Why did the headphone jack cross the road? OnePlus says it's due to the in-display finger scanner

[schwellmo92]

 Getting rid of the analog port makes complete sense, the audio processing then happens in the headset, so if you buy a nice headset and connect it to a shitty device you’re not losing out on your audio quality. There’s only finite room in a phone, they can jam a much better/larger DAC in a headset than they can in a phone.

[D13H4RD]

3 minutes ago, schwellmo92 said:

If you’re having issues with interference I would suggest it’s an issue with your device(s) rather than an issue with Bluetooth itself.

I'm pretty sure it's nothing to do with either.

 

I initially thought it was due to my $20 pair of headphones perhaps not having great BT hardware. However, after getting the 1000XM2 (one of the very best wireless headphones you could get in 2017 and for most of 2018, mind you), I still have the same issue.

 

Paired to my Note8, which also has great BT hardware alongside Sony's LDAC codec. I still get interference due to the constant stream of wireless signals in my campus. It's just the nature of being wireless. Even the radio in my car tends to get interference from other vehicles tuned into different stations.

[D13H4RD]

6 minutes ago, schwellmo92 said:

There’s only finite room in a phone, they can jam a much better/larger DAC in a headset than they can in a phone.

About that

 

ZTE and LG showed that they can shove a pretty beefy DAC and amp combo in a phone that outperforms even some external DACs.

 

I still wished we had a new Axon 7. That $400 phone had much better audio than most phones out there, even today, and had a decent battery capacity battery for its time, at 3250mAh

[Blademaster91]

43 minutes ago, Enderman said:

Well what do you think happened when USB A came out?? 

 

1) The "charge while listening to music" excuse is one I've heard hundreds of times and have never met a single person that actually does that.

2) you don't need dongles if you have a removable cable, if you use bluetooth, or if you buy a device that already has a USB connector instead of 3.5mm.

3) very few headsets actually include a splitter, usually only $100+ ones, and yes I already said there are hundreds of posts every year of people asking why their mic doesn't work on their PC. This is the same thing as with USB C, people not doing research and learning after the fact.

4) 3.5mm technically is outdated, as it's only purpose on a phone is just for audio while USB can do audio as well as millions of other things. Printer ports were removed from computers because USB A could do the same as well as millions of other things.

5) Doesn't have to be expensive, there are $1 ones form china if all you want is analogue output. In fact, often times those $1 ones are better because they are outside the computer and have less EMI, which is why tons of people who bought a modmic also bought a cheap DAC to remove static.

Hi, I actually do that as well lol. I like to charge my phone when I get home,even if it does make it through a day.

I'd rather not have to buy a pair overpriced USB-C headphones just for my phone,and bluetooth audio sucks IMO,compared to a 3.5mm analog source, too much compression and noise interference from other things.

You can also get 3.5mm splitters really cheaply, finding a good quality USB-C adapter isn't as easy especially trying to find one that works with a phone that isn't the specific adapter from the manufacturer.

The 3.5mm jack isn't even close to being outdated as long as audio manufacturers are still using a 3.5mm plug, and as long as there is still room to add a 3.5mm jack into the device, I really don't buy the excuses like there being no space for it because of a fingerprint scanner.  I get why some would want a DAC & amp  but I haven't had an issue with static over motherboard audio in a while, motherboards now are pretty good at shielding out noise.

[ZacoAttaco]

14 minutes ago, schwellmo92 said:

The premise behind removing the 3.5mm jack isn’t that you dongle up or buy USB-C headphones, it’s that you buy Bluetooth headphones.

13 minutes ago, D13H4RD2L1V3 said:

Which itself has its own set of flaws.

This was the main complaint when Apple first removed the headphone jack, that Bluetooth headphones were not yet up to snuff and I'd argue they still aren't. I'm an iPhone user and there's no way I'm not paying US $150+ for wireless AirPods, especially with flaws associated with them.

 

Bluetooth is not quite a genuine alternative yet. They're either too expensive or not good enough. There's no doubt that Bluetooth will be the standard but we're in this awkward stage between wired and wireless right now.

[D13H4RD]

3 minutes ago, ZacoAttaco said:

Bluetooth is not quite a genuine alternative yet. They're either too expensive or not good enough. There's no doubt that Bluetooth will be the standard but we're in this awkward stage between wired and wireless right now.

Hit the nail on the head right there.

 

I like advocating for wireless tech, but Bluetooth is still in this weird little spot. We have a new BT standard that people haven't yet implemented due to backwards compatibility, and we have an abundance of cheap BT headphones that aren't very good alongside a ton of very good BT headphones that aren't cheap, let alone affordable.

[Enderman]

7 minutes ago, Blademaster91 said:

You can also get 3.5mm splitters really cheaply, finding a good quality USB-C adapter isn't as easy especially trying to find one that works with a phone that isn't the specific adapter from the manufacturer.

The 3.5mm jack isn't even close to being outdated as long as audio manufacturers are still using a 3.5mm plug, and as long as there is still room to add a 3.5mm jack into the device, I really don't buy the excuses like there being no space for it because of a fingerprint scanner.  I get why some would want a DAC & amp  but I haven't had an issue with static over motherboard audio in a while, motherboards now are pretty good at shielding out noise.

It's not hard, just buy the essential one or the google one and it will work.

Or check that the one you want to buy is active.

Not hard at all, literally takes 5 seconds of reading.

 

Just because other areas use 3.5mm doesn't mean it's useful everywhere, as you can see with phones.

Take a look at your PC and wonder why there are no 1/4 jacks on it but all professional audio equipment still uses it.

Do you know why?

Because most people don't need it.

And if they do, they buy a device that connects to USB or thunderbolt that has the jacks they need, called an audio interface.

 

If you read the rest of my posts you would know that it is not about there "being no space", it is about simplifying the engineering design and manufacturing process to remove unnecessary (to the majority) and redundant features.

[D13H4RD]

At the end of the day, we just wish it wasn't this messed up. 

 

Really hoping manufacturers get some sense knocked into their head over implementing Type-C

[Nowak]

37 minutes ago, ZacoAttaco said:

This was the main complaint when Apple first removed the headphone jack, that Bluetooth headphones were not yet up to snuff and I'd argue they still aren't. I'm an iPhone user and there's no way I'm not paying US $150+ for wireless AirPods, especially with flaws associated with them.

 

Bluetooth is not quite a genuine alternative yet. They're either too expensive or not good enough. There's no doubt that Bluetooth will be the standard but we're in this awkward stage between wired and wireless right now.

 

33 minutes ago, D13H4RD2L1V3 said:

Hit the nail on the head right there.

 

I like advocating for wireless tech, but Bluetooth is still in this weird little spot. We have a new BT standard that people haven't yet implemented due to backwards compatibility, and we have an abundance of cheap BT headphones that aren't very good alongside a ton of very good BT headphones that aren't cheap, let alone affordable.

Also Bluetooth is a security risk so leaving it enabled isn't a good idea.

[D13H4RD]

1 minute ago, NowakVulpix said:

 

Also Bluetooth is a security risk so leaving it enabled isn't a good idea.

Too bad nobody turns off Bluetooth when they're done. 

 

The amount of phones I see when searching for my 1000XM2..... 

[Quadriplegic]

3 hours ago, Enderman said:

Cool.

You're in the minority.

Good thing there are still phones that have headphone jacks, so buy one while you still can.

So you are really saying that majority of people would prefer inferior fingerprint reader just because of shit and giggles?

[ZacoAttaco]

3 minutes ago, NowakVulpix said:

Also Bluetooth is a security risk so leaving it enabled isn't a good idea.

I'm still running a Pebble, so I always have Bluetooth on  

I'll have to do more research on the topic...

[asus killer]

no wireless charging because you know that's useless, but in-screen fingerprint sensor that is the most important thing. Seems legit. Oh come on.

[Bananasplit_00]

1 hour ago, Enderman said:

Forever?

Was the removal of parallel ata also a dealbreaker because you couldn't use old hard drives in a modern motherboard, so you still use pata?

 

You know USB C headphones exist right?

No need for dongles.

Yes, because without a fucking dongle I can't use my speakers, can't use most of my headphones and so on. There is nothing wrong with the 3.5mm jack but PATA was hindering development. The DAC is already in the SOC and it barely takes up any internal space and honesty I'd much rather have a larger device than a smaller one so space shouldn't really be a problem.

 

Dongles are just hardware DLC/microtransactions, you buy the phone and then you need dongles to use it to use any better speakers or any good headphones you own. 

[Nowak]

11 minutes ago, ZacoAttaco said:

I'm still running a Pebble, so I always have Bluetooth on  

I'll have to do more research on the topic...

The biggest problem is it doesn't need a password when establishing a connection. Anyone could connect to your device and send whatever they want to it.

[GoldenLag]

it is the designsers`s decision if you can include the jack or not. why not place the jack on the top of the phone? why would the headphonejack be in the way if it is situated on the side of the phone? there is allways room. you can probably get a drill and a foldable circuit and place a headphonejack inside

[Blademaster91]

59 minutes ago, Enderman said:

It's not hard, just buy the essential one or the google one and it will work.

Or check that the one you want to buy is active.

Not hard at all, literally takes 5 seconds of reading.

Just because other areas use 3.5mm doesn't mean it's useful everywhere, as you can see with phones.

Take a look at your PC and wonder why there are no 1/4 jacks on it but all professional audio equipment still uses it.

Do you know why?

Because most people don't need it.

And if they do, they buy a device that connects to USB or thunderbolt that has the jacks they need, called an audio interface.

If you read the rest of my posts you would know that it is not about there "being no space", it is about simplifying the engineering design and manufacturing process to remove unnecessary (to the majority) and redundant features.

As everyone else in this thread has been saying it is a mess,certainly when you only have the essential or google USB-C adapters to choose from. Though a 1/4" jack is different, the limitation to that actually makes sense when a smaller 3.5mm jack does the same thing for most people.

A headphone jack takes up little space and is a few cents to add to a phone. It's really more about selling you bluetooth headphones or a dongle to keep those profit margins high. If manufacturers wanted a more simple manufacturing process, in this case Oneplus wouldn't be adding the complexity of putting a fingerprint sensor in the screen. Wireless charging or a headphone jack,nah screw that I want a fingerprint scanner in the screen because touching it on the back must have been too difficult.

[D13H4RD]

3 minutes ago, Blademaster91 said:

nah screw that I want a fingerprint scanner in the screen because touching it on the back must have been too difficult.

Actually, that would be kinda useful if you have one of those phones with no bezels and want to unlock your phone without lifting it off the table. 

 

The real question is how fast and accurate it is. 

[asus killer]

12 minutes ago, GoldenLag said:

it is the designsers`s decision if you can include the jack or not. why not place the jack on the top of the phone? why would the headphonejack be in the way if it is situated on the side of the phone? there is allways room. you can probably get a drill and a foldable circuit and place a headphonejack inside

pro tip: din't drill batteries 

[GoldenLag]

5 minutes ago, asus killer said:

pro tip: din't drill batteries 

dont worry, there is a finger print reader in the way 

[D13H4RD]

Because I'm trying to make it a meme at this point 

 

[D13H4RD]

2 hours ago, schwellmo92 said:

Disagree, I have two sets of Bluetooth headphones and don’t experience any interference. At the gym my phone is in my bag in the storage cubicles and I work out with it streaming to my headphones, at home I can leave my phone on my desk and go to the kitchen and don’t have any issues. If you’re having issues with interference I would suggest it’s an issue with your device(s) rather than an issue with Bluetooth itself.

Sorry for quoting this again, but I do want to explain something. 

 

The reason why you haven't experienced the issues I'm having is due to the different environments we use them in. You use them at home and in the gym, where there likely aren't a lot of WiFi and especially Bluetooth signals going about. When using my 1000XM2 in the same conditions, they are fine. 

 

But the moment I use them on campus, they start skipping to the point of being distracting due to the interference from the other wireless stuff going around the campus area, especially those operating on the 2.4GHz frequency band. The moment I leave the area, they're fine again. 

 

This isn't me knocking Bluetooth headphones or the technology in general. It's just that wireless tech is inherently more susceptible to interference than wired solutions in many cases. That's why you see dual-band WiFi which operates on the 2.4GHz and 5GHz bands alongside the use of different channels. Funnily enough, walls and other enclosed spaces can limit range although from my experience, range hasn't been an issue. 

[Trixanity]

"If a serial port got phased out, so should the 3.5mm jack". There we have it, folks. The most useless argument in the history of the world. 

 

I really hope this is a case of some hardcore devil's advocate for the sake of arguing.

 

Either way this thread is basically "we can't come up with a good reason to get rid of the jack but they should do it anyway. Also, I like Apple. I like dongles. I love lamp".

 

 

[D13H4RD]

2 minutes ago, Salv8 (sam) said:

Snippy McSnipface

I get where you're going but at the same time, I think Ender meant that he'd like seeing all the legacy ports all scrunched up into a singular universal port. 

 

It's almost perfect except reality is very different from concept and it really does show since USB-C is way too far south to be what it's supposed to be. 

[Salv8 (sam)]

2 minutes ago, D13H4RD2L1V3 said:

It's almost perfect except reality is very different from concept and it really does show since USB-C is way too far south to be what it's supposed to be. 

USB-C has been a bit of a shit show since it arrived, the guys over at the USB Implementers Forum really didn't do a good job of ensuring that the standard was followed

i can't use my phones charger on my switch (mostly Nintendo to blame for this but thats besides the point) but they could of enforced the rule of allowing whatever charger to be used with whatever device or something.

i love USB-C, it's made my life easier (in some ways, hell in others....), but there is no ignoring that it's been a shit show since it arrived onto the scene