3.5mm headphone jack: Gone, but not gone

     Time flies, from the day the iPhone 7 was released, it has been five years since the 3.5mm headphone jack was removed. Too many things have happened in 5 years, Type-C headphones have been fully popularized, and TWS wireless headphones have entered the industry explosion period. Spending a budget of a few tens of dollars can basically solve the needs of "listening to songs and watching dramas".

     After Edison invented the electric light, the kerosene lamp disappeared; After the birth of the smartphone, the MP4 ushered in the end; When Apple launched its AirPods Bluetooth headphones, the 3.5mm headphone jack disappeared. The trend of technological development is like the flow of time, silent and silent, but powerless to resist.

     In 2021, most people have assumed that a mobile phone without a 3.5mm headphone jack is already a reasonable behavior.

     But I found a strange phenomenon, obviously Type-C headphones have been fully popular, but still many people miss the 3.5mm headphone jack. I'm not alone in noticing this, as the realme GT, released in March this year, deliberately retained the 3.5mm headphone jack as a selling point.

     Although the 3.5mm headphone hole is "eliminated", it has never really "disappeared", just like a disease that has existed for many years, why is this?

The hardest thing to change is habits

     The 3.5mm headphone jack is an "old" standard that has been in development for decades. The Type-C interface has been used as a headphone jack for only five years - and it is mainly played by mobile phone manufacturers.

     The problem is here, our home music players, TVS, computers, the development speed and smart phones are lagging behind, the vast majority of them are using 3.5mm interface. Among these audio devices, only smartphones are the only exception, only smartphones "out" of the standard.

     This is the root cause of our discomfort. The cable is not universal, which means we need to buy an extra headset for our smartphones to listen to music. Even if it is solved with the cheapest adapter, it is just asking for trouble.

     In addition, the phone only has a Type-C port, which means you can't listen to music and charge it at the same time, which is often the case with me. I'm used to listening to audiobooks before going to bed, and when my phone's battery starts to run out, I'm left with only two options: either stop taking my headphones off and charge them, or wait for the battery to run out and hope I can fall asleep before it automatically shuts off.

     From the perspective of user experience, the cancellation of the 3.5mm headphone jack by mobile phone manufacturers is absolutely a pure negative increase.

Higher usage costs

     Without the 3.5mm headphone jack, there are only two alternatives: Type-C wired headphone and TWS wireless Bluetooth headphone. Either way, it will inevitably lead to higher use costs.

     The 3.5mm headphone jack transmits an analog signal, and the "sound quality" depends on the DAC decoding chip built into the phone. The Type-C interface transmits digital signals, which have no "sound quality" at all, and rely on the audio decoding ability of external devices.

     That is to say, Type-C headphones not only have to do a good job of frequency response curve, but also built-in DAC decoding chip, the cost went up suddenly - and the price is too high-end and not necessarily someone is willing to buy, but mobile phone manufacturers have thrown out the pot, do not pursue Hifi-level decoding, happy. As for those tens of dollars a low-end Type-C headphones, the sound quality can really only be described as "listen to a ring".

     Type-C headphones are not cost-effective, but what about TWS wireless Bluetooth headphones? Battery anxiety is not much to say, and wired headphones than the battery life is playing rogue, I only say three pain points.

     First, in addition to AirPods on the market, the vast majority of low-end Bluetooth headphones can not do low latency, sound and painting is not synchronized is a difficult problem, used to listen to music is still tolerable. If you want a perfect, balanced, bright Bluetooth headset, such as the SONY noise-canceling bean, you have to prepare at least a thousand yuan budget;

     Second, the built-in battery of the Bluetooth headset has a life span, and it is generally replaced with less than 2 years. The service life of wired headphones is very long, the old headphones of ten years ago can be used, and even "the older the more popular."

     Third, Bluetooth headphones as ultra-small wireless digital products, it is too easy to lose. I've bought Bluetooth headphones 3 times in the past year and each time it was because one ear was missing. How many people are like me?

Summary: Why do we miss the 3.5mm headphone jack

     No one wants to go back to the days of push-button machines, because there's no need. The act of cutting the 3.5mm headphone jack did not improve the pain point, but added more pain. The reason we miss the 3.5mm headphone jack is because we are dissatisfied with the status quo.

I admit that technology will always improve, and wireless headphones are the trend, but I want to ask three questions.

1. At this stage to add a 3.5mm headphone jack, will affect the stability of Bluetooth 5.0, thereby reducing the use of wireless headphones experience?

2. Apple cancelled the 3.5mm headphone jack in order to IP68 dustproof and waterproof, in order to make the body thin and light. But even IP53 does not support the Android 1000 yuan machine, cancel the 3.5mm headphone jack is for what?

3. Can mobile phone manufacturers provide wireless headset solutions with the same level as AirPods? If not, why cut the 3.5mm headphone jack at the expense of the user experience?

     I have no doubt that if a new market can be created, it will be a matter of time before smartphones lose their charging ports in favor of more expensive and less compatible wireless charging + wireless data transfer solutions - something Apple seems to have already begun to do, with MagSafe on the iPhone 12.