General So Samsung may remove the headphone jack after all

[jamezr]

Oh boy, there were quite a few people in this section that said Samsung wouldn't get rid of the headphone jack - I said they would. I guess we shall see what happens next year.

For me...I don't care who is removing it to be honest. If you remove a feature...you should replace it with a better feature. Not just remove it for aesthetics.

 

[M67v]

If you have to charge your phone, and at the same time use an aux port to listen to GPS directions, that's when having no headphone jack becomes a major inconvenience. Don't get me wrong, I would rather use an in-car GPS rather than a smartphone, but many people are different. Most of the time, the volume of the phone isn't loud enough when you are cruising and the freeway, and you might miss an exit as a result.
This is how I think they should've done the audio solution instead.

 

[nfl46]

For me...I don't care who is removing it to be honest. If you remove a feature...you should replace it with a better feature. Not just remove it for aesthetics.

That's true! I can't wait to see what Apple/Samsung comes up with next year. I know Apple is trying to get into the wireless charging business, but planning to make it different than the wireless charging that exists with phones now a days.

 

[jamezr]

That's true! I can't wait to see what Apple/Samsung comes up with next year. I know Apple is trying to get into the wireless charging business, but planning to make it different than the wireless charging that exists with phones now a days.

I saw that! That will be awesome if they can pull it off. I saw something about distance away from the base and so forth. I would love to see that on the next iphone 🙂

 

[Abazigal]

Welcome to the club.

 

[Truefan31]

If you have to charge your phone, and at the same time use an aux port to listen to GPS directions, that's when having no headphone jack becomes a major inconvenience. Don't get me wrong, I would rather use an in-car GPS rather than a smartphone, but many people are different. Most of the time, the volume of the phone isn't loud enough when you are cruising and the freeway, and you might miss an exit as a result.
This is how I think they should've done the audio solution instead.

Honestly I use Bluetooth in the car though so you can listen to music, charge, and get gps no problem.

Most aftermarket stereo units nowadays do it all through the lightning cable now. My kenwood does. Charge, aux, and give gps through the speakers.

 

[jamezr]

If you have to charge your phone, and at the same time use an aux port to listen to GPS directions, that's when having no headphone jack becomes a major inconvenience. Don't get me wrong, I would rather use an in-car GPS rather than a smartphone, but many people are different. Most of the time, the volume of the phone isn't loud enough when you are cruising and the freeway, and you might miss an exit as a result.
This is how I think they should've done the audio solution instead.

My sons has a 6s and sits on the sofa and watches his favorite YouTube stars with his headphones on so as to not disturb the rest of the family. His 6s gets low on battery he plugs it into an external battery and keeps going. The iphone 7 will not allow him to do that as it only has the one lightning port

 

[C DM]

So why have a dig at apple at the note keynote again?

Odd

http://www.sammobile.com/2016/10/03...s-next-flagship-wont-pack-a-3-5mm-audio-jack/

Samsung's Next-Generation Galaxy S8 Won't Include a Headphone Jack

 

[The Game 161]

Samsung's Next-Generation Galaxy S8 Won't Include a Headphone Jack

"wireless is the future"

I can see it now.

 

[Truefan31]

"wireless is the future"

I can see it now.

The ironic thing is that Samsung just had a release when they did the note 7 and made a point to say it had a headphone jack. Now if they take it away so soon it just shows a bad look in terms of following the supposed trend the iPhone 7 did.

 

[Klyster]

Yeah that would be a double standard lol.
I could see Samsung maybe including a set of wireless headphones though.?.hopefully..

Proprietary jacks seemed daft to me a decade ago,I guess the headset tech has evolved and improved to the point where it's starting to make sense.
USB C makes sense imo, as it's less proprietary but the extra wear the power jack gets could be an issue over time....
Wireless charging might negate that.

I guess we need to wrap our heads around the idea that wired sound is going to be used less from now on.
There will be those who demand wired headphones, and there's still choice at this time.
Things will get a bit limited for those who won't compromise on having no option if 3.5mm free phones become the norm.
Some companywill capitalise on that though no doubt.

I don't use headphones unless I have to so it doesn't bother me much... 🙂

 

[5105973]

Amazon had a sale on Samsung wireless charging pads. I use mine a lot now. I have Bluetooth head phones and ear buds. My phones connect to my truck via Bluetooth. We can easily go totally wireless now if we wanted to.

I don't want to. 😡

I am satisfied with the pictures and videos my S7 Edge and HTC 10 take. Camera improvements were my main reason for upgrading iPhones every year. Shockingly, even though I expected 2016 to be a dud year for smart phones, this is the happiest I've ever been with my smart phone purchases, even with my sad Note 7 soap opera. iPhone SE, HTC 10, S7 Edge...are awesome phones. And despite having the "outdated" headphone jacks, they feel perfectly cutting edge to me.

I'm greatly annoyed by this drive to remove the headphone jack. I have decided to take myself off the upgrade path until I'm no longer annoyed. I'm very grumpy, so that could take a while.

Poop on Apple and Samsung and HTC for taking the headphone jacks off of their newer models. Get off my lawn!

I now return you to your discussion while I go and walk the dog and get my morning coffee. I prefer tea, but this morning I need coffee, dammit. Grumble grumble grrrrrr.

 

[Roadstar]

Amazon had a sale on Samsung wireless charging pads. I use mine a lot now. I have Bluetooth head phones and ear buds. My phones connect to my truck via Bluetooth. We can easily go totally wireless now if we wanted to.

I don't want to. 😡

Same here. I use Bluetooth connection in my car almost exclusively and also have and use two different pairs of Bluetooth headphones regularly as for most cases they are rather convenient. However, I do appreciate the fact that my phones have a headphone connection that doesn't rely on an adapter which is all too likely to be somewhere else in the occasions when it would be needed. In addition, Bluetooth with its latency is not suitable for use with my guitar accessories. There are some areas where wired connection is still superior and dealing with additional adapters will be a nuisance.

 

[5105973]

Same here. I use Bluetooth connection in my car almost exclusively and also have and use two different pairs of Bluetooth headphones regularly as for most cases they are rather convenient. However, I do appreciate the fact that my phones have a headphone connection that doesn't rely on an adapter which is all too likely to be somewhere else in the occasions when it would be needed. In addition, Bluetooth with its latency is not suitable for use with my guitar accessories. There are some areas where wired connection is still superior and dealing with additional adapters will be a nuisance.

I've been reading comments here and there from people who have gotten either iPhones or the Motorola phones that lack the headphone jack. Many have expressed some surprise that it has indeed proven more inconvenient than they expected to be without the 3.5 mm jack.

I would not be surprised. I already know my habits and preferences well enough to know I'm not ready or willing to make this move yet. Eventually, I will. But both of my Bluetooth headphones are relatively new and experience cut outs and interference. Someday, it will make sense to replace them and when it does, I'm sure wireless headphone options will be greatly improved and hopefully less costly than they are now for decent quality. Then I will be ready to deal with a smart phone that lacks the 3.5 mm jack.

I don't think I would ever care to use USB or lightning headphones because the bulk at the terminus of the wire is more than I care to deal with in my pocket. And Apple lightning wires are horribly fragile where the wire terminates into the Lightning connector. Worse even than standard thin headphone jack wires.

 

[tbayrgs]

I can certainly empathize with anyone who would find it too compromising to use a smartphone without a headphone jack. There are certainly many use cases than can not easily be accomplished on a device without the analog 3.5mm jack.

I personally ditched using it years ago and other than the ever so rarely time where I decided to plug in traditional headphones, have found that I don't miss it on my 7 Plus--in fact, actually forgot it was actually omitted. I embraced BT for wireless audio years ago (headphones and in my car) and while it's certainly not a perfect solution, it continues to get better every year and the bluetooth 5.0 standard looks to improve it dramatically.

I was able to pick up a pair of the new Beats solo3 wireless headphones (Beats being far from my first choice in brand) at a steep discount and have been pleasantly surprised. The sound is as good as any other bluetooth solution I've used but what appears to have made a huge difference is the new W1 chip. Range is much further (I leave my phone in the house and still stay connected out in my backyard) and battery life is ridiculous--haven't charged em yet, remaining battery left per my iPhone is 66% and I took delivery November 14. 😱 Quickly switching audio source on any of my other Apple gear is seamless and super quick--no need to go into BT settings to manually connect, just touch the AirPlay icon and connect. I only had to pair them the very first time on my iPhone and they were immediately available on any of my other Apple gear.

Back to the thread at hand...is anyone really surprised if Samsung goes this route? Yes, they have a history of including any number of new software/hardware features in their phones (the proverbial 'throw **** at a wall and see what sticks' mentality) but at the same time, they are the one of the biggest 'me too' culprits in the industry. I personally thought it wouldn't happen until the Galaxy 9 but am not surprised by this rumor in the slightest.

The larger point here though is people may not like this trend but they better get used to it because it's happening and not going away. The 2 best selling smartphones from the largest providers of smartphones will have made this change (if the rumor is true). Yes, there will still be phones that include a headphone jack but as this trend continues, your choices will quickly be limited and consequently, you may have to make significant compromises elsewhere on your phone in order to get your analog jack. I'd give odds of 50/50 that the next Pixel doesn't have one either. 😉

 

[M5RahuL]

I'll be clinging on to my LG V20 for sometime, if this is true!

Although, with Samsung having bought Harman, I still have hopes of seeing the headphone jack with a respectable onboard DAC finally!