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Best Smartphones That Still Have a Headphone Jack

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Re: Best Smartphones That Still Have a Headphone Jack

#191

Post by TheCapn »

JohnFen wrote: post #162
TheCapn wrote: post #143

Earlier quoted context omitted.

What's your recommendation? I'm about to look at upgrading from my Pixel 1 and the 3a has been a frontrunner for me so far. I'm waiting to see what the rumored 4 & 4a bring to the table before I jump on anything.

It's hard to make a recommendation without knowing your needs. However, if the Pixel 1 makes you happy, then I'm likely to recommend that you just get another Pixel.

It was more of a question to see your rational honestly. If you're saying the only quality feature of the Pixel 3a is the camera I wanted to see what you valued in smartphones to make that comment.

For me: ease of use/configuration. I don't want Samsung bloat, I'd prefer to buy direct from manufacturer to avoid mobile carrier shit. I don't want to deal with rooting and have been happy with Google's smartphone offer since the Nexus line. I'd prefer wireless charging, not an overly large phone, and a fingerprint reader on the back, but after that I'm flexible.

Re: Best Smartphones That Still Have a Headphone Jack

#192

Post by baddox »

JohnFen wrote: post #119
ryandrake wrote: post #111

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I sometimes can’t believe that after 3 years people are still feeling hurt about this thing. I mean, go ahead and vote with your wallet but wow, what a hill to choose to die on! I’ve been through the obsolescence of floppy disks, cassette tapes, optical media/drives, DB9 serial ports, parallel printer ports, composite video, RCA audio jacks, VGA and countless other display output jacks, yet this silly 3.5mm headphone…

> I’ve been through the obsolescence of[...] The difference is that those things had replacements available that were at least adequate.

If adequate replacements really aren't available, that could be an indication that the people desiring such replacements truly are in a small minority, and that the market is functioning as it ought to.

Re: Best Smartphones That Still Have a Headphone Jack

#193

Post by klodolph »

IkmoIkmo wrote: post #187
tablethnuser wrote: post #20

I've been using the budget Moto G+ line for the past four years. I can upgrade my phone every year around Black Friday and get the latest model for sub $200. The older phones still work well and get handed down to my less tech savvy family members. I'm not really sure what people are paying for when they get those $800+ beasts for phones. When I use a friend's I can tell they are higher quality; either they feel more…

Great points, although I would want to add a bit of nuance from my personal experience. One thing that often gets overlooked in pricing is depreciation. Flagship models tend to keep their value quite well, whereas budget models depreciate to next to nothing. Take the iPhone X, launched 2 years ago, used it's around $570 today, versus the $999 it launched at. Meanwhile, a $300 phone tends to drop down to $100 on the 2…

I do think it would be nice to see this kind of accounting taught in high schools.

Re: Best Smartphones That Still Have a Headphone Jack

#194

Post by mikepurvis »

magduf wrote: post #175
mikepurvis wrote: post #155

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The cost of a headphone jack at scale is a few cents. I'm pretty sure it's less about the cost and more about size/thickness, with moisture sealing as possibly a secondary concern. If you say that the battery is a little bigger because the internals of the phone didn't need to accommodate a headphone jack, does that make you feel any better? How often do you use not-your-regular-headphones (which would just have dong…

We've had waterproof phones with headphone jacks for ages, so that's not an issue unless you're incompetent. I've never seen a phone where the battery extended down to near the headphone jack. If I put a dongle permanently on my headphones, how do I use them on another device that has a standard 3.5mm jack? Thickness is only an issue for Apple fans. No one else actually cares if a device is 0.2mm thicker.

I mean, it's not like it's empty space in there. Looking at the insides of an iPhone X, it's clear that something would have to give to make room for a new and quite sizeable connector: https://www.ifixit.com/Teardown/iPhone+X+Teardown/98975#s182...

In any case, I fundamentally agree that it's not worth the tradeoff; I use an iPhone 5S and find it perfectly serviceable (and charmingly small and light). But some people do value those things, and/or only use wireless headphones or headphones with a single device.

Re: Best Smartphones That Still Have a Headphone Jack

#195

Post by shkkmo »

ryandrake wrote: post #111
chuckgreenman wrote: post #18

I'm a single-issue voter when it comes to cell phones - if it doesn't have a headphone jack, I won't be buying it.

I sometimes can’t believe that after 3 years people are still feeling hurt about this thing. I mean, go ahead and vote with your wallet but wow, what a hill to choose to die on! I’ve been through the obsolescence of floppy disks, cassette tapes, optical media/drives, DB9 serial ports, parallel printer ports, composite video, RCA audio jacks, VGA and countless other display output jacks, yet this silly 3.5mm headphone…

> Just based on iPhone sales it doesn’t look like many people actually care, but those who do, boy are they vocal about it.

Hmm... You mean how iPhone sales have platued in the 3 years since this change was introduced or do you mean how 2016, the year they got rid of the headphone jack, was the first year in the history of the iPhone where sales decreased? I am not really seeing your point. (These numbers are primarily due to changes in the broader market)

I have lived with no headphone jack and done the dance with Bluetooth dongles and wireless headphones. Even if you avoid the pairing issues, battery is consistently an issue. Making sure that the various dongles are charged when you need them is adding unnecesary cognitive load.

Re: Best Smartphones That Still Have a Headphone Jack

#196

Post by baddox »

gruez wrote: post #149
alistproducer2 wrote: post #144

Sorry but this list is trash. Every smartphone on that list was overpriced and runs some horrid vendor customized version of Android that's sure to become obsolete because the vendors will stop updating it with a year or two. the one that was around $200 (Motorola) had specs way worse than the phone I'm using (Nokia 2.2) to type this message, which is $70 cheaper than the Motorola and has a headphone jack btw.

> Every smartphone on that list was overpriced and runs some horrid vendor customized version of Android Literally the first phone on the list: "Pixel 3A and 3A XL" (by google).

For reference, the first-generation Pixel phones just received the new Android 10 update, nearly three years after the release of the phones. This will presumably be the final major Android update the first-generation Pixel phones receive.

iOS 13 (being released this week) will support the iPhone 6s, which was released four years ago.

Re: Best Smartphones That Still Have a Headphone Jack

#197

Post by [deleted] »

verbify wrote: post #24
rpmisms wrote: post #16

I sincerely hope that headphone jacks will return as a fad. Not everyone has bluetooth wireless charging everything, nor do many want that. If you must get rid of the 3.5mm port, why not have dual USB-C to charge and listen at once?

Like this? https://www.geargeek.co.uk/type-c-to-3-5mm-headphone-jack-au...

[deleted]

Re: Best Smartphones That Still Have a Headphone Jack

#198

Post by secfirstmd »

IkmoIkmo wrote: post #187
tablethnuser wrote: post #20

I've been using the budget Moto G+ line for the past four years. I can upgrade my phone every year around Black Friday and get the latest model for sub $200. The older phones still work well and get handed down to my less tech savvy family members. I'm not really sure what people are paying for when they get those $800+ beasts for phones. When I use a friend's I can tell they are higher quality; either they feel more…

Great points, although I would want to add a bit of nuance from my personal experience. One thing that often gets overlooked in pricing is depreciation. Flagship models tend to keep their value quite well, whereas budget models depreciate to next to nothing. Take the iPhone X, launched 2 years ago, used it's around $570 today, versus the $999 it launched at. Meanwhile, a $300 phone tends to drop down to $100 on the 2…

Also let's not forget security updates in relation to Android phones...A two year old phone today, two years down the line may well not be receiving them

Re: Best Smartphones That Still Have a Headphone Jack

#199

Post by shkkmo »

stuff4ben wrote: post #177
schwap wrote: post #157

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yeah, sure sounds like fun doing the entire bluetooth "oh, let me pair, wait it's not coming up in my list, maybe you need to unpair first..." etc. dance over and over instead of just swapping out a cable in a second.

Tangled cords, frayed and broken cables, finding room for those cables...yeah no thanks. And maybe you need better devices, never a problem on my iphones. Just pop in my airpods and just works. Or start my truck and it just works. Or switch on my bluetooth speaker and it just works. Seriously, bluetooth has evolved to the point that wires don't make sense to me anymore.

Having a headphone jack does not prevent you from using Bluetooth. Not having a headphone jack makes your phone objectively less useful.

You were presented with a usecase where a wire provides a convienence that Bluetooth can't match. How can you just ignore that and say wires don't make sense?

Re: Best Smartphones That Still Have a Headphone Jack

#200

Post by NickNameNick »

wilsonnb3 wrote: post #83
chuckgreenman wrote: post #18

I'm a single-issue voter when it comes to cell phones - if it doesn't have a headphone jack, I won't be buying it.

but, why? I sincerely don't understand why the headphone jack is the hill that so many people choose to die on. The $9 lightning to 3.5mm dongle has worked perfectly for me, as has my USB-c to 3.5mm dongle.

I've played the no-headphone-socket 'game' with my G1. The g1 was a great phone, but not having a standard headphone socket sucked. The adapter was aweful UX. It was fiddly to use, uncomfortable in the pocket, fragile, and risked damaging the phone's USB port.

I don't want to repeat that experience

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