I don’t even want one. I was initially mad that big comoanies have such power to decide what I want for me. People always say “let the market decide” but the decisions really do come from the top and are often cynical as fuck. But no, I don’t really want one.
Even though it was annoying to me at first and I hate wireless earbuds, I realized I don’t actually want to play audio with my phone. I have an mp3 player for songs, I have a laptop for video, one of those is always a better choice.
The main reason for me is consistency. I listen to white noise for sleeping, and when I used a phone for that it would often get interrupted by stuff like the phone randomly restarting for whatever reason phones sometimes do that, or there was a software update that changed something so the volume button on the earbuds activated voice assistant which made a noise that wasn’t disabled by do-not-disturb mode, or all the other various quirks and exceptions to how do-not-disturb mode works, or the UI or functionality of whatever audio app I was using suddenly being different in a way I didn’t like because apps can just update themselves like that. Transferring files to a phone over usb can be a little involved and sometimes bug out. Then there’s that it shares a battery with the phone, which may have gotten low for other reasons, and the trend with phones of not having a headphone jack or sd card slot.
An mp3 player only does one thing, has no network connectivity, does not update its software, and is designed around non-wireless file transfer. that makes it better than a phone for audio from my perspective. You can turn off the phone and use the mp3 player and all of your phone’s bullshit goes away.
I too was upset when phone makers started to remove the headphone jack, but after having a couple of phones without one, I basically realized that I didn’t use it very much and I don’t miss having it. I use Bluetooth these days anyway. I mostly listen to music on my phone while walking anyway, so having a wire that barely went from my ears to my phone was a hassle anyway.
I don’t get it. This poll is largely in favor of jacks. I love my Bluetooth buds so much more. No more with I have to deal with broken wires. No more do I have to deal with moving my hand and accidentally snagging the cord, forcing my phone to the floor. No more do I have to deal with the cord creating noise as it rubs against the zipper of my jacket…
if you don’t need noise isolation, I switched to bone induction headphones (which are awesome). I can wear buds, but they suck at the gym and are just annoying
When my headphones run out of battery, I switch to using the aux cord. The jack also allows me to play backing tracks through my guitar amp via the aux cord. I agree that wireless is superior for everyday use, but there are certain situations where I need the headphone jack.
Response is headphone jack is beyond just the use of the bluetooth buds. My work truck doesn’t have a bluetooth adapter, a $2 cord takes care of the problem. My parents Subaru when I’m driving them around when they visit does have Bluetooth, but gets angry if you try to connect another phone, guess what? Same $2 cord in my truck allows me to connect in. When I’m working a 12 hour day, headset batteries don’t last that long, nor does my phone really. But I can hook up my phone to a battery pack, then have it plug into a speaker by aux, by god it just works.
Bluetooth is fantastic if you go to the same place every day, and every piece of equipment is yours and connected in and auto connects. But those of us that travel it’s nice to have a plugin that just works without playing the “Why is it not recognizing?” game.
Solved with a cigarette lighter powered Bluetooth adapter that’s small enough to pack around. Or you can get aux ones too.
I used to do a ton of travelling too. I haven’t used that jack on my phone in over 10 years.
Even at that, if you’re plugging in a cord to your phone what’s wrong with an adapter? Basically the same thing. Additionally I think you can get ones that allow you to use aux and charge at the same time
I started appreciate it after I got phone with only USB-C. Now I swear I won’t buy a phone without it. So basically I can choose between Asus ROG phone or Sony Xperia. I don’t think any other flagship still includes jack.
I want it and use it and therefore got a S10+ just bc it’s Samsung last flagship that featured it. What’s even more annoying, that my 10" tablet hasn’t got one there is absolutely no shortage in space on that device why you had to drop it.
The relationship I have work my phone is that I don’t necessarily have a phone that I can use as a music player, as much as I have a music player/internet device that I can call with.
I use wireless headphones. However, I like to have non-distracting background music at work (open-plan office), and I won’t put my personal files (music) on a company-owned laptop. So I run a wire from my phone’s headphone jack to the laptop line-in, and can thus play music without any mixing of data.
I thought I did and was so against manufacturers removong them. Until I got Airpods. So much better. Perfect ear fit like no other. No cable mess. Instant auto connect between devices. I can ping them. And they’ve held up longer than any cable headphones as well, whose cables always break. And they get tangled. I’ve had the Airpods for three years now and they still hold battery for a full day use for me. Charging them fully takes like 15 minutes.
I’m sure there are similarly good headphones for other brands, this is just my own experience with Airpods.
In case I must have a cable for some reason I can plug in a tiny 3,5mm adapter through the charging port. So that’s not a problem either.
Also the phone has better water and dust resistance with one port less.
I’m in the minority that basically never needs one and is okay with using a USB-C dongle in those cases. But I don’t mind phones having one, and perfectly understand the argument for keeping it. Form over function is definitely a factor in modern phone design.
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