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Ask HN: Do you miss the headphone jack?

9 points by jotjotzzz ↗ HN
Apple removed the headphone jack almost 1.5 years ago. Google followed suit, among others. In my personal experience, this has held me back on upgrading phones (I was set to go Android until Google released the Pixel 2 without a headphone jack). Recently, I am using an iPhone 8 for work, and I get annoyed with having to use a dongle to use my favorite headphones. I have a Bluetooth headset but hate that it is unusable unless charged.

Thoughts on your experience so far? Do you miss the headphone jack as much as I do?

24 comments

[ 3.2 ms ] story [ 59.2 ms ] thread
ourarash
No, I use Samsung Galaxy note, and love it, which has the headphone jack.
neocraftster
Nope. OnePlus 5t, use headphone jack everyday.
maxharris
Meh, I don't miss the headphone jack. Nor do I miss PS/2, VGA, DB13W3, ADB, parallel, serial, or SCSI ports.

You know what sucks? No lightning port on my Mac!

gtirloni
All ports you listed have had high-quality wired alternatives that improved things considerably.
charlesdm
Yes. Until I got a pair of Airpods. I was quite sceptical but they're surprisingly good. Worth getting !
jakeogh
No chance I'll buy a phone without one.
doyoulikeworms
Not so much, but I wish my iPhone had two charging ports so that I’d never have to use a cumbersome splitter dongle to both charge and use accessories at the same time.

I can’t deal with wireless stuff.

Someone1234
Yes, but mostly due to the alternatives being pretty terrible (or expensive).

Previously I'd use sub-$30 sports earphones for the gym/exercise. These broke with regularity, mostly due to mistreatment, but I was fine with that since I didn't want an expensive accessory which could get lost, stolen, or broken.

Now without a headphone jack my choices are either a dongle which cost almost as much as the headphones and is about as reliable, or cheap Bluetooth headphones which sound terrible, have bad battery life, and are cumbersome. I'm absolutely certain that if you can spend enough quality Bluetooth accessories exist, but that doesn't fit into my use-case.

I wound up grabbing an old Android phone w/headphone jack, installed Spotify, and use it on the Gym's WiFi. Leave my actual phone in the locker, but still wound up with two devices to charge instead of one.

andrei_says_
If I could change one thing about my phone that would be it.

It would be great to

* not have to use a dongle for my headphones and other audio devices

* not have to buy replacement dongles when I lose this one, and the next one

* not have to deal with lag in video and games

* not have to charge things that did not need charging before, and by extension create billions of batteries with limited cycles to end in toxic landfills

* be able to charge and listen to music at the same time (when using cable connection)

Using an over engineered expensive low quality unreliable technology to replace an ubiquitous cheap ultra-reliable one is not so great. It’s a good addition but removing the choice without my consent is an insult.

slipwalker
wish i could upvote this several times.... se-ve-ral.
chrisked
Yes. Plain and simple. I own multiple Bluetooth headsets and they all are not reliable. Using the adapter and cable headset gave me electronic shocks couple of times. :)
[dead] Im_back_4_U
Nope. Have a Motorola Z Play and love it. I won't buy a phone without a large battery and a headphone jack if there are good phones like this available.
Tsiklon
I don't particularly miss the jack. I lost the jack when i went to a 7+ in 2016.

Personally on the go I use a decent bluetooth headphone, and have done for the past 2 years. At home I use a proper amplifier set up for my headphones.

If I do wish to listen with a wired set the cheap dongle provided by apple is good enough, and if I want better amplification I'll strap a portable headphone amp to it.

I'm a bit of an outlier however, most people prefer to use one set of headphones across all their stuff - I have quite a few sets...

Edit: however I do lament the choice being taken away from me.

jordansmith
At first I was very annoyed with the change. I often need to charge my phone while listening to podcasts, and the adapters would always crap out on me.

Eventually I switched to a cheap bluetooth headset, then switched from that to airpods without looking back.

Wireless is really the way to go. No more getting caught on random objects and getting yanked out of your ears. If someone is talking to you and you take the headphones out they pause so you can talk to the person, then automatically resume when you put them back in. Quick tap on the ear pauses or skips the current song.

kevinherron
iPhone 8, don’t miss it at all.

Everyday headphones are AirPods and I also occasionally use my Bose QC35.

An0nymou3
Surprisingly I do not miss the jack. Using my Bluetooth headsets and speakers do the job for me BUT..

While in a room with others or in bed on a sleepless night sometimes I miss the speed of the jack and not having to wait for connectivity or if they are charged.

What I definitely do not miss are the tangled matrix of wires.

megasquid
Not at all. Used to be a huge fan of the Koss Porta Pros. Every pair I owned had problems with the headphone jack. When my 3rd pair finally broke I had enough and picked up the Sony MDR X 1000. Love them and love the bluetooth. I truly think they will last a long time because without the headphone jack, I don't really know what would break first.
Endy
See, for me, I only buy devices that have 3.5mm headphone jacks. I won't give up a viable and fairly open technology for a mass of expensive walled-garden nonsense. When I can buy non-3.5mm headphones at Dollar Tree, I'll consider moving away from that standard.
Doxin
It's not just an issue with cheap headphones either. High quality wired headphones are expensive. getting the same quality in a wireless variation will easily increase the price twofold. The problem is even worse if like me you prefer in-ear to headphones. Those are basically not even available in wireless versions not to mention a nice balanced armature headphone is bulky enough, adding a battery isn't going to make that better.

Additionally I've never had connection trouble with wired headphones which is bound to happen with wireless headphones.

In my opinion wireless headphones aren't better in any way shape or form. They fill my needs poorly.

full disclaimer: I'm not and never have been an apple user, but since no-jack-itis is starting to plague android phones as well I'd figure I'd put in my 2c.

jotjotzzz
Exactly how I feel. I have grown accustomed to listening using all my high quality wired headphones, and equivalent wireless alternatives are expensive.

Also, converting my already great wired headphones is not possible without degrading the sound with any wireless Bluetooth connectivity options. Not to mention, wireless options run out of battery. Not great. I can see slowly removing this option but being forced to do so is annoying.

Also, I doubt Steve Jobs would love the dongles idea either.

gormz
Yes, I've been using the usb-c adapter on my pixel 2 xl this week at work and more than one time already music has come blaring out of my phone speaker. I have to fiddle around with the adapter while mumbling about it. Absolutely annoying.
slipwalker
two things i make sure all devices i'm plannig to buy must have: removable battery ( less and less common ) and 3.5mm headphone jack. Without these, it won't see my money.

(a microsd expansion is also a plus ).