4 ms·

I wish this 'a' series kept audio Jack. I have a 4a which is the last one with audio jack. edit: Otherwise I don't see any value in all these internet dependen

I wish this 'a' series kept audio Jack. I have a 4a which is the last one with audio jack. edit: Otherwise I don't see any value in all these internet dependent AI features. Performance is more than enough even on older phones (4a for example). Google's camera is the main feature that piques my interest.

lm28469 2y ago
Same here, I listen to a lot of music and I refuse to buy e-waste earbuds with tiny ass non user replaceable batteries that will fail in a few years at best while delivering audio quality on par with $30 wired buds. Dongles are a pain in the ass and keep disconnecting if you look at them the wrong way (walking, gym, &c.). If it wasn't for the camera quality I'd already have moved to something else, when the phone dies I might go back to a dedicated audio device
- coldpie 2y ago
  I use dongles and have been reasonably happy (yes, I'd rather have a jack, but the dongles are good enough). Have you tried a few brands? The best ones I found have been Best Buy's Insignia brand. They do eventually break, but they tend to last about 2-6 months or longer for me, which isn't too terrible given the price.
  - lm28469 2y ago
    I tried anything from 0.5$ aliexpress to the apple dongle. The apple is fine but in europe you get something like 50% of the maximal volume which isn't enough in a lot of situations depending on the headset.
  - jakub_g 2y ago
    I tried two jack-to-usb-c adapters in $5-$10 range (tbh there's very little choice) and it's not great. - first was working with Pixel 6 but no longer with Pixel 8 - the other works with Pixel 8, but sometimes cuts the output for 0.5s (I think it cuts the output after a silence, but not always); also occasionally there's terrible thrashing for a few sec depending on how the cable is rotated Plus in any case, you always have some white audio noise at low volume levels (and when paused etc) which is annoying when I want to listen not very loud in the evening. If someone has a good adapter to recommend, which works with 8+, I'm all ears. Edit: just read about Apple adapter in another thread, gonna give it a try.
- red-iron-pine 2y ago
  buy a better bluetooth headset or wearable bluetooth audio. I had an LG 730 set that lasted me for close to 6 years. ear buds are an apple meme. but I agree with the general sentiment: outside of a good camera, I can't see a real advantage of the Pixel, and the AI is less than $0 value for me -- I don't need something data mining me in realtime more than most phones already do.
- shalmanese 2y ago
  Can't you just buy USB-C headphones?
gekoxyz 2y ago
didn't headphone jack removal come also because the DAC (Digital-Analog Converter) made interference with the Cellular Modem? Or is it just propaganda I read about online?
- jsheard 2y ago
  They still need an audio DAC and amplifier for the internal speakers, so no.
- exabrial 2y ago
  100% propoganda. There are multiple switching power supplies in that phone that produce tons of noise already and it's all abated.
rchaud 2y ago
AI on phones is its 3D TV moment. Phones are commodities now and like computers, don't need to be upgraded for several years. So phone vendors need a new selling point.
H1Supreme 2y ago
Yeah, I hate this move. I own good, low Ohm headphones than can be powered by a phone, but they are all 3.5mm jacks.
makeitdouble 2y ago
For what it's worth, outside of the sheer photography parts, with the better processors and memory multi-task is actually usable (no crashes nor leaving the apps in unstable states). Wireless charging also had an unexpected (to me) effect of freeing the USB port while charging, which is great with Qi2 mobile batteries when plugging headphones or external storage. I don't know if the 9a gets it, but display mirroring is also surprisingly useful, especially for people who don't want to network their TVs. None of it is critical, and the audio jack is really missing, but I think we're getting decent features aside.
soramimo 2y ago
Same here. I kept my 4a for ages for the same reason until it died on me (power button stopped working). I'm now on a Pixel 8 and am hauling around a USB-C to 3.5mm adapter as I don't want to put up with the logistics of keeping wireless headphones charged. It works OK(ish), but often comes loose when putting my phone in my pocket while listening to music and little annoyances like not being to turn the volume as far down as I used to be able to on the headphone jack. Definitely a downgrade in user experience. In German there's a nice word for this: Verschlimmbesserung.

lm28469 2y ago

Same here, I listen to a lot of music and I refuse to buy e-waste earbuds with tiny ass non user replaceable batteries that will fail in a few years at best while delivering audio quality on par with $30 wired buds. Dongles are a pain in the ass and keep disconnecting if you look at them the wrong way (walking, gym, &c.). If it wasn't for the camera quality I'd already have moved to something else, when the phone dies I might go back to a dedicated audio device

coldpie 2y ago
I use dongles and have been reasonably happy (yes, I'd rather have a jack, but the dongles are good enough). Have you tried a few brands? The best ones I found have been Best Buy's Insignia brand. They do eventually break, but they tend to last about 2-6 months or longer for me, which isn't too terrible given the price.
- lm28469 2y ago
  I tried anything from 0.5$ aliexpress to the apple dongle. The apple is fine but in europe you get something like 50% of the maximal volume which isn't enough in a lot of situations depending on the headset.
- jakub_g 2y ago
  I tried two jack-to-usb-c adapters in $5-$10 range (tbh there's very little choice) and it's not great. - first was working with Pixel 6 but no longer with Pixel 8 - the other works with Pixel 8, but sometimes cuts the output for 0.5s (I think it cuts the output after a silence, but not always); also occasionally there's terrible thrashing for a few sec depending on how the cable is rotated Plus in any case, you always have some white audio noise at low volume levels (and when paused etc) which is annoying when I want to listen not very loud in the evening. If someone has a good adapter to recommend, which works with 8+, I'm all ears. Edit: just read about Apple adapter in another thread, gonna give it a try.
red-iron-pine 2y ago
buy a better bluetooth headset or wearable bluetooth audio. I had an LG 730 set that lasted me for close to 6 years. ear buds are an apple meme. but I agree with the general sentiment: outside of a good camera, I can't see a real advantage of the Pixel, and the AI is less than $0 value for me -- I don't need something data mining me in realtime more than most phones already do.
shalmanese 2y ago
Can't you just buy USB-C headphones?

gekoxyz 2y ago

didn't headphone jack removal come also because the DAC (Digital-Analog Converter) made interference with the Cellular Modem? Or is it just propaganda I read about online?

jsheard 2y ago
They still need an audio DAC and amplifier for the internal speakers, so no.
exabrial 2y ago
100% propoganda. There are multiple switching power supplies in that phone that produce tons of noise already and it's all abated.

rchaud 2y ago

AI on phones is its 3D TV moment. Phones are commodities now and like computers, don't need to be upgraded for several years. So phone vendors need a new selling point.

H1Supreme 2y ago

Yeah, I hate this move. I own good, low Ohm headphones than can be powered by a phone, but they are all 3.5mm jacks.

makeitdouble 2y ago

For what it's worth, outside of the sheer photography parts, with the better processors and memory multi-task is actually usable (no crashes nor leaving the apps in unstable states). Wireless charging also had an unexpected (to me) effect of freeing the USB port while charging, which is great with Qi2 mobile batteries when plugging headphones or external storage. I don't know if the 9a gets it, but display mirroring is also surprisingly useful, especially for people who don't want to network their TVs. None of it is critical, and the audio jack is really missing, but I think we're getting decent features aside.

soramimo 2y ago

Same here. I kept my 4a for ages for the same reason until it died on me (power button stopped working). I'm now on a Pixel 8 and am hauling around a USB-C to 3.5mm adapter as I don't want to put up with the logistics of keeping wireless headphones charged. It works OK(ish), but often comes loose when putting my phone in my pocket while listening to music and little annoyances like not being to turn the volume as far down as I used to be able to on the headphone jack. Definitely a downgrade in user experience. In German there's a nice word for this: Verschlimmbesserung.