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Buying headphones in 2018 is going to be a fragmented mess – The Verge
- Spivak 9y agoOnce phones drop 3.5mm connectors is there any advantage left for wired headphones? Do phones other than the Pixel 1 come with a usb-c DAC? It looks like manufacturers could go either direction but it seems like Google and Apple have already picked a side here by removing them.
- pathartl 9y agoDesktop computers and laptops. They will probably never disappear from desktops, especially when it comes to gaming.
- Spivak 9y agoI wouldn't be so sure. Audio enthusiasts already have external equipment and when headphones start shipping with with built-in DACs and amps to work with phones the case for removing them in favor of USB-* or BT becomes a lot stronger. Especially when it would be cheaper to do so. But the point is that digital wired probably isn't buying you much in latency or quality compared to wireless.
- pathartl 9y agoIt seems like a pretty simple solution to me, make bluetooth headphones that also have an analog jack on them. It may not work for earbuds, but I gotta say my favorite feature of my Bose QC35's is if my device doesn't support bluetooth I can always use the cable to plug it in. It works when the battery dies too. Granted the jack on the headphones themselves is 2.5mm so you need a 2.5mm to 3.5mm cable which makes it a little annoying. Headphone manufacturers should stick to using either 2.5mm or 3.5mm jacks on their headphones. Give the option of bluetooth or no bluetooth. Then separately manufacture wires that have DACs in them. It increases compatibility, potentially increases profits by double dipping, and makes "repairs" simple.