Smartphones have developed from thick slabs with loads of bezels surrounding a tiny display within the early 2010s to sleeker, lighter slabs with extra display than bezel to carry. They’ve modified dramatically for higher and worse. We have gone from single-camera setups to a number of lenses; from thick bezels to near-bezelless designs; from a number of ports to only one. The list of smartphone features that no longer exist grows as years go by.
However one of many relatively controversial adjustments corporations made was the elimination of the headphone jack, which did not sit nicely with many high-fidelity sound fanatics. I was on the identical bandwagon, seeing it as a damaging change. Nevertheless, serious about it years later, after almost each telephone mannequin has adopted Apple’s controversial alternative, I believe that, regardless of the legitimate criticism, killing the headphone jack has made our telephones higher in several methods.
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Telephones grew to become extra sturdy and water resistant
Sturdiness comes at a worth
In comparison with the primary era of smartphones, trendy telephones are far more sturdy. Probably the most spectacular technological developments in making them sturdy is the addition of water resistance, often denoted utilizing Ingress Safety (IP) rankings like IP68. IP certification on trendy telephones means they embody some safety towards the entry of overseas supplies, corresponding to liquids and mud particles. Such an engineering feat may solely be achieved by decreasing openings via which water and mud can enter.
The headphone jack was a serious entry level for water and mud, and eradicating it made it simpler for corporations to seal gadgets towards the entry of exterior supplies. Immediately, IP68-rated telephones can deal with spills, rain, and even transient dips underwater—all thanks partially to having one much less gap to guard.
For instance, an IP68-rated telephone just like the Samsung Galaxy S25 can face up to being submerged in a single and a half meters (4.92 toes) of water for as much as half-hour with out sustaining any harm. The iPhone 17, however, could be submerged to a depth of as much as 6 meters (19.68 toes) of water for as much as half-hour with out harm. Whereas water-resistance doesn’t mean waterproof, I will choose water-resistance any day over having a headphone jack.
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Simplified port utilization with USB-C
One port for every part
USB-C has develop into the usual port on telephones, laptops, and even equipment like earbuds and energy banks. You would possibly dismiss it as one more interface, however it’s arguably probably the greatest issues to occur to shopper devices in current instances. It is a easy interface that not solely makes plugging in your charger simpler but additionally transfers information quicker.
Nevertheless, one of many lesser-known benefits of USB-C is that it may additionally transmit audio alerts due to USB audio. With USB-C audio, the USB-C port successfully replaces the antiquated headphone jack, making it pointless. So, regardless of not having the three.5mm jack, you possibly can nonetheless hearken to your music in lossless format utilizing the now-ubiquitous USB-C port.
This has simplified accent administration by decreasing cable litter as a result of one port handles charging, information switch, and digital audio. Even higher, extra headphones are adopting USB-C audio for wired listening like Apple’s AirPods Max and Sennheiser’s MOMENTUM 4 Wireless. In essence, you are not lacking out on something due to not having a devoted port for audio output.
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It created extra room for {hardware} enhancements
It freed up house for extra vital enhancements
When designing the modern-day smartphone, corporations have restricted house to accommodate every part they will. In spite of everything, we have come to count on our telephones to be a number of millimeters thick and weigh nearly 200 grams. Go above that threshold, and the telephone feels cumbersome and is taken into account exhausting to hold round.
Due to this, the one approach corporations can ship smooth and transportable gadgets is by doing every part they will to make most use of the obtainable house. And that generally consists of making controversial adjustments, like eradicating the headphone jack or devoted microSD card slots.
Positive, the headphone jack might sound small at roughly 3.5mm vast, however when you think about that it requires a cylindrical housing plus house for circuitry, it takes up some invaluable inside house. With out it, producers have gained extra room to make our smartphones higher. That small change has enabled corporations to make a number of enhancements, like together with bigger batteries, delivering higher haptics, or enhancing cooling techniques to deal with much more demanding duties with out overheating shortly.
Eradicating the headphone jack was for the higher
Corporations eradicating the headphone jack from telephones appeared backwards on the time, however over time, I’ve come to acknowledge it was for the higher. Trendy-day telephones have develop into miles higher than their older counterparts in numerous methods, together with, however not restricted to, greater battery capacities and better sturdiness.
Plus, as a shopper, I recognize the simplified accent administration due to utilizing one port for every part. However as somebody who has had a number of audio cables break, I nonetheless have not missed having the headphone jack.
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