Why wouldn’t you prefer a headphone jack in your phone? It is yet another option for headphones that worst case you don’t use. The only reason it has been removed is because it saves companies a few cents on the cost to build the product.
They remove it to push people to use bluetooth, on iOS this means you wont disable it permanently and keep Apples tracking network alive. Not that nasty on Android but I suppose the same reasoning
I should have added, that for companies that sell Bluetooth headphones it also helps drive sales for those devices, particularly that is why Apple did it.
Yeah, Apple even bought Beats and immediately let the brand stagnate literally just so they wouldn’t have any competition in the marketing space. That kind of move basically confirms that other moves they did likely had similar rationale.
It’s possible that Apple is actually aiming towards their “portless phone” dream, and this death of the jack was just a step. But I’ll take it for the “we must employ the closest practice to profiteering as we can in the wireless audio space” aspect it appears to have.
One positive for me about the included earphones is they are great utility earphones for when I’m mixing/mastering music. They have a pretty flat and even response so it’s one of the devices I use to test my music on “regular” sound systems to make sure they sound good on all types of equipment.
That totally depends on what headphones though. Apple’s maybe, I wasn’t really too discerning last time I had some of those, but on Android it was a mess. Samsung had decent ones some years, Google’s were generally okay at best, and LOADS were just actual trash.
Color me surprised to hear that then. The few times I had used them, I couldn’t get over how uncomfortable they were for my ear (which is why I never used then much)
I’ve always been lambasted for this opinion, but I feel the same way about the charging cable and charger.
I do not want yet another 1 metre (if they’re even that, most likely 3 foot) USB-C cable that barely reaches from the charger on the floor to the bedside table - and largely precludes actually using the phone while in bed - nor particularly the included charger. So many things need to be plugged in these days that single-output chargers are also basically e-waste.
Of course because some business genius had the idea that making the USB cable 0.9 instead of 1.8m saved them $0.06 per unit shipped, we all got lumped with those useless cables.
Now of course there will always be people for whom it’s their first phone (or whatever situation), who do need those accessories. But all that requires is there to be a retail bundle with the now-accessory charger and cable. Preferably that bundle costs the same as the phone with them included does today and you get a token discount for the phone without them, although we all know it would never work that way :(
I’m in the minority on this myself, but I fully agree. Honestly, I don’t even need the discount, tell me I can make a fraction less plastic waste and I’m pretty much there.
When I got a new phone a couple years ago, I just put the cable at my desk so I had a spot to plug in misc stuff, but I definitely didn’t need it.
Oh, cassettes were just designed to go wrong altogether 😆
But while wired headphones are indeed “analog devices” they do not have any mechanical parts moving, so really if you take good care of them they can last a lifetime. (Unlike BT headphones with batteries with approximate estimations of life). 🤒🤕
I never said anything about the headphones. I was referring to the port, which can get gunked up, damaged by water, or all sorts of other stuff. in my many many years of using Bluetooth headphones of all types, I’ve never had a single thing go wrong— and because I am a responsible adult, I’m capable of recharging my batteries.
The era of annoying snags painfully pulling out wired headphones from my ears is a headache I’m very glad to have left behind long ago.
I think the point is more that in seeking to satisfy people like you, they’ve made everyone who likes the more reliable tech SOL.
Personally I love my bt headphones, but I also liked having a wired set for backup in case my battery ran out. If I had a choice between a jack and no jack on an otherwise feature-identical phone I’d choose the jack
I’m capable of keeping my batteries charged and haven’t really run into that problem. I also appreciate having my phone be water resistant and having one last thing to go wrong like getting the port get gunked up from stuff in my pocket. 
As far as reliability goes, I suggest you try some better headphones, because I’ve never had a reliability problem either. 
Why wouldn’t you prefer a headphone jack in your phone?
I’ve seen some people literally say that they don’t want a phone with a useless hole in it (in fact, it was said right here on Lemmy not long ago), whereas others claim that not having a headphone jack == bigger battery. Some, like Fairphone fanboys in particular, have gone as far as claiming that removing the headphone jack reduces e-waste…
Some, like Fairphone fanboys in particular, have gone as far as claiming that removing the headphone jack reduces e-waste…
That is a terrible argument for someone to make. There is no way to argue that removing the headphone jack does anything but create more e-waste. First from all the perfectly good wired headphones that are now forced to be replaced, secondly from the fact that Bluetooth headphones all have a shelf life due to the li-ion battery after which they become e-waste. Even with the Fairphone headphones the battery becomes e-waste that wouldn’t exist with wired headphones, cables do wear out too, but replacing that part will have a smaller energy footprint to replace than a battery.
Why wouldn’t you prefer a headphone jack in your phone? It is yet another option for headphones that worst case you don’t use. The only reason it has been removed is because it saves companies a few cents on the cost to build the product.
They remove it to push people to use bluetooth, on iOS this means you wont disable it permanently and keep Apples tracking network alive. Not that nasty on Android but I suppose the same reasoning
I should have added, that for companies that sell Bluetooth headphones it also helps drive sales for those devices, particularly that is why Apple did it.
Yeah, Apple even bought Beats and immediately let the brand stagnate literally just so they wouldn’t have any competition in the marketing space. That kind of move basically confirms that other moves they did likely had similar rationale.
It’s possible that Apple is actually aiming towards their “portless phone” dream, and this death of the jack was just a step. But I’ll take it for the “we must employ the closest practice to profiteering as we can in the wireless audio space” aspect it appears to have.
I am curious when they want to buy Bose, as they are pretty much the most common headphones people wear around me
More importantly it removes the expectation to include earbuds with the phone as well as allows them to sell you Bluetooth ones
Let’s be honest though, included earbuds were pretty universally garbage and the world is probably better off without the ewaste.
That said, please bring back the headphone jack.
One positive for me about the included earphones is they are great utility earphones for when I’m mixing/mastering music. They have a pretty flat and even response so it’s one of the devices I use to test my music on “regular” sound systems to make sure they sound good on all types of equipment.
That totally depends on what headphones though. Apple’s maybe, I wasn’t really too discerning last time I had some of those, but on Android it was a mess. Samsung had decent ones some years, Google’s were generally okay at best, and LOADS were just actual trash.
Yeah I forgot to mention I was pertaining to the apple wired earphones specifically.
Color me surprised to hear that then. The few times I had used them, I couldn’t get over how uncomfortable they were for my ear (which is why I never used then much)
Mostly true, yeah. The “AKG” ones that came with my S8 were honestly pretty damn nice though.
AKG ones were always great. I have a USB C pair from an old Samsung and they’re good too.
Yea I had a pair of those that I used for other phones, until I lost the pair.
I tried getting some “oem” ones from amazon but they weren’t the same
I’ve always been lambasted for this opinion, but I feel the same way about the charging cable and charger.
I do not want yet another 1 metre (if they’re even that, most likely 3 foot) USB-C cable that barely reaches from the charger on the floor to the bedside table - and largely precludes actually using the phone while in bed - nor particularly the included charger. So many things need to be plugged in these days that single-output chargers are also basically e-waste.
Of course because some business genius had the idea that making the USB cable 0.9 instead of 1.8m saved them $0.06 per unit shipped, we all got lumped with those useless cables.
Now of course there will always be people for whom it’s their first phone (or whatever situation), who do need those accessories. But all that requires is there to be a retail bundle with the now-accessory charger and cable. Preferably that bundle costs the same as the phone with them included does today and you get a token discount for the phone without them, although we all know it would never work that way :(
I’m in the minority on this myself, but I fully agree. Honestly, I don’t even need the discount, tell me I can make a fraction less plastic waste and I’m pretty much there. When I got a new phone a couple years ago, I just put the cable at my desk so I had a spot to plug in misc stuff, but I definitely didn’t need it.
Or they can include $20 wireless earbuds and say “Early preorder bonus earbuds, a $200 value if you ORDER NOW NOW NOW”
Just another thing I don’t use that takes up space and can go wrong. Same reason i don’t need it to have a cassette deck or 8-track player.
Oh, cassettes were just designed to go wrong altogether 😆
But while wired headphones are indeed “analog devices” they do not have any mechanical parts moving, so really if you take good care of them they can last a lifetime. (Unlike BT headphones with batteries with approximate estimations of life). 🤒🤕
I never said anything about the headphones. I was referring to the port, which can get gunked up, damaged by water, or all sorts of other stuff. in my many many years of using Bluetooth headphones of all types, I’ve never had a single thing go wrong— and because I am a responsible adult, I’m capable of recharging my batteries.
The era of annoying snags painfully pulling out wired headphones from my ears is a headache I’m very glad to have left behind long ago.
I think the point is more that in seeking to satisfy people like you, they’ve made everyone who likes the more reliable tech SOL.
Personally I love my bt headphones, but I also liked having a wired set for backup in case my battery ran out. If I had a choice between a jack and no jack on an otherwise feature-identical phone I’d choose the jack
I’m capable of keeping my batteries charged and haven’t really run into that problem. I also appreciate having my phone be water resistant and having one last thing to go wrong like getting the port get gunked up from stuff in my pocket. 
As far as reliability goes, I suggest you try some better headphones, because I’ve never had a reliability problem either. 
I’ve seen some people literally say that they don’t want a phone with a useless hole in it (in fact, it was said right here on Lemmy not long ago), whereas others claim that not having a headphone jack == bigger battery. Some, like Fairphone fanboys in particular, have gone as far as claiming that removing the headphone jack reduces e-waste…
That is a terrible argument for someone to make. There is no way to argue that removing the headphone jack does anything but create more e-waste. First from all the perfectly good wired headphones that are now forced to be replaced, secondly from the fact that Bluetooth headphones all have a shelf life due to the li-ion battery after which they become e-waste. Even with the Fairphone headphones the battery becomes e-waste that wouldn’t exist with wired headphones, cables do wear out too, but replacing that part will have a smaller energy footprint to replace than a battery.
All valid arguments
None of those are valid arguments, especially e-waste. It’s literally the opposite, fairphone is gaslighting.