• Android phones following Apple - headphone jack going away

    From Tom Elam@thomas.e.elam@gmail.com to comp.sys.mac.advocacy on Thu Oct 2 08:21:37 2025
    From Newsgroup: comp.sys.mac.advocacy

    I seem to recall that one of the Marion entity's claims has been that
    Android phones still have dedicated 3.5 mm headphone jacks. Really?

    When was the last time you saw someone with headphones plugged into a
    phone? News bulletin - BT has taken over that space.

    What Happened to the Headphone Jack?

    https://www.wired.com/gallery/best-headphone-jack-phones/

    It all began when Apple removed the port on the iPhone 7 in 2016rCoyes, technically Oppo did it first, but it was Apple's decision that sparked
    an industry trend. Apple famously cited space-saving reasons to make the
    phone slimmer and fit a bigger battery, but it was also to nudge along
    the burgeoning wireless headphone market (guess who sits at the top
    right now?). Since then, other companies followed swiftly, until the
    port was only found on budget and midrange phones.

    Now, cheap phones are beginning to lose the port, likely because you can
    buy decent wireless earbuds for as little as $25 these days. It's very
    likely that within the next few years, the 3.5-mm port will disappear
    entirely from all smartphones.
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  • From Tyrone@none@none.none to comp.sys.mac.advocacy on Thu Oct 2 20:52:21 2025
    From Newsgroup: comp.sys.mac.advocacy

    On Oct 2, 2025 at 8:21:37rC>AM EDT, "Tom Elam" <thomas.e.elam@gmail.com> wrote:

    I seem to recall that one of the Marion entity's claims has been that
    Android phones still have dedicated 3.5 mm headphone jacks. Really?

    When was the last time you saw someone with headphones plugged into a
    phone? News bulletin - BT has taken over that space.

    What Happened to the Headphone Jack?

    https://www.wired.com/gallery/best-headphone-jack-phones/

    It all began when Apple removed the port on the iPhone 7 in 2016rCoyes, technically Oppo did it first, but it was Apple's decision that sparked
    an industry trend. Apple famously cited space-saving reasons to make the phone slimmer and fit a bigger battery, but it was also to nudge along
    the burgeoning wireless headphone market (guess who sits at the top
    right now?). Since then, other companies followed swiftly, until the
    port was only found on budget and midrange phones.

    Now, cheap phones are beginning to lose the port, likely because you can
    buy decent wireless earbuds for as little as $25 these days. It's very
    likely that within the next few years, the 3.5-mm port will disappear entirely from all smartphones.

    The truly funny part of both - headphone jacks and SD cards - is that The Resident Troll refers to both as "modern industry standards".

    Hint1: Headphone jacks are 100 years old. SD cards are 25 years old. Neither are modern.

    Hint2: "industry standards" are - by definition - used by everyone. WiFi, Bluetooth, Arm CPUs, USB-C and touch screens are industry standards for
    phones.

    Hint3: "industry standards" don't remain forever. Spinning hard drives/CDs/DVDs/floppy disks/CRT monitors/80 column punch cards/tape drives were all "industry standards" at some point. All are gone now.

    Headphone jacks and SD cards are in around 40% of the phones sold in the U.S.
    That is NOT "industry standard". It is legacy hardware that is going away.

    Of course, Marion will claim that a phone with either/both has more functionality than a phone without. Using that "logic", a phone with a Swiss Army Knife and a BBQ grill has more functionality than without.

    But the point is, neither are functionality that anyone needs in a phone.
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