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Why I'm not getting a Fairphone*
(lemm.ee)
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this post was submitted on 06 Sep 2023
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Their responses address commenters directly, with an apple-esque "you are doing it wrong" attitude, instead of focusing on the actual subject matter - the 3.5mm jack itself. It's not really a discussion, it's much more comparable to victim blaming and trolling 🤷♂️. People are looking for a discussion, not an attack thinly veiled as a "solution". No point engaging IMO.
Regarding the actual topic though, I'm fully in agreement with you.
Here's why I don't feel as if bluetooth or dongles are an appropriate replacement: https://lemmy.one/comment/2684726
Since then I've also realised driver & codec support will slowly become a big issue as we move forward with dongles and bluetooth headphones, especially for people who prefer to keep their devices for longer
Some people will just swallow propaganda, and defend corporations even going against their own interests.
To be clear, i'm not against bluetooth audio, heck i even have a set of high end Jabra earbuds, but those are not a substitute for my AKG k702 or my Audio Technica M40x. Having an audio jack is about having an option, and we know companies are lying through their teeth because somebody managed to add an audio jack to an iPhone without losing any functionality at all.
Or maybe some people just don't care about using their smartphone as a premium audio device? The audio jack on a smartphone servers no purpose to me, it hasn't for years before smartphone manufacturers started moving away from it. It's nothing more than a unused plug that can potentially break and whether you like it or not, most people nowadays have the same opinion as me..
There was a discussion to be had back when apple started to push for it, one can even argue that this was forced by apple before it's time. But we aren't talking about that, we are talking about today, about what should happen with this upcoming phone that is supposed to be functional for 10 years..
The idea that they should reintroduce a standard that has since almost completely disappeared in the smartphone world because a small minority of people want to connect professional studio headphones that are about as expensive as the smartphone itself is absolutely ridiculous..
They don't break if you don't use it... They are probably more resilient than USB-C ports.
It's not always for professional headphones. I for example just want headphones that I don't have to charge, don't have to go into the settings if I want to use a different one, and doesn't occupy the USB port so I can charge when the battery dies while watching Youtube
You make it seem as if it was just apple that wants to get rid of the 3.5mm jack in the smartphone market, which is simply not true.. I don't care for apple at all and I don't see what apple has to do with this discussion.. That discussion has already been had, back when the fairphone 4 was released, but some people still make the exact same arguments as in the years before..
The subject isn't whether the 3.5mm jack itself is a viable standard.. The subject is if it is a viable standard for modern smartphones.. And by now, the direction is clear..
I don't see the 3.5mm jack disappearing completely anytime soon, but in the modern smartphone world, I don't see a reason why we should cling to the 3.5mm jack when we already have USB as a standard that has the same functionality.. Especially now, when the switch has already happened..
Great, but can you also tell me why USB cable headphones are not an appropriate replacement? This is what I find so frustrating about this discussion, people always pretend that the options are either keeping the 3.5 mm headphone jack forever or using bluetooth headphones..
USB headphones is yet another product manufactured with a narrow usecase, the audio world by and large outputs to either 2.5, 3.5 or 4.4 every step of the way. USB is completely phone centric.
Lack of a unified USB standard, meaning you will still have to deal with adapters to have compatibility across all devices. My PC for example only has USB A, my phone has lightning, my wifes has usbc, many peoples office PCs will also not have USB C just yet, although it does become less common to have a device without USB C.
USB output is digital, that means that you need to convert it to analogue, so your headphones need to put a DAC into them or the wire.
In many cases of headphone use you will actually not want the USB such as working with them in professional environments where you will be plugging them into an audio stack, where the autput is analogue already.
Some headphones need an AMP so power straight off the USB is not an option.
Balanced output.
A standard jack covers most usecases, headphones will never move to USB standard, they are analogue devices and should not have to have USB support on their end.