OnePlus won't ditch the Jack port (for now)

[IAmAndre]

Source article from the Verge: https://www.theverge.com/circuitbreaker/2017/11/2/16597676/oneplus-5t-headphone-jack#ampshare=https://www.theverge.com/circuitbreaker/2017/11/2/16597676/oneplus-5t-headphone-jack

 

When I read such things, I can see that it's not that hard to make good phones and, OnePlus got it right. And no, no matter what people might say, dropping the Jack port isn't necessarily moving forward.

 

Quote

Lau says that OnePlus thinks the headphone jack is still necessary for two reasons. First is audio quality when it comes to all but the pricier models of headphones. Wireless can compete with wired, he says, “but as you get closer to the under $200 category, the options are more limited.” Second, he says that 80 percent of OnePlus owners use the headphone jack, and it wasn’t worth taking away that option to “further slim down our flagships” by going USB-C only.

I personally use a wireless headset all the time, but I still want to be able to plug in wired headphones when I want, and having this option removed to have the phone 5mm thinner sucks.

 

Quote

Sometimes, industry trends go against our core beliefs,” he writes. “This is one of those times when we respectfully disagree on what it means to be courageous.

I can only say "Amen" to that. However, OnePlus isn't committing to keep the headphone jack forever.

 

 

[Bananasplit_00]

i dont want my phone to be so slim that it cant have a 3.5mm jack... thats kind of too thin and with current batteries it REALLY is too thin

[jaggysnake57]

people said the same thing when apple dropped flash, if it drags forward technology then its for the best

[DrMacintosh]

But they will collect your data  

[PlayStation 2]

Remember that we're only a small, fairly unvocal minority of people who bitch about the lack of headphone jacks. The majority won't and don't really care.

[PlayStation 2]

1 minute ago, DrMacintosh said:

But they will collect your data  

OP is hardly the only one.

[NinJake]

2 minutes ago, DrMacintosh said:

But they will collect your data  

Take all my data of browsing reddit looking at cute puppies and bunnies in costumes as frogs.

[Dash Lambda]

... That Oneplus privacy thing is damning, but if they're really the only smartphone makers with a flagship-class device that even pretend to care about making a good phone for people to use anymore, then what option is there?

[IAmAndre]

15 minutes ago, jaggysnake57 said:

people said the same thing when apple dropped flash, if it drags forward technology then its for the best

I don't remember that. As a developer, I was among the people who were really happy about it.

[IAmAndre]

15 minutes ago, Dan Castellaneta said:

Remember that we're only a small, fairly unvocal minority of people who bitch about the lack of headphone jacks. The majority won't and don't really care.

More people have wired headphones rather than wireless ones and I don't think this will change any time soon. Non-techy people are more likely to use the headphones provided with the headphone, and enthusiasts usually prefer wired high end headphones.

[IAmAndre]

6 minutes ago, VegetableStu said:

... 3.5mm jack or 3.5mm port, this is my first time seeing "jack port" ._.

I'd need to check that. English is not my native language though

[Ekst4zy]

Good news. I still wouldn't buy OP phone. I don't want my device to spy on me... hello NSA  

[Keg Ops]

Ehh good for One Plus buyers I suppose. I never really used the headphone jack unless I used the earbuds that came with my phone. That being said I don't see any harm in keeping it as Samsung has already proven that you can still have a headphone jack in modern smartphones with just as much tech (IP68), although that might change if they go down the bezel-less route. 

 

Hopefully they prove their loyalty for it by shipping it with decent earbuds *cough cough pixel*

[TrigrH]

Quote

 80 percent

I bet hes rounding down lmao.

[Beskamir]

10 hours ago, jaggysnake57 said:

people said the same thing when apple dropped flash, if it drags forward technology then its for the best

I'm sorry but how exactly does removing features drive innovation?

[LAwLz]

16 hours ago, jaggysnake57 said:

people said the same thing when apple dropped flash, if it drags forward technology then its for the best

Can you please explain how dropping the headphone jack is for the best?

With flash there was some logic behind it. Move away from a proprietary solution which had a lot of issues (not mobile friendly, proprietary, lots of security issues, etc) to something more open and flexible.

The only drawback was compatibility. Everything else were pure benefits (once the standards were finalized at least). I still think Android did it better though. Allowing both for a fairly long period of time eased the transition a lot for me. Being able to use both was far better than only being able to use one. Besides, the industry was moving towards HTML5 anyway. iOS might have accelerated the move a bit, but we would have arrived at where we are today regardless of Apple dropping it or not.

 

With the headphone jack? You're just removing an almost perfect solution because you want to push a new one which is deeply flawed in multiple ways.

 

16 hours ago, Dan Castellaneta said:

OP is hardly the only one.

"Others are doing it too" is not excuse.

They did however give people an option to disable it, which is nice. It's a bit too hidden for my taste, but better than nothing.

[D13H4RD]

Good for them, I guess.

 

I personally still have qualms against OnePlus. They make good phones but I'm skeptical on how they operate at times.

 

I'm also reserved on the potential price. If it's past $600, then it's already high-time we treat this as an actual flagship.

[jaggysnake57]

On 02/11/2017 at 5:26 PM, IAmAndre said:

I don't remember that. As a developer, I was among the people who were really happy about it.

it was the typical apple vs google argument.

13 hours ago, ElfFriend said:

I'm sorry but how exactly does removing features drive innovation?

the fact that you have to ask speaks volumes

[AlTech]

On 11/2/2017 at 5:09 PM, DrMacintosh said:

But they will collect your data  

All that audio aggregate audio collection from people listening to music and ummm..... pron? idek.

 

Kek. Watch how they'll do just like Bose did.

[captain cactus]

Don't ditch the jack. Then build in an amazong DAC with the best amp in the business to drive some quality high impedence headphones too to show who's boss. 

[patrick3027]

On 02/11/2017 at 5:45 PM, Bananasplit_00 said:

i dont want my phone to be so slim that it cant have a 3.5mm jack... thats kind of too thin and with current batteries it REALLY is too thin

Daily reminder that the iPod Touch is 6 mm thin and has a headphone jack 

[Skanky Sylveon]

On 11/3/2017 at 2:50 AM, LAwLz said:

Can you please explain how dropping the headphone jack is for the best?

With flash there was some logic behind it. Move away from a proprietary solution which had a lot of issues (not mobile friendly, proprietary, lots of security issues, etc) to something more open and flexible.

The only drawback was compatibility. Everything else were pure benefits (once the standards were finalized at least). I still think Android did it better though. Allowing both for a fairly long period of time eased the transition a lot for me. Being able to use both was far better than only being able to use one. Besides, the industry was moving towards HTML5 anyway. iOS might have accelerated the move a bit, but we would have arrived at where we are today regardless of Apple dropping it or not.

 

With the headphone jack? You're just removing an almost perfect solution because you want to push a new one which is deeply flawed in multiple ways.

This!  100% This!

Comparing software to hardware isn't really appropriate.

Even with all of that said, flash had many flaws.

The headphone jack, on contrary is pretty flawless, it's easy to plug in and robust.  I would charge my phone with it if I could.

@jaggysnake57 How does removing a universal, near flawless connector "drag technology forward"?

 

 

Also, if I wanted, I could install the dolphin browser on android.  Which has flash support via plugin.

On 11/2/2017 at 9:40 AM, IAmAndre said:

OnePlus isn't committing to keep the headphone jack forever.

If/when they remove it, I will bitch about it.

[Mooshi]

On 11/2/2017 at 10:08 AM, jaggysnake57 said:

people said the same thing when apple dropped flash, if it drags forward technology then its for the best

This isn't Firewire vs USB 3, this is a standard that isn't going anywhere for both professionals and for audiophiles. Bluetooth connections are often spotty (security risks in other cases) and it's pointless to invest in a USB C/Thunderbolt wired set when it only works for one thing.

 

This isn't dragging tech forward, it's going backwards for the sake of shilling more proprietary we don't need. Apple earpods, Google Pixel buds--it's the same thing for a walled garden. I'm not replacing good audio equipment for a subpar experience.

 

FYI, flash is bad regardless of platform. Comparing flash to the headphone jack is as meaningful as comparing food to rocks. Not a good comparison. 

[Mooshi]

On 11/3/2017 at 2:50 AM, LAwLz said:

With flash there was some logic behind it. Move away from a proprietary solution which had a lot of issues (not mobile friendly, proprietary, lots of security issues, etc) to something more open and flexible.

 

This.

 

Let's compare something that was a security risk to removing something that introduced a security risk. I'd much rather stick with my trust in-ears over being FORCED into a bluetooth solution prone to security risks.

 

No one can provide a compelling reason to ditch the jack, no one. My phone has a higher dust/water proof rating WITH the headphone jack, just as thin, has a better battery life and even embraces wired audio with a more pleasant experience with the quad dac.

[Drak3]

7 minutes ago, Mooshi said:

No one can provide a compelling reason to ditch the jack, no one

Create a short term market of proprietary headphones and dongles for iPhones, and for Andoid manufacturers that use type-C, a market of 'approved compatible' dongles and headphones.

 

Not compelling for end users, but extremely compelling for the more short sighted business men calling the shots on this.