because it is copying Apple move, but at the same time a different kind of port (USB-C vs Lightning). So now, instead of a solid standard that has been for decades there's an attempt to have 3 standards. WTF