this post was submitted on 12 Dec 2023
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And I give it a 0/10 on having a 3.5mm connector
As well as a 5.25" floppy disc drive and betamax, you call that a phone?!? No thank you, I'll stick with my x-phone https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=9-nezImUP0w
People complaining about 3.5mm jacks remind of the people who complained about how the iMac G3 didn't have a 3.5" floppy drive. At first yeah it was weird to leave it out, but it's been 9 years since the first smartphone launched without a 3.5mm jack (the OPPO R5 in 2014).
If you want ancient tech then your options will be limited.
The difference here is that 3,5mm jacks are not obsolete.
Nobody besides a few grumpy folks opposed the switch from microUSB to Type-C, for example, because we got something better instead.
Floppy drives got obsolete, because again, we got something better - disks! And then flash drives! Always a better, more convenient and functional option.
3,5 mm jack, however, is still completely relevant and is not replaced by anything. It is the only widely adopted consumer-grade standard for analog wired audio. Wireless audio has objective drawbacks: one more battery to control, lower reliability, poorer sound quality (not a big issue with most phones since their DACs are normally not audiophile-grade anyway, but still), higher price, pairing issues, and many more. And USB-C to 3,5mm dongles are obviously terrible: they can get lost, they don't allow you to listen to music while charging your phone/transferring files, and they are yet another component to manage.
Essentially, wireless audio has been pushed down our throats, and we do not appreciate that. For me, not having a 3,5mm jack is one of the criterions that immediately kill any desire to buy that phone. It will just be a massive pain in the ass for me, and I don't want that.
Obvious troll is obviously trolling.
The headphone jack is a perfected technology with no competition in terms of usability, performance, environmentally friendliness.
Your analogy makes no sense.
I don't know if it's me you're calling a troll. If it is, I can assure you that I truly believe that the 3.5mm jack is a shit connector, it's only place was in portable equipment, and that it's superceded by bluetooth.
Maybe I presented my views in an inflammatory way, but as I've stated elsewhere, I wanted to get my view across in as little text as possible. Maybe also be a little provocative, so I'd actually get people to read the comment. But I believe what I said and it wasn't formulated in that way to piss people off, just to entice and drive the point home. Exaggeration promotes understanding, but maybe my exaggerating got a little too much and disabled the understanding part.
I've been tinkering with electronics for close to 30 years by now, and my electronics engineering career is in its 3rd decade, and I have encountered issues with 3.5mm jacks time and again.
Trying to repair broken sockets or broken off jacks, still seated in sockets, is tedious and so low reward, when you can just get some BT headphones.
The BT headphones will break, sure, but I'd rather have good use of some 100€ headphones and a 300€ phone, not be frustrated by the wires tangling, and then discard the 100€ headphones when they break than the phone which can live for much longer. Besides if you're buying the right BT headphones you'll be able to source parts for it much easier than an obscure 3.5mm socket with some weird footprint.
Maybe it's not time for the 3.5mm jack to die, for some, but for the rest of us, we don't really care about it. Live and let die, but please stop moaning about it.