Don’t get me wrong. Apple removing audio jack was the biggest facepalm in smartphone history. And you can thank it for not being able to make an upgrade without sacrificing audio jack (and SD card too :/). But USB-C is getting standardized everywhere now (laptops, smartphones, etc.). What makes USB-C earphones not worth the switch?

  • Teknikal@lemmy.world
    link
    fedilink
    English
    arrow-up
    53
    arrow-down
    3
    ·
    edit-2
    1 year ago

    I am not an audiophile or anything but for these oems a headphone jack inclusion is probably pennys and wired is just superior sound, it’s madness.

    That said I use Bluetooth headphones mostly myself but that doesn’t change the fact its inferior sound, something extra to charge and can add quite a bit of lag when playing games or other media.

    Its a step backwards just to make a few pennys profit on a hundreds of pounds device. I think everyone should have the option to choose what they prefer.

    • NENathaniel@lemmy.film
      link
      fedilink
      English
      arrow-up
      5
      arrow-down
      15
      ·
      1 year ago

      USB C dongles have potential to be higher quality than your built in-jack if quality is the main concern

      • wizardbeard@lemmy.dbzer0.com
        link
        fedilink
        English
        arrow-up
        21
        ·
        1 year ago

        Now tell me how many of them actually are. This is just OEMs trying to save literal pennies across 100s of devices by externalizing the cost of a cheap DAC to their customers.

        • NENathaniel@lemmy.film
          link
          fedilink
          English
          arrow-up
          3
          arrow-down
          5
          ·
          edit-2
          1 year ago
          1. As people have mentioned, it’s not about saving $, it’s about saving space inside the device which is highly valuable

          2. Lots of dongles are quite high quality. Apples even sounds good, and Moondrop makes a higher-end audiophile one that’s better than basically any built-in jack. There’s a pretty big market for good USB C dongles (less so for Lightning).

          3. if you care a lot about audio quality, you might know that the companies always tried to save $$ but using pretty mediocre DAC’s internally

          • foggenbooty@lemmy.world
            link
            fedilink
            English
            arrow-up
            4
            ·
            1 year ago

            And all of those dongles work even if you keep the headphones jack. Bluetooth headphones work if you keep the headphone jack.

            No one is saying don’t have USB-C on the phone, or that it doesn’t do some things well, we’re saying don’t take away our options.

            • NENathaniel@lemmy.film
              link
              fedilink
              English
              arrow-up
              2
              ·
              1 year ago

              Again, my point 1. was the space the headphone jack takes up.

              Apple is going as far as to remove the sim-card slot in iPhones lol

              • foggenbooty@lemmy.world
                link
                fedilink
                English
                arrow-up
                1
                arrow-down
                1
                ·
                1 year ago

                While it’s true that some space is saved, that’s just the messaging Apple wants to push. The real reason is to sell AirPods.

                Apple also wanted to make non-removable batteries standard to make devices thinner. They did and it was a huge marketing success that had the tiny side effect of planned obsolescence (oopsie).

                I’m not saying we can never progress, but what Apple says and what Apple does are often two completely different things. Their engineers will grind incredible hours to meet a silly goal that management gave them of making something 0.2mm thinner. They can keep a headphone jack or a sim slot if they actually wanted to. They don’t want to.

                • NENathaniel@lemmy.film
                  link
                  fedilink
                  English
                  arrow-up
                  1
                  ·
                  1 year ago

                  Well batteries and headphone jacks seem pretty different. You can add a dongle for like $10. Having Apple replace your battery is prob 10x that.

                  I do 1/2 agree about the AirPods thing but, I’m not convinced the internal space isn’t one of the primary reasons

                • Whirlybird@aussie.zone
                  link
                  fedilink
                  English
                  arrow-up
                  1
                  arrow-down
                  1
                  ·
                  1 year ago

                  Apple are the last ones you can accuse of planned obsolescence in the phone world. They support their phones for 6+ years. They will replace your battery for cheap as chips.