[ryandrake]

I sometimes can’t believe that after 3 years people are still feeling hurt about this thing. I mean, go ahead and vote with your wallet but wow, what a hill to choose to die on!

I’ve been through the obsolescence of floppy disks, cassette tapes, optical media/drives, DB9 serial ports, parallel printer ports, composite video, RCA audio jacks, VGA and countless other display output jacks, yet this silly 3.5mm headphone jack is the one that’s turned people so ridiculously mad! So unbelievable.

Just based on iPhone sales it doesn’t look like many people actually care, but those who do, boy are they vocal about it. Why is this such a burning issue? Just use the adapter or invest in a decent pair of BT headphones and never worry about it again. It’s been probably 4 years since I’ve even used a device with a 3.5mm plug.

[jobigoud]

> invest in a decent pair of BT headphones and never worry about it again

Except, everyday, when you need to charge them? And when you need to enable/disable the BT radio (unless you keep it always on but in that case the autonomy of the phone suffers).

I like my bone conduction BT headphones and use them almost everyday, but a passive "dumb" wired solution is very convenient and removing it is a strict downgrade. At a time when the new models don't really add a lot of value over the older ones this removal actually tips the balance to the wrong side. The improvements don't make up for it.

[Spivak]

There is a middle ground that is at some level really stupid but functional in that edge case.

You can buy BT to 3.5mm adapters that charge with USB-C. Most of the time charge isn’t an issue so you get the benefits of wireless headphones but in a pinch you can charge the adapter off your phone.

Is it dumb to use BT for two devices physically plugged into one another — yes. Does it work for the few times it’s needed — absolutely!

[bscphil]

> optical media/drives

They still make CDs, and in fact they're the only way to get many albums in a lossless digital format with no DRM.

> RCA audio jacks

You must not own a nice stereo amplifier. These are still the norm.

> VGA

90% of the classrooms at the university I work at have projectors with VGA only input. While it doesn't matter to me personally, I can see why some people want their laptop to be able to connect to these "obsolete" cables.

> It’s been probably 4 years since I’ve even used a device with a 3.5mm plug.

Well, good for you? Just like CDs and RCA cables, the 3.5 mm jack still works great. In fact it's the best (in terms of quality and reliability) consumer audio connector we've ever had, and probably ever will have. It's more than understandable why people would complain about having to switch to something that isn't as good. Just because you don't care about these issues doesn't mean that other people shouldn't.

[Spivak]

I mean dongle hell is pretty annoying but I do see the argument against having a bunch of ports when there’s an “everything if you wire the pins right” port.

[JohnFen]

> I’ve been through the obsolescence of[...]

The difference is that those things had replacements available that were at least adequate.

[baddox]

If adequate replacements really aren't available, that could be an indication that the people desiring such replacements truly are in a small minority, and that the market is functioning as it ought to.

[JohnFen]

It may be, but that's beside the point.

[stuff4ben]

Your bluetooth experiences don't mimic the majority. You've just had some shitty headphones and/or Android phones. Never a problem on my iphones 4, 6, 8 Plus and I'm sure my soon to be 11 Pro with 10s of bluetooth enabled devices (cars, headphones, speakers, etc).

[JohnFen]

I never claimed that my experiences reflected the majority. However, my experience is shared by a lot of other people nonetheless.

Also, I've tried a wide variety of different bluetooth earphones on a variety of different smartphones. If the problem is just that I haven't found the right combination, then I'd say that is an argument against bluetooth for this purpose.

I shouldn't have to do a deep research dive just to find the combination that works. We're talking about listening to music here, not something tricky where a large research effort is justified.

[recursive]

Are you implying that Android users are in some secondary group? I was under the impression that was a bigger group than any other.

[brokenmachine]

I'm on Android and bluetooth works fine in my car, with all the limitations that bluetooth has.

I use a headphone jack for headphones because I'm an audio snob and it's much better audio quality with zero latency, I can use quality headphones, and I don't have to charge another thing. Bluetooth is a step backwards.

pros of headphone jack:

much better audio quality, zero latency, lighter headphones, one less thing to charge every day

cons of headphone jack:

a wire

For me it's no contest, and there's no reason we can't have both.

I definitely won't be buying a phone without a headphone jack, and the suggestion that I have to make that compromise is stupid.

[kirstenbirgit]

I use an iPhone 6s and sometimes my AirPods cut out randomly, and loses signal if they're in my pocket. I've been on quite a few walks where I need to hold my iPhone in my hand instead of having it in my pocket in order to listen to my podcast or whatever. Sometimes it's not a problem at all, though. Sometimes they don't charge, so I can only use 1 AirPod while I wait 5 minutes for the other one to charge a little. I can really understand why someone might find bluetooth maddening, but personally I find the wires even more annoying. Different strokes...

[shkkmo]

> Just based on iPhone sales it doesn’t look like many people actually care, but those who do, boy are they vocal about it.

Hmm... You mean how iPhone sales have platued in the 3 years since this change was introduced or do you mean how 2016, the year they got rid of the headphone jack, was the first year in the history of the iPhone where sales decreased? I am not really seeing your point. (These numbers are primarily due to changes in the broader market)

I have lived with no headphone jack and done the dance with Bluetooth dongles and wireless headphones. Even if you avoid the pairing issues, battery is consistently an issue. Making sure that the various dongles are charged when you need them is adding unnecesary cognitive load.

[SamReidHughes]

Bro. It's the descent into modernism we're talking about here. The fall of Eurasian civilization into degenerate idiocracy. Do we scrape the exoplanets or do we pick through our own landfills for the rest of eternity? It all hinges on the 3.5 mm headphone jack.

[Endy]

All those technologies you named above are part of my daily life. I can't imagine not saving my (plaintext) writing on a floppy. I listen to CDs, and I watch DVDs. All of my video output is VGA or CGA. My DVD player uses RCA.

The 3.5 mm jack works - and it works well. I can connect audio devices together which were created a century apart. Heck, I use the same earphones in my phone, my computer, my TV, and my grandparents' record player. No software is required, no time is wasted "pairing". It just works. And I believe every piece of new tech should be held to the same standard - if it can't work as efficiently and as compatibly as a 3.5mm jack, take it back to the drawing board until it does.

[brokenmachine]

If you are using a floppy (or a DVD) nowadays, you are either a luddite or a masochist.

>if it can't work as efficiently and as compatibly as a 3.5mm jack, take it back to the drawing board until it does.

100% agree.

The fact this is even a discussion makes me weep for humanity.

[mackrevinack]

except you are ignoring the fact that the newer technologies we're drastically better. usb drives were far greater than floppy disks. cds were better then cassettes. Bluetooth is better than 3.5mm in a few small ways but inferior in every other way.

there was no reason why phone manufacturers couldn't leave the headphone jack alone until Bluetooth was ready but it was mainly a money grab to force customers to buy their bt headphones

[boring_twenties]

There are no Bluetooth headphones that are as good as even moderately priced analog ones, e.g. the Sennheiser/Massdrop 6xx ($200 new).