While we're dreaming, how about a physical keyboard?
Opinion: I'd rather have a headphone jack and a microSD slot than AI in my phone
21–30 of 97 posts
Re: Opinion: I'd rather have a headphone jack and a microSD slot than AI in my phone
#22To offer an alternative data point, I don't really want any of the above. Just make it cheaper, smaller, and with guaranteed security updates for as long as possible.
The only wired headphones I own are high-impedance """audiophile""" headphones, that a phone couldn't really drive in the first place.
As for storage, I don't do a whole lot on my phone except for messaging and looking things up on-the-go, none of which needs much in terms of storage space. I've had my current phone (iPhone SE3, 128GB) for over 2 years, and I've never even had to delete anything (and when the day comes, I'll transfer the contents of the photo gallery over to external storage).
Re: Opinion: I'd rather have a headphone jack and a microSD slot than AI in my phone
#23I'm going to side with Apple on this one. Transistors are basically free and ports are expensive and unreliable. I'm happy they've been moving to eSIMs. I'd be fine if my next iPhone only supported wireless charging. No ports is better.
Development of SOCs for AI is not free though.
Re: Opinion: I'd rather have a headphone jack and a microSD slot than AI in my phone
#24Multiple USBC ports. Any one can be used as headphone jack, or fit a tiny usb drive that wouldnt stick out much.
Re: Opinion: I'd rather have a headphone jack and a microSD slot than AI in my phone
#25Where is the recurring revenue in a 3.5mm jack or a SD card slot?
Re: Opinion: I'd rather have a headphone jack and a microSD slot than AI in my phone
#26Do any old Android phones have this combination?
Quite a few. But only a couple that continue to get updates. A few older samsungs come to mind.
Re: Opinion: I'd rather have a headphone jack and a microSD slot than AI in my phone
#27Earlier quoted context omitted.
This is the real answer why manufacturers don't serve this part of the market
I recently bought a NOS Samsung Note 10 Lite. A quarter the price of the S24, has the wonderful S-Pen and a headphone jack. And even though the battery is ostensibly not user replaceable, it is an easy job that can be done in five minutes without risking breaking anything else.
Similarly, I now have a Samsung Galaxy A52, which has a headphone jack and a microSD slot (but no user-replaceable battery).
I'm not particularly price conscious, so I feel like Samsung lost out on an opportunity to sell me a flagship phone because those no longer have these features I care about. Luckily, this much cheaper phone still has the two that are most important to me. When they stop offering them at all, I'll be done with Samsung.
Re: Opinion: I'd rather have a headphone jack and a microSD slot than AI in my phone
#28I agree 100%. And when people inevitably claim that the reason for eliminating the headphone jack is so you could have a phone that could withstand being dropped in water, I think back to the Samsung Galaxy S5 that I bought 10 years ago. It has a headphone jack, a microSD slot, and a user-removable battery, plus an IP67 rating.
I'll also add that the S5 was a much more convenient size than the enormous phones they make these days, some of probably wouldn't even fit in my pocket.
Re: Opinion: I'd rather have a headphone jack and a microSD slot than AI in my phone
#29Yes, absolutely. The AI hype can't die soon enough.
Re: Opinion: I'd rather have a headphone jack and a microSD slot than AI in my phone
#30I'm going to side with Apple on this one. Transistors are basically free and ports are expensive and unreliable. I'm happy they've been moving to eSIMs. I'd be fine if my next iPhone only supported wireless charging. No ports is better.
Development of SOCs for AI is not free though.
If they weren't burning cash on AI, they'd be burning it on something equally useless. Smartphones have been more or less feature-complete for years now.