# Will (non Apple) phones ever get rid of the headphone socket?



## paolo (Jul 29, 2016)

It's widely speculated that Apple will be getting rid of the standard headphone socket on their next phone.

Will other companies do the same, at some point? What's our guess?


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## bi0boy (Jul 29, 2016)

No, they will still use the headphone sockets in 100 years time when no one uses headphones anymore but has neural implants instead and phones are just software on the mind-machine interface module.


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## pengaleng (Jul 29, 2016)

no, it's ridiculous.


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## editor (Jul 29, 2016)

paolo said:


> It's widely speculated that Apple will be getting rid of the standard headphone socket on their next phone.
> 
> Will other companies do the same, at some point? What's our guess?


Already done 
The Moto Z and Z Force are Motorola's new modular flagships

The Moto Z comes with a shitty adaptor too. 
This is the Moto Z's USB-C headphone jack adapter


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## editor (Jul 29, 2016)

Taking the headphone jack off phones is user-hostile and stupid

Correct.


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## paolo (Jul 29, 2016)

editor said:


> Already done
> The Moto Z and Z Force are Motorola's new modular flagships
> 
> The Moto Z comes with a shitty adaptor too.
> This is the Moto Z's USB-C headphone jack adapter



Am thinking mainstream - eg Samsung?


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## two sheds (Jul 29, 2016)

Sorry I'm missing something here - how do you listen to your music with headphones? Is there a mini usb and adapter or something?


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## paolo (Jul 29, 2016)

two sheds said:


> Sorry I'm missing something here - how do you listen to your music with headphones? Is there a mini usb and adapter or something?



Without a standard socket - maybe Bluetooth? Or, as you say, some kind of adaptor.


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## BigTom (Jul 30, 2016)

two sheds said:


> Sorry I'm missing something here - how do you listen to your music with headphones? Is there a mini usb and adapter or something?



Yes, although in Apple's case it's a lightning connector rather than USB, or as mentioned, bluetooth.


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## Spymaster (Jul 30, 2016)

two sheds said:


> Sorry I'm missing something here - how do you listen to your music with headphones? Is there a mini usb and adapter or something?


Yes. Or wireless.

Apple's saying its to make their phones waterproof, although Samsung seem to have done that without getting rid of the 3.5mm socket.

It'll make a lot of people's expensive hardware redundant but it'll happen over years, like with vcr's and cassette tapes.

Tbh, I'd rather have a waterproof phone than corded headphones.


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## Kanda (Jul 30, 2016)

After dragging wires around with me for years, I am finally 'anti-wires'. I have a Wifi Display adaptor for classroom presentations, Bluetooth headphones and mouse. So all I carry is my Surface Pro charger which has a USB charging port on it and a micro USB cable.

...and a wifi Hard drive.


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## EastEnder (Jul 30, 2016)

Wirelessly connected headphones are fine until the damn things won't pair up properly. A physical cable is cheap is foolproof. Plus all the extra wireless stuff uses more power, and we all know how long contemporary phone batteries last...

Added to which, over the many years I have accumulated an Aladdin's cave of audio cables & connectors, adaptors, doublers, converters - you name it. I have several boxes worth under the bed, bulging with every conceivable connectivity thingumabob just in case I ever need it (which is almost never), what am I supposed to do with all that crap? I bet even Oxfam wouldn't want it...


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## oneflewover (Jul 30, 2016)

Spymaster said:


> Tbh, I'd rather have a waterproof phone than corded headphones.



Sony Xperia manage both.
Are headphones waterproof?


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## Spymaster (Jul 30, 2016)

.


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## Spymaster (Jul 30, 2016)

Spymaster said:


> [QUOTE="oneflewover, post: 14628610, member: 22104"S]Are headphones waterproof?



I've never dropped my headphones in a bog/bath, or accidentally gone swimming with them in my pocket.

I have done with 3 telephones though.


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## gentlegreen (Jul 30, 2016)

The headphone socket on my 5 year old ZTE skate had a funny turn yesterday - not only stopping the music player, but selecting "shuffle" mode and playing loads of snippets.
If I didn't use it as a bedtime radio, I would have fitted a short socket-saving extension. I probably should have properly investigated Bluetooth.
It's done this before and I'm hoping cleaning it with alcohol hand gel will fix it ...
The micro USB socket is a worry too. I do all my file transfer using WIFI...


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## bi0boy (Jul 30, 2016)

Intel wants to kill the 3.5mm audio jack, replace with USB-C | ExtremeTech


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## two sheds (Jul 30, 2016)

Spymaster said:


> I've never dropped my headphones in a bog/bath, or accidentally gone swimming with them in my pocket.
> 
> I have done with 3 telephones though.



You want to go back to proper landline telephone I've never dropped that in the bog or bath in 40 years of using them (mind you now having said that ... )


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## bubblesmcgrath (Jul 30, 2016)

Spymaster said:


> Apple's saying its to make their phones waterproof, although Samsung seem to have done that without getting rid of the 3.5mm socket.
> .



Dropped my s6 into the loo about a week ago. It was definitely not waterproof.
Although after 48 hours in a bowl of rice it has recovered.


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## Spymaster (Jul 30, 2016)

It's the S7 that's meant to be waterproof.


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## gentlegreen (Jul 30, 2016)

two sheds said:


> You want to go back to proper landline telephone I've never dropped that in the bog or bath in 40 years of using them (mind you now having said that ... )



Best be careful not to have too much slack on the butler's speaking tube though ...


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## bubblesmcgrath (Jul 30, 2016)

Spymaster said:


> It's the S7 that's meant to be waterproof.


Samsung s5 was waterproof too. 
Looks like every second one released ...


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## two sheds (Jul 30, 2016)

bubblesmcgrath said:


> Dropped my s6 into the loo about a week ago. It was definitely not waterproof.
> Although after 48 hours in a bowl of rice it has recovered.



Bet the water got in through the headphone socket  rubbish idea they are


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## bubblesmcgrath (Jul 30, 2016)

A


two sheds said:


> Bet the water got in through the headphone socket  rubbish idea they are



It went top in first and the water went half way up the phone but nowhere near the headphone socket.... 
It's grand now.


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## Throbbing Angel (Jul 30, 2016)

this is a stupid move - until there is a decent replacement - carrying extra stuff isn't a solution - nor are proprietary headphones, ffs. _They_ can't make phones *that* much thinner by doing this - not that anyone gives a fuck about a phone being 6mm as opposed to 7 or 8mm thick (do they? why?).


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## pesh (Jul 30, 2016)

bubblesmcgrath said:


> A
> 
> 
> It went top in first and the water went half way up the phone but nowhere near the headphone socket....
> It's grand now.


Probably worth binning the rice thou


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## Saul Goodman (Jul 30, 2016)

Throbbing Angel said:


> this is a stupid move - until there is a decent replacement - carrying extra stuff isn't a solution - nor are proprietary headphones, ffs. _They_ can't make phones *that* much thinner by doing this - not that anyone gives a fuck about a phone being 6mm as opposed to 7 or 8mm thick (do they? why?).


There is a much better replacement. USB-C. 
It'll mean all headphones will be active, with a built-in DAC. 
If you want to use analogue headphones, you'll have to invest in an active USB-C D/A converter.


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## bubblesmcgrath (Jul 30, 2016)

pesh said:


> Probably worth binning the rice thou



Binned immediately post fix lol


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## Spymaster (Jul 30, 2016)

bubblesmcgrath said:


> Binned immediately post fix lol


Why?


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## fishfinger (Jul 30, 2016)

Spymaster said:


> Why?


Wee wee water in the wice!


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## xenon (Jul 30, 2016)

I had a supposedly waterproof Walkman. I never actually tested it.

I've never dropped my phone in the bog or sink. I've had to replace headphones frequently when the wires break inside the cable. I'm not going to use Bluetooth to listen to music on Bluetooth headphones for various reasons, battery, sound quality etc.

I don't care about waterproof. You can't use a touch screen in the rain anyway IME.


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## xenon (Jul 30, 2016)

Saul Goodman said:


> There is a much better replacement. USB-C.
> It'll mean all headphones will be active, with a built-in DAC.
> If you want to use analogue headphones, you'll have to invest in an active USB-C D/A converter.



It's just moving that function to the headphones and out of the phone. This is of no overall benefit to many of us.


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## ViolentPanda (Jul 30, 2016)

paolo said:


> Am thinking mainstream - eg Samsung?



Samsung have already done it on several phones. My old E250 dumbphone has a proprietary headphone socket - a variation on a mini-usb - rather than a 3.5mm jobbie.


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## gentlegreen (Jul 30, 2016)

Jack sockets are seriously crap. It has to go. Ditto any things that are overtly "sockets" .
Wireless charging is probably somewhat over-hyped, but there's probably a limit to what you could get away with in terms of unshuttered contacts on the outside of the phone.


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## souljacker (Jul 30, 2016)

ViolentPanda said:


> Samsung have already done it on several phones. My old E250 dumbphone has a proprietary headphone socket - a variation on a mini-usb - rather than a 3.5mm jobbie.


Some old phones had non standard connectors too. I had a Nokia that had a weird connector and a Samsung flip phone that wasn't a 3.5mm TRS. This was years ago mind. Probably early noughties.


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## Throbbing Angel (Jul 31, 2016)

ViolentPanda said:


> Samsung have already done it on several phones. My old E250 dumbphone has a proprietary headphone socket - a variation on a mini-USB - rather than a 3.5mm jobbie.





souljacker said:


> Some old phones had non-standard connectors too. I had a Nokia that had a weird connector and a Samsung flip phone that wasn't a 3.5mm TRS. This was years ago mind. Probably early noughties.



Same here, I've had both Nokia and Samsung phones that had those and they are a pain.
In both cases they were cumbersome, the connectors were badly placed, fiddly, I couldn't use the headphones I wanted to without buying an overpriced headphone set or buying an adaptor.
Pain in the arse.


Do these different usb ports (for headphones) use more phone battery power? 
  I am assuming that Bluetooth headphones draw more than using a 3.5mm headset?


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## editor (Jul 31, 2016)

xenon said:


> I don't care about waterproof. You can't use a touch screen in the rain anyway IME.


'Tis a handy feature to have sometimes though, especially given the millions of phones that end up in toilets/baths/rivers etc every year.


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## editor (Jul 31, 2016)

Throbbing Angel said:


> Same here, I've had both Nokia and Samsung phones that had those and they are a pain.
> In both cases they were cumbersome, the connectors were badly placed, fiddly, I couldn't use the headphones I wanted to without buying an overpriced headphone set or buying an adaptor.
> Pain in the arse.
> 
> ...


The amount of time I've seen disappointed iPhone users come up to the DJ booth where I'm playing and ask if we have a spare power supply. If only Apple adopted the USB standard used by the vast majority of phones...


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## editor (Jul 31, 2016)

gentlegreen said:


> Jack sockets are seriously crap. It has to go. Ditto any things that are overtly "sockets" .
> Wireless charging is probably somewhat over-hyped, but there's probably a limit to what you could get away with in terms of unshuttered contacts on the outside of the phone.


I love wireless charging. I wish my phone did it. Having to fiddle about and shove a cable in seems seriously Ye Olde once you get used to just slapping a phone down on a surface. My Palm phone had it about 5 years ago yet it _still _hasn't hit the mainstream.


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## bubblesmcgrath (Jul 31, 2016)

Speaking of charging....the Samsung fast charger is fantastic.  
Just saying.


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## The Boy (Jul 31, 2016)

editor said:


> 'Tis a handy feature to have sometimes though, especially given the millions of phones that end up in toilets/baths/rivers etc every year.



Millions? I think I know two people who've had that happen.  

Though when we went to a friend's house for a session and the guy with a waterproof phone kept just dropping it into my glass of water, and those who were wasted kept panicking and checking the table for their phones - that was quite funny, but you probably had to be there.


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## The Boy (Jul 31, 2016)

editor said:


> If only Apple adopted the USB standard used by the vast majority of phones...



Proprietary standards are a ballache in dozens of areas from messaging apps to power cables, IMO.


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## editor (Jul 31, 2016)

The Boy said:


> Millions? I think I know two people who've had that happen.


Yep. Millions every year. 855k in Britain alone, if this report is to be believed.

885,000 Britons flush phones down the toilet | TechRadar


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## editor (Jul 31, 2016)

The Boy said:


> Proprietary standards are a ballache in dozens of areas from messaging apps to power cables, IMO.


But it's only Apple that produces smartphones with their fucking proprietary interface.


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## The Boy (Jul 31, 2016)

editor said:


> I love wireless charging. I wish my phone did it. Having to fiddle about and shove a cable in seems seriously Ye Olde once you get used to just slapping a phone down on a surface. My Palm phone had it about 5 years ago yet it _still _hasn't hit the mainstream.



But surely the wireless  thing has to plug in somewhere? Not a huge advantage if you always charge in the same place, and downright inconvenient if you're on the move, no? 

Then again, this is the first time I could have used the multi-quote function and I failed, so I'm obviously as far from the bleeding edge as it's possible to be.


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## The Boy (Jul 31, 2016)

editor said:


> Yep. Millions every year. 855k in Britain alone, if this report is to be believed.
> 
> 885,000 Britons flush phones down the toilet | TechRadar



Oh, you meant in the world?  Not gonna argue with that - though 855k still seems way huge.


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## editor (Jul 31, 2016)

The Boy said:


> But surely the wireless  thing has to plug in somewhere? Not a huge advantage if you always charge in the same place, and downright inconvenient if you're on the move, no?
> 
> Then again, this is the first time I could have used the multi-quote function and I failed, so I'm obviously as far from the bleeding edge as it's possible to be.


You just have a couple of charging pads scattered about and, of course, you can still use a regular socket. Win win!


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## The Boy (Jul 31, 2016)

editor said:


> But it's only Apple that produces smartphones with their fucking proprietary interface.



It is.  I was just just making sure we were throwing every other proprietary standard onto the fire while we had it lit.


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## editor (Jul 31, 2016)

The Boy said:


> It is.  I was just just making sure we were throwing every other proprietary standard onto the fire while we had it lit.


The only one that currently really bugs me is Ricoh who insist on using a _slightly differen_t USB-like interface for their GR camera.


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## The Boy (Jul 31, 2016)

editor said:


> You just have a couple of charging pads scattered about and, of course, you can still use a regular socket. Win win!



See, that just brings me back to the fact that if I'm charging me phone in the same places I've already got a charger plugged in there.

One of those portable battery packs on the other hand might tempt me if it could charge wirelessly.


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## The Boy (Jul 31, 2016)

editor said:


> The only one that currently really bugs me is Ricoh who insist on using a _slightly differen_t USB-like interface for their GR camera.



I have three items I refuse to throw out because if just *know* I have the appropriate charger lying around somewhere and someone might find them useful if they could be charged.


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## editor (Jul 31, 2016)

The Boy said:


> See, that just brings me back to the fact that if I'm charging me phone in the same places I've already got a charger plugged in there.


Well, I had a wireless charger by my bed and one in the office and I liked not having to fiddle with wires. The bedroom one was great if I came in pissed because USB leads can become very challenging then.


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## mauvais (Sep 24, 2016)

ViolentPanda said:


> Samsung have already done it on several phones. My old E250 dumbphone has a proprietary headphone socket - a variation on a mini-usb - rather than a 3.5mm jobbie.


Pretty much all phones before iPhone/Android had proprietary headphone connectors.


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## ViolentPanda (Sep 24, 2016)

mauvais said:


> Pretty much all phones before iPhone/Android had proprietary headphone connectors.



Except cheap Nokias.


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## UnderAnOpenSky (Sep 24, 2016)

ViolentPanda said:


> Except cheap Nokias.



They just had no headphones connector.


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## pengaleng (Sep 24, 2016)

I always knew it was bullshit to have music on your phone, thank fuck I got a new ipod


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## ViolentPanda (Sep 24, 2016)

UnderAnOpenSky said:


> They just had no headphones connector.



I know, hence the smiley.


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## UnderAnOpenSky (Sep 24, 2016)

pengaleng said:


> I always knew it was bullshit to have music on your phone, thank fuck I got a new ipod



It was all a cunning plan by Apple to sell more iPods.


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## editor (Sep 26, 2016)

Video claiming drilling into iPhone 7 will reveal hidden headphone port goes viral


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## keybored (Sep 26, 2016)

bi0boy said:


> Intel wants to kill the 3.5mm audio jack, replace with USB-C | ExtremeTech





> The content industry supports this move for an obvious reason — junking the 3.5mm jack allows them to finally close the “analog hole” in such devices and prevent customers from using audio jacks to make copies of media.


People actually do this?


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## editor (Sep 26, 2016)

keybored said:


> People actually do this?


People apparently did (if you mean the drill-yer-own-iphone bit).


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## keybored (Sep 26, 2016)

editor said:


> People apparently did (if you mean the drill-yer-own-iphone bit).


No. I meant the bit I quoted from the link bi0boy posted (people pirating digital files via the 3.5mm jack on their phones).

I can well believe a few iPhone users would drill a hole in their phones if they saw it on YouTube.


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## UnderAnOpenSky (Sep 28, 2016)

I'm not in favour of replacing the 3.5mm socket, but if it's going to be done, then a standard would of course be better. 

And here it is 

USB-C is now wired for sound, just like Sir Cliff Richard


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## paolo (Oct 11, 2016)

UnderAnOpenSky said:


> I'm not in favour of replacing the 3.5mm socket, but if it's going to be done, then a standard would of course be better.
> 
> And here it is
> 
> USB-C is now wired for sound, just like Sir Cliff Richard



Apple had a hand in the USB-C standard, and use it on one of their laptop models.

Speculate away as to why it's not their current choice for phones.


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